2022 USRowing Summer National Championships Underway at Mercer Lake

Racing got underway on Wednesday with time trials in 16 events at the 2022 USRowing Summer National Championships on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.

This week's regatta features racing in 50 boat classes in the under 23 and open categories, with 354 boats and nearly 500 rowers scheduled to race. In addition to national titles, spots on the 2022 Senior National Team will be up for grabs in 10 events, with the winners of those trials' events earning spots on the 2022 World Championships squad that will race this September in Racice, Czech Republic.

In the first race of the day, Cambridge Boat Club's Mary Jones Nabel, who won gold in the lightweight women's single sculls at the first two World Rowing Cup regattas earlier this year, easily won the time trial of the lightweight women's single sculls. Jones Nabel crossed the line in a 7:11.60 to finish nearly 14 seconds ahead of Lincoln Park Boat Club's Liza Ray, earning the top seed in the final. Jones Nabel will get her chance to qualify for this year's national team on Friday.

The lightweight men's single sculls was the other trials' event to have time trials today. Texas Rowing Center's James McCullough, a member of the 2019 Pan American Games team who raced the lightweight single at the 2022 World Rowing Cup II regatta in Poznan, Poland, last month, clocked the fastest time of the day, finishing with a time of 6:48.49. Riverside Boat Club's Alex Twist, a three-time national team member, finished second in a 6:52.39, with Hugh McAdam, a two-time national teamer, taking third in a 6:52.51. McCullough will be the top seed in tomorrow's semifinals.

The tightest race of the day at the head of the field was in the U23 men's double sculls where Conshohocken Rowing Center's Robert Sherman and Charles Jones bested Greenwich Crew's Jack Stone and Christopher Stitch by a half-second to earn the top seed in the semifinals. Sherman and Jones crossed the finish line in a 6:24.04, with Sone and Stich finishing in a 6:24.56. Stone was coming off a victory less than two hours before in the time trial of the U23 men's single sculls.

In the U23 lightweight women's single sculls, University of Virginia Women's Rowing Isabella Begley, who will be representing the U.S. in the event at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, posted the fastest time in the time trials, crossing the line in a 7:41.06. Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Julia Baston finished less than a second behind in a 7:41.87. Begley and Baston will be the top seeds in tomorrow's semifinals.

The men's single sculls time trial also saw a tight race, with Gregory Davis posting the fastest time in a 7:46.02. Miami International RowHouse's Alvaro Torres Masias finished second in a 6:46.96, while Penn AC's Mark Couwenhoven and Penn AC's Thomas Phifer finished less than two seconds back. Davis and Torres Masias will be the top two seeds in tomorrow's semifinals.

The Whitemarsh Boat Club composite crew of Sophia Luwis and Audrianna Boersen also won their time trial in the women's double sculls by less than one second over ARION's Lauren O'Connor and Savannah Brija. Lewis and Boersen finished in a time of 6:37.02, with O'Connor and Brija clocking a 6:37.82. Earlier in the morning, Brija and O'Connor finished one-two in the time trial of the women's single sculls.

Click here for today's complete results.

Racing continues Thursday with semifinals in events with more than 12 entries and finals in 33 events. Finals in the remaining events, including all trials' events, will take place on Friday. Click here for a complete list of entries and here for tomorrow's heat sheet. Semifinals and finals will be streamed live on USRowing's YouTube channel.

With the size of the USRowing Summer National Championship Regatta continuing to grow, USRowing made the decision to split the summer championships into two regattas in 2022. The second summer national championship, the USRowing Youth Summer National Championships, will be held July 15-17 on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and will feature racing in 35 events in the youth, U17, and U16 categories.

While the two regattas will take place separately, clubs will still be able to race for the combined all-points trophies across both regattas. The Colgan Cup Overall Team Points Trophy, Sulgar-Barnes Men's Points Trophy, and Marion D. Ventura Women's Points Trophy will be up for grabs, with opportunities to score points at both events. Separate points trophies also will be given at the individual regattas.