Nineteen Boats Heading to Varese for World Cup 2

The U.S. will have 19 boats heading to Varese, Italy, this weekend for the second World Rowing Cup regatta of the season.

Four of those boats will have the chance to qualify for the 2023 World Rowing Championships thanks to winning their events at the 2023 National Selection Regatta in April in Chula Vista, Calif. Men's single sculler Jacob Plihal, women's single sculler Kara Kohler, the men's double sculls duo of Sorin Koszyk and Ben Davison, and the women's pair of Meghan Musnicki and Alie Rusher can all earn spots for the world championships. A top-six finish at World Rowing Cup 2 (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 in Belgrade, Serbia. If six of the top eight nations are not in attendance, the placement criteria will be adapted. Click here to see the complete 2023 Senior National Team Selection Procedures.

Athletes in the other open weight men's sweep, women's sweep, and women's sculling boats were selected to race in Varese through the first Olympic Events Selection Camp held in Chula Vista. These 18 athletes have been provisionally named to the 2023 Senior National Team, but not to a particular boat. Boat selection will take place later this summer.

Lauren O'Connor, Sophia Vitas, Kristi Wagner, and Emily Kallfelz will race in the quadruple sculls and split into two double sculls in Varese as well.

Michael Grady, Nick Mead, Chris Carlson, and Liam Corrigan will row in the men's four, while Pieter Quinton and Justin Best will race the pair, as will Andrew Gaard and Oliver Bub.

Jessica Thoennes and Charlotte Buck, who won the 2023 Winter Speed Order in the pair, will race together in the same event in Varese. Claire Collins, Madeleine Wanamaker, Kelsey Reelick, and Molly Bruggeman will race the women's four.

The remaining eight boats will be racing to test their speed ahead of the second Olympic Events Selection Camp and the International and Non-Selected Olympic Event Trials later this summer.

Racing is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. local time on Friday, with heats, quarterfinals, and repechages. The remaining repechages, semifinals, some placement finals, and finals in non-Olympic and non-Paralympic events will be featured on Saturday, with finals in Olympic and Paralympic boat classes taking place on Sunday. The draw for lane assignments will take place on Thursday at 3 p.m. local time.

More than 650 athletes from 42 nations are scheduled to compete in Varese. The live race tracker and live audio will be available for all races on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. CET until 1:35 p.m. CET and from 3:20-4:50 p.m. CET. On Sunday, live video streaming will be available from 10 a.m. - 2:50 p.m. CET. The video streaming will start 5 minutes before the first race.

Full event coverage will be available on USRowing.org and WorldRowing.com. A preliminary schedule can be found here.

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.

2023 World Rowing Cup 2 Roster

Women's Single Sculls

Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center)

Men's Single Sculls

Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project)

Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University/California Rowing Club)

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls

Sophia Luwis (McLean, Va./The College of William & Mary/Whitemarsh Boat Club)

PR1 Men's Single Sculls

Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University/West Side Rowing Club/Bair Island Aquatic Center)

Women's Double Sculls

Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center)

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION)

Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION)

Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club)

Men's Double Sculls

Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University/California Rowing Club)

Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club)

Lightweight Women's Double Sculls

Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/ USRowing Training Center – Princeton)

Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/USRowing Training Center – Princeton)

Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club)

Audrey Boersen (West Olive, Mich./Grand Valley State University/Whitemarsh Boat Club)

Lightweight Men's Double Sculls

Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center)

Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania/Texas Rowing Center)

James McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center)

Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University/New York Athletic Club)

Women's Pair

Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College/California Rowing Club)

Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University/California Rowing Club)

Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center- Princeton)

Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton)

Men's Pair

Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club)

Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club)

Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington/California Rowing Club)

Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College/California Rowing Club)

Women's Quadruple Sculls

Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin/ARION)

Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center)

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION)

Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club)

Women's Four

Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton)

Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center- Princeton)

Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center- Princeton)

Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame/USRowing Training Center-Princeton/University of Minnesota)

Men's Four

Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club)

Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club)

Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club)

Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club)