PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY CRCA

DIVISION I

Others Receiving Votes:

Oregon State University (357); University of Iowa (345); University of Notre Dame (95); University of California, Los Angeles     (84); Washington State University (76); University of Alabama (14); Boston University (12)

Division II

Others Receiving Votes:

Barry University (12); Franklin Pierce University (5)

Division III

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

The 2023 World Rowing Cup I takes place on Lake Jarun in Zagreb, Croatia from 5 to 7 May 2023, with 30 countries participating – the biggest contingents coming from Spain, Switzerland, and the home nation, Croatia. Athletes from South Africa, Iraq, India, Thailand, and Argentina will be trying to get the first medals of the international rowing season.

The Men’s Single Sculls has attracted the largest number of entries and includes the reigning World Champion, Oliver Zeidler of Germany. Fresh off his title at the 2023 World Rowing Indoor Championships, Zeidler wants to start his season on a high note, but will face tough competition in Croatia. Damir Martin knows Lake Jarun pretty well and will look for a strong performance at home. And there’s also the return of Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen, the 2019 World Rowing Championships’ silver medallist. Sverri was fourth in Tokyo and took a year off international racing in 2022, and it will be interesting to know where he is at this stage of the season.

This event will also feature the hometown heroes, and local legends, Martin and Valent Sinkovic. The two-time Olympic gold medallists have amassed 49 medals at Olympic, World and European events so far in their illustrious career, and will try to get number 50 on home waters in the Men’s Double Sculls. Who can stop them? Possibly the Spanish combination of Rodrigo Conde Romero and Aleix Garcia Pujolar, who beat the Croatians at the last World Rowing Championships to grab a fantastic silver medal. Can they repeat their performance again?

The Women’s Single Sculls looks to be up for grabs. Diana Dymchenko of Azerbaijan has won a World Cup before and is the most experienced sculler of the field. Virginia Diaz Rivas of Spain was in the A-Final at the last World Championships. Aurelia-Maxima Janzen of Switzerland is the reigning World Rowing Under 19 Champion, and her teammate Pascale Walker has been the anchor of the Women’s Quadruple Sculls that medalled at World Cup II last year. A wide-open field which will be very interesting to follow.

Among Spain’s large delegation, they are boating three Women’s Pairs, two Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, two Men’s Single Sculls and a Women’s Four. Apart from the Men’s Double Sculls, watch out also for the Men’s Pair combination of Javier Garcia Ordonez and Jaime Canalejo Pazos, who finished with a silver medal at the last World Rowing Championships.

As the first World Rowing regatta of the season, Zagreb will be an opportunity for crews to check on the progress they have made in off-season training, and to find their swing in this all important racing year which will culminate with the World Rowing Championships and the first opportunity to qualify boats for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The World Rowing Cup series was launched in 1997 and consists of a series of three events. The overall World Rowing Cup winners are determined after the third event. This year, the three stages of the series are Zagreb, Croatia (5-7 May), Varese, Italy (16-18 June), Lucerne, Switzerland (7-9 July).

Racing begins on Friday 5 May with Heats and Repechage rounds, and will continue through to semi-finals, with finals on Sunday 7 May. Sunday racing will be live streamed on www.worldrowing.com.

For the full list of entries, visit the 2023 World Rowing Cup I event page.

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY USROWING

Racing at the 2023 National Selection Regatta got underway Tuesday in Chula Vista, Calif., with time trials in the men’s and women’s single sculls, double sculls, and pairs.

In the men’s single sculls, New York Athletic Club’s Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University) posted the fastest time in the time trial, covering the course in a 6:35.05, to earn the top seed in Thursday’s semifinals. Putnam, who last raced for the U.S. in the men’s quadruple sculls at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, finished 3.74 seconds ahead of California Rowing Club’s Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University). LeRoux, who was an alternate at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, finished with a time of 6:38.79. Both Putnam (sixth) and LeRoux (fourth) reached the finals in the men’s single at the 2023 Winter Speed Order last month in Sarasota, Fla. Texas Rowing Center’s Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University), who raced the quadruple sculls at last year’s world championships, finished third in today’s time trial in a time of 6:44.41, while San Diego Rowing Club’s Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich./University of Michigan), a 2012 Olympian and 10-time national team member, finished fourth in a 6:47.07.

In the women’s single sculls, USRowing Training Center – Princeton’s Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian who won a silver medal in the lightweight women’s double sculls at last year’s world championships, clocked the fastest time in the time trial, winning with a time of 7:15.02. TRC’s Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley), a nine-time national team member and two-time Olympian who won the bronze medal in the event at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, finished 0.34 seconds behind in a 7:15.36. ARION’s Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College), who raced the women’s quadruple sculls at last year’s world championships, finished third in a 7:21.01, with Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University) taking fourth in a 7:24.31. Delleman was a boatmate with Brija at last year’s worlds. Sechser will be the top seed in Thursday’s semifinals.

California Rowing Club’s Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University), who finished one-two in the single sculls at the 2023 Winter Speed Order, dominated the time trial of the men’s double sculls. The duo posted a time of 5:55.21 to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of TRC’s Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville) and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania) and earned the top seed in Friday’s final. Cardno and Williams clocked a 6:05.64 to finish second. Davison finished eighth in the single at the 2022 World Championships, while Koszyk finished seventh in the double sculls. The two are racing together for the first time this week. Cardno and Williams were boatmates in the men’s quadruple sculls at last year’s world championships. TRC’s Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania), who raced the lightweight double sculls at last year’s world championships, finished third in a 6:12.24 in today’s time trial.

In the time trial of the women’s double sculls, ARION’s Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University) and Lauren O’Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin) posted the fastest time, clocking a 6:32.95 to finish a little more than three seconds ahead of the TRC/Cambridge Boat Club combination of Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin) and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University). Vitas and Kallfelz finished with a time of 6:36.28. Wagner, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian in the event, raced the double with Vitas at last year’s world championships. Kallfelz was a member of the women’s quadruple sculls at last year’s worlds, while O’Connor finished second in the single at last month’s speed order. The Sarasota Crew/CBC duo of Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) and Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee) finished third in a 6:41.20. Reckford, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, won a silver medal with Sechser at last year’s world championships, while Jones Nabel raced the lightweight women’s single sculls at worlds. Wagner and O’Connor enter Friday’s final as the top seed.

In the men’s pair, California Rowing Club’s Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University) and Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University) followed up their victory in the event at the 2023 Winter Speed Order with a win in today’s time trial, earning the top seed in Friday’s final. Grady and Corrigan, who both raced at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, crossed the finish line with a time of 6:11.44, finishing more than five seconds ahead of CRC’s Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University) and Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University), who posted a time of 6:16.91. CRC’s Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University) and Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College) finished third with a time of 6:18.88. All six rowers were part of last year’s world championships’ squad. Grady raced the pair with Best at last year’s worlds, while Corrigan and Quinton were part of the men’s eight. Hollingworth raced in the men’s four, with Bub serving as an alternate.

In the women’s pair, California Rowing Club’s Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University), who finished fourth in the event at the speed order, won today’s time trial in a 6:55.39, finishing less than one second ahead of USRowing Training Center – Princeton’s Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University) and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame) to earn the top seed in the final. Collins and Bruggeman clocked a 6:56.13. Musnicki is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time Olympian, while Rusher is a Tokyo 2020 Olympian. Collins, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, won a bronze medal in the pair and finished fourth in the eight at the 2022 World Championships, while Bruggeman, a Tokyo 2020 alternate, raced in the women’s eight at last year’s world championships. Craftsbury’s Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University/University of Texas) and Emily Froehlich (Fishers, Ind./University of Texas) finished third in a 6:57.33.

Click here for complete results from today’s racing.

In total, 55 rowers in 38 boats are competing this week at the Lower Otay Reservoir. In addition to the six boat classes that got underway today, final-only racing in the PR1 men’s single sculls and PR2 mixed double sculls will take place later this week. Racing continues on Thursday with the semifinals in the men’s and women’s single sculls. Finals will be held Friday. Racing is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. each day.

Winners in the singles, doubles, and pairs will earn the right to race at World Rowing Cup 2 in Varese, Italy. A top-six finish in Varese (if six of the top eight nations from the 2022 World Championships are in attendance) will earn the athletes the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the event at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. If six of the top eight nationals are not in attendance, the placement criteria will be adapted. Click here to see the complete 2023 Senior National Team Selection Procedures.

In the PR1 men’s single sculls and PR2 mixed double sculls, the winning crew will earn the right to race at the Gavirate International Para Regatta. A top-six finish in Gavirate (if six of the top eight nations from the 2022 World Championships are in attendance) will earn the athletes the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the event at the 2023 World Championships. If six of the top eight nationals are not in attendance, the placement criteria will be adapted. Click here to see the complete 2023 Para National Team Selection Procedures.

The 2023 World Rowing Championships will take place September 3-10 in Belgrade, Serbia.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center. 

STORY BY BILL MANNING
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

The old adage that the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask doesn’t always apply when speaking with college coaches. Your questions tell the coach something about you. Good questions are the ones that speak to your specific concerns, communicate your sincere interest in the team, and are best addressed by a coach. The worst questions are the ones that show you don’t really care, like asking for information you can find readily on the program website. 

In many instances, you will want to go to the student-athletes themselves with your questions rather than the coaches. They are more likely to speak the unvarnished truth, while the coach will be motivated to paint the program in the best light. 

It’s also important to know your place. Most college coaches are turned off when a 17-year-old asks, “What’s your coaching philosophy?” You’re not interviewing the coach for a job and you’re certainly not ready to answer a question about your rowing philosophy, so stick to the basics and use your powers of observation to see what the coach believes.

College coaches want prospects to take the initiative and lead their own college search. Prospects should communicate with the coach. Parents do, however, have an important role in the process, particularly when the talk turns to finances.

Often, prospects are interested most in how recruiting works at a particular school. They want to know if they can get a scholarship and/or if a coach can “support” their application with admissions colleagues. These are valid concerns. But would-be college rowers need to show coaches why they deserve a scholarship and their support before asking whether or not they’ll get it.

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY UVA ATHLETICS

EARLYSVILLE, Va. – No. 1 Texas won all four races against No. 10 Virginia in Monday morning (April 24) rowing action at Rivanna Reservoir.

The Longhorns defeated the Cavaliers in the Varsity Four (7:12.7-7:22.7), Second Varsity Four (7:18.6-7:38.4), Second Varsity Eight (6:28.9-6:37.9) and Varsity Eight (6:17.1-6:24.7).

“We ran into a buzzsaw today with Texas,” Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said. “They were more than ready for us after having a tough Saturday at Princeton. Texas is strong, fit and well-coached, and they took it to us today. We will respond in every way possible going forward.”

The Cavaliers welcome North Carolina, Tennessee and Navy at the UVA Invite on Saturday, April 29 at Rivanna Reservoir.

Results
Monday, April 24
No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 1 Texas
Varsity Four: 1. Texas, 7:12.7, 2. Virginia, 7:22.7
Second Varsity Four: 1. Texas, 7:18.6, 2. Virginia, 7:38.4
Second Varsity Eight: 1. Texas, 6:28.9, 2. Virginia, 6:37.9
Varsity Eight: 1. Texas, 6:17.1, 2. Virginia, 6:24.7

Virginia Lineups
Varsity Eight: Coxswain: ViVi Van Ingen, Stroke: Lauren Jochims, 7: Elsa Hartman, 6: Lauren Benedict, 5: Leia Till, 4: Cillian Mullen, 3: Catherine Williams, 2: Kate Kelly, Bow: Eva Frohnhofer

Second Varsity Eight: Coxswain: Janet Conklin, Stroke: Sophia Coppola, 7: Sky Dahl, 6: Kelsey Gems, 5: Paige Loh, 4: Bella Carter, 3: Larkin Brown, 2: Lily Jarrett, Bow: Meagan Goldsmith

Varsity Four: Coxswain: Nora Grabcheski, Stroke: Addison Luce, 3: Nel Straub, 2: Izzie Begley; Bow: Kate McGee

Second Varsity Four: Coxswain: Zoe Tekeian, Stroke: Sarah Bradford, 3: Jenna Hajji, 2: Bianka Smeulders; Bow: Grace Lebo

STORY COURTESY PRINCETON ATHLETICS
PHOTO COURTESY PRINCETON ATHLETICS, BY ROW2K

PRINCETON – The No. 4 Princeton Women’s Open Rowing Team took down the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 3 Yale Bulldogs, capturing the Eisenberg Cup and ending Texas’ 22-race winning streak.

The Tigers 1V led the entire race but held off a furious Texas rally over the final 250 meters and earned the victory (6:24.2) by .8 seconds (6:25.0). Texas had won 22 consecutive races before today and had their boats go 76-0 during that time.

Yale (6:30.0) and Princeton (6:32.5) crossed the line ahead of Texas (6:32.6) in the 2V while the Tigers’ varsity four (7:22.3) also earned a victory by three-tenths of a second.

Yale’s 3V (6:56.3) and Texas B4 (7:27.9) also corralled wins.

“It was a privilege to host these outstanding programs,” said Princeton head coach Lori Dauphiny. “We are proud of the racing throughout for all our boats. It is a testament to the good work and to the team!”

Princeton welcomes Penn to Lake Carnegie next Saturday (Apr. 29). 

Varsity 8
Princeton        6:24.2
Texas               6:25.0
Yale                 6:28.4

2nd Varsity 8
Yale                 6:30.0
Princeton        6:32.5
Texas               6:32.6

Varsity Four
Princeton        7:22.3
Texas               7:22.6
Yale     7:26.8

3V8/4V8
Yale 3V             6:56.3
Princeton 3V   7:02.5
Princeton 4V   7:28.1

B4/ C4 Fours
Texas               7:27.9
Yale                 7:31.5
Princeton        7:42.8
Yale C              7:48.8

STORY BY KAYLEIGH DURM
PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

This year marks my 20th in rowing, which means that for the better part of the past two decades, the first two months of the year have usually been spent thinking, “How do I get ready to get back on the water?” Over the years, my to-do’s have evolved and become more intentional but they’re always rooted in what’s going to set me (or the coxswains I’m coaching) up for success in the coming months.

Set your intentions.

What’s your “why” for showing up, for coxing? What skills do you want to develop? What skills do you need to develop? What can you refine from last season? What are you hoping to accomplish this season? What resources do you need to achieve your goals? Are those resources available to you and, if not, how can you get them?

What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the technical aspects of coxing, being a team leader, and being a steward of your team? What efforts will you make to ensure the coxswain culture on your team is strong? Before you act, plan, and before you plan, think.

Establish (and commit to) your own workout routine.

You might think this has to do with the weight-restricted element of our roles. It doesn’t. Its purpose is twofold: First, it creates a dedicated pocket of space in your day for you. You can’t show up for your crew if you’re not showing up for yourself first. Second, it provides an opportunity for you to challenge yourself physically and mentally.

Some of my most effective calls in the boat have come from times when I needed to push myself through a workout I didn’t want to do, when I was struggling in the last mile, or when I wanted to celebrate how strong I felt. Thirty minutes of any kind of movement a couple days a week is enough. If you don’t know where to start, I recommend Peloton Digital. (I’m @beantownkmd on there if you want some coxswain solidarity.)

Check the equipment.

Cox-Box batteries, microphones, speakers, and connection wires. SpeedCoach batteries and stroke/bow seat sensors. Rudder strings. Fins. All of this is stuff you should check and inspect before your first day on the water. Take the initiative and ask to do it with your coach or boatman. SpeedCoaches are performance tools but Cox-Box microphones, rudders, and fins are critical to safety on the water. And your No. 1 job, regardless of what anyone tells you, is to keep yourself, your crew, and your equipment safe.

Coxing is like riding a bicycle. I promise you haven’t forgotten how to do it between your last row and now. Rather than worrying whether you still remember how to shove off the dock correctly, use your time more productively by putting yourself in the best possible position to be successful, whatever that means to you. Doing the prep work now ensures that when your crew is ready to take those first strokes of the 2023 season, you’ll be able to say confidently, assertively, and excitedly, “Ready all. Row!”