Davison, Kohler Win Open Singles at 2022 National Selection Regatta 1 and Speed Order

With world cup berths on the line, Tokyo 2020 Olympians Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington) and Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley) won the men's and women's single sculls finals, respectively, to highlight the final day of racing at the 2022 National Selection Regatta 1 and Senior/Para Speed Order at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.

While the regatta featured racing across seven boat classes, the men's and women's singles were the only two categories with world cup implications. With their victories, Davison and Kohler secured the right to race at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland, where a top-six finish, or top 50 percent finish if there are fewer than 12 entries, would earn the athletes the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the events at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.

Rowing out of California Rowing Club, Davison won the men's single sculls final by nearly five seconds over Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University). Davison, who raced in the men's eight in Tokyo, returned to the single this week, having previously raced the event at four World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Racing against a slight headwind, the 12-time national team member crossed the finish line in a 6:53.98, with Plihal finishing in a 6:58.65. Vesper Boat Club's Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania) and CRC's Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University) crossed just behind Plihal, finishing with times of 6:58.94 and 6:58.96, respectively.

"It was good," Davison said. "We had some good conditions (today), so it was really nice to see what the speed was like in neutral, flat conditions. I was happy enough with it. I really enjoyed the week, just getting to come out here and race a couple of times was a lot of fun. It's great to be back in the single, and I'm looking forward to training. We have a great group of guys (at CRC). Training has been going really well. There's been a lot of development with guys who haven't spent a lot of time sculling."

Rowing out of Texas Rowing Center, Kohler finished just over four seconds ahead of her TRC teammate, Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin). Kohler – a nine-time national team member, two-time Olympian, and 2019 World Rowing Championships bronze medalist in the event – crossed the line in a 7:32.00, with Vitas, a two-time national team member who rowed in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, finishing second in a 7:36.21. ARION's Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian in the women's double sculls, finished third in a 7:40.52, with Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University) taking fourth in a 7:42.72.

"A lot of nerves going in," said Kohler about today's race. "That's good. It means I still care about the dream. Getting to race side-by-side with my club teammate, Sophia, was really fun. We've spent the past (few) months, since the fall when we moved down to Austin, training with each other and finding more speed in the single. Sophia has come a long, long way, so it's been really fun to train next to her and see her development and then have her follow through with our goal for the regatta, which was to come in 1-2. So, I was pretty pleased with that. It was a clean race, and I did what I came to do."

While world cup selection was taking place in the two NSR events, speed order racing in the lightweight men's and women's singles provided an opportunity for the athletes to test their speed early in the season.

In the lightweight women's single sculls, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) bested Sophia Luwis (The College of William and Mary) by just under one second. Reckford clocked a 7:44.62, with Luwis finishing in a 7:45.27. Potomac Boat Club's Audrianna Boersen (Grand Valley State University) finished third in a 7:48.95.

"It was a really great race," Reckford said. "It was super fun to see that much speed out of the rest of the field. Off the line, I felt the other athletes go, and I was like, 'Okay, this is going to be tight. This is going to be a real race. This is what I came here for. This is why lightweight racing is so exciting. My speed order in 2019, I came in seventh. It was my first post-collegiate (2,000-meter race), so coming into this race, it was half about wanting to test my speed and make sure that I was on track to be a good bow seat for Michelle (Sechser) in the double, and it was also about testing myself against my previous self and sort of saying, 'How far have you come in three years' time?' And really, just having the experience of racing the single."

In the lightweight men's single sculls, Texas Rowing Center's Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia) easily won the final in a 7:07.48, finishing nearly six seconds ahead of TRC teammate Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania). Heese and Liu were boatmates last year in the lightweight men's double sculls, winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Rowing before racing at the World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (FOQR) in Lucerne. New York Athletic Club's Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University) finished third in a 7:17.99.

"Today, (conditions were) really good, so I just wanted to go out and throw down as good of a time as possible," Heese said. "I was really happy to have two of my teammates right next to me in the lanes in the race. Coming out of FOQR, it was an eye-opener as to how we've got to keep working. I'm not down on ourselves for what we did the last three years, I just know we need more. Coming back in May, settling right back in, and hammering it. Had a few mixed results in the fall – one really good, one really bad – so I wanted to make sure this one was (good)."

In addition to the semifinals, B finals in the four singles sculls events were held on Friday morning. Click here for Friday's complete results. Click here for Friday's photo gallery.

The 2022 World Rowing Championships are scheduled for September 18-25 in Racice, Czech Republic.

Click here for an interview with Zachary Heese.

Click here for an interview with Molly Reckford.

Click here for an interview with Ben Davison.

Click here for an interview with Kara Kohler.