Racing at USRowing’s National Selection Regatta 2 Gets Underway Tuesday

World cup berths in six boat classes – the men's and women's double sculls, lightweight double sculls, and pairs – will be on the line when racing gets underway at the 2022 National Selection Regatta 2 on Tuesday at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.

The winners of each event will earn the right to race at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland. A top six finish in Poznan, or top 50 percent finish if there are fewer than 12 entries, will earn the athletes the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the event at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. More than 80 rowers in 44 crews have entered the regatta, which runs May 3-6 at Caspersen Rowing Center.

The women's double sculls event leads the way in terms of entries with 16 boats scheduled to race. Texas Rowing Center's Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley), a two-time Olympian and 2019 World Rowing Championships bronze medalist in the single sculls, will race with two-time national team member Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin). Kohler and Vitas finished one-two in the women's single at the first National Selection Regatta held in Sarasota in March, with Kohler taking home the victory. Cambridge Boat Club's Cicely Madden (Weston, Mass./Brown University) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University), who raced together in the quadruple sculls in Tokyo, will team up again at NSR 2.

Ten crews have entered the men's double sculls including Texas Rowing Center's Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./ University of Alabama, Huntsville) and Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University), who won the event at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Rowing before racing at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (FOQR) in Lucerne, Switzerland. At the first NSR in Sarasota, Kirkegaard made the A final in the men's single, while Cardno won the B final. California Rowing Club's Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington), who finished fourth as part of the men's eight in Tokyo, won the single sculls at NSR 1. Davison will race with Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington), a three-time Under 23 National Team member, in New Jersey. Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University) and Vesper Boat Club's Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania), who finished second and third, respectively, in the single at NSR 1, will be teaming up in the double. Texas Rowing Center's Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania), who are the lone entry in the lightweight men's double sculls at NSR 2, also are entered in the double sculls. Heese and Liu won the lightweight double sculls event at last year's U.S. Olympic Team Trials and then raced at the FOQR in Lucerne.

Three Olympians are entered in the men's pair field, which features eight crews. California Rowing Club has three entries in the event including the combination of Olympians Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University) and Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University). Best was part of the men's eight in Tokyo, while Grady raced in the men's four in Japan. San Diego Rowing Club's Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich./University of Michigan), a London 2012 Olympian in the event, will be racing with Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Webster Thompson (New York, N.Y./University of Virginia).

The women's pair field features eight crews including five from the USRowing Training Center – Princeton. Olympians Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University) and Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin), who were members of the women's four in Tokyo, are scheduled to race together again at NSR 2. Tokyo women's eight boatmates Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University) and Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington) are scheduled to row together, while their Tokyo teammate Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) will be racing with Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University). Salmons and Hagstrom won gold in the event at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.

Rowing out of Sarasota Crew, Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa) and Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) are back for another season in the lightweight women's double sculls. The duo finished fifth in the Olympic Games, missing the medal podium by a deck and becoming the first U.S. crew to make the Olympic final in the event since 2000. Sechser and Reckford are racing uncontested at NSR 2.

In the lightweight men's double sculls, Heese and Liu also will race uncontested in addition to rowing in the men's double sculls event.

Racing kicks off on Tuesday, May 3, and runs through Friday, May 6. Tuesday is scheduled to feature time trial racing in the four contested events and finals in the two uncontested events. Wednesday's racing will feature repechages in the women's double sculls. Thursday will feature semifinal racing, with the remaining finals being held on Friday. The schedule is subject to change. Click here for a complete heat sheet.

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