ROWING: Second 2008 National Selection Regatta Underway

Racing at the second 2008 National Selection Regatta (NSR #2) got underway Friday with morning time trials and afternoon heats at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Racing in the third heat of the men's double sculls, California Rowing Club's Eliot Hovey and Wes Piermarini recorded the quickest time of the heats. With the top four boats advancing to Saturday morning's semifinals, the duo clocked a 6:50.65. USRowing Training Center's Michael Perry (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Mark Flickinger (Big Flats, N.Y.) finished second in a 6:55.35, followed by Malta Boat Club's Bjorn Larson (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.). USTC's Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.) and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) won the first heat after clocking the fastest time from the morning time trials. Hughes and Stitt, who finished ninth in the double at last year's world championships, crossed the finish line with a time of 7:03.29. USTC's Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) crossed second in a 7:07.69. In the second heat, USTC's Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) and Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) won in a 6:49.29. California Rowing Club/Penn A.C.'s Scott Gault (Berkeley, Calif.) and Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.) finished second in a 6:54.75, followed by Vesper Boat Club's Josh Brown and Ben Churchill in a 7:05.42. USRowing Training Center's Daniel Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.) and Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine) recorded the fastest time of the heats in the men's pair to advance to Saturday morning's semifinals. Walsh and Allen clocked a 6:53.43, followed by teammates Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) and Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.). Hoopman and Schnobrich crossed the finish line in a 6:55.02. USTC's Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Jason Read (Ringoes, N.J.) won the first heat to advance. The duo clocked a 6:54.68 to finish 1.5 seconds ahead of teammates Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.). Inman and Coppola finished in 6:56.11, followed by USTC's Micah Boyd (St. Paul, Minn.) and Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) in a 6:58.66. USTC's Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.) and Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.) won the third heat in a 6:57.54, followed by teammates Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.) in a 7:01.51. USRowing Training Center's Christen Brown (Tecumseh, Mich.) and Nicky Gavel (Dracut, Mass.) clocked the fastest time of the heats in the women's double sculls to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Brown and Gavel won the third heat in a 7:19.50, followed by teammates Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.) and Jen Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.) in a 7:26.80. Potomac Boat Club's Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) and Reilly Dampeer (Weston, Conn.) won the first heat to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Shumway and Dampeer crossed the finish line with a time of 7:27.07. Teammates Mae Joyce Gay and Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.) finished second in a 7:29.31. USRowing Training Center's Liane Malcos (Concord, Mass.) and Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) won the second heat in a 7:19.23, followed by teammates Jen Goldsack (Banstead, Surrey, United Kingdom) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) in a 7:20.97. With only six entries in the women's pair, the morning time trial served as a race for lanes for Sunday's final. The USRowing Training Center duo of Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Elle Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) crossed the finish line with a time of 7:39.68. USTC's Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.) finished second in a 7:42.67, followed by teammates Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) in a 7:43.35. In the five-boat time trial of the lightweight men's double sculls, USRowing Training Center's Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) won to earn the top seed in Sunday's final. The duo recorded a time of 7:16.82 to finish 2.56 seconds ahead of Undine Barge Club's Jon Olson and Craig Dodson. USRowing Training Center's Will Daly (Vail, Colo.) and Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.) won the time trial in the lightweight men's pair, finishing with a time of 7:09.95. The duo will be the top seeds in Sunday's final. Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.) finished second in a 7:10.93. Elizabeth Brennan and Rachel Blair won the time trial in the lightweight women's double sculls. The lone entry in the event, Brennan and Blair finished with a time of 10:05.40. NSR #2 racing continues Saturday with semifinals and placement finals, with the top-level finals being held on Sunday morning. Racing begins each morning at 7:00. Complete results can be viewed at www.powerhousetiming.com. For the women's double, men's double, women's pair and men's pair, NSR #2 can serve as the first step towards making the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. The winner of each event earns the right to race at either the first or second world cup regatta in May. If the crew finishes in the top four at its chosen world cup race, then it has the option of being nominated to the U.S. Olympic Team. If the crew does not finish in the top four, chooses not to race at the world cup or chooses not to accept its nomination after finishing in the top four, the event will be opened up to the second set of U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Rowing scheduled for June 9-13. NSR #2 also serves as an opportunity for athletes to earn automatic invitations to the"big boat"selection camps for the women's eight, men's eight, men's four, lightweight men's four, women's quadruple sculls and men's quadruple sculls. For a complete explanation of USRowing's selection procedures, please visit the following link on USRowing's Web site: http://www.usrowing.org/News_Media/2008OlympicGames/08olselexp.aspx. USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing's Official Sponsor is Johnson and Johnson; its Official Suppliers are Hudson Boat Works, NIKE, Inc., and Rosetta Stone; its Official Patron is Concept2; its Official Electronics Outfitter is Nielsen Kellerman; its Official Timer is Powerhouse Timing; its Official Registrar is RegattaCentral; and its Preferred Printer is Sport Graphics Printing. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation. -30-