Racing Wraps Up at 2025 Winter Speed Orders

Racing concluded on Sunday at USRowing's 2025 Winter Speed Order at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. with 78 crews competing. 2024 Olympians faced off against a new crop of talent as many U23 national team members and former collegiate rowers began the journey to compete for a spot on the 2025 Senior National Team. 

In the women's single sculls A Final, Cambridge Boat Club/Long Beach Rowing Association's Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University) crossed the line first, finishing 2.09 seconds ahead of Green Racing Project’s Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin). Fellows, a three-time national team member who raced in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, finished with a time of 8:00.11. Joyce, a five-time national team member and 2024 Olympian in the women's quadruple sculls, crossed second in a 8:02.20, with California’s Isabela Darvin (Madison, Wis./University of Wisconsin), who won gold in the pair and mixed eight at the 2023 Pan Am Games, taking third in a 8:02.37.

The A Final was rounded out with Olympian Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University), who finished fourth in the women’s pair in Paris, took fourth place in a time of 8:06.15, followed by fellow 2024 Olympian Lauren O’Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin), who raced in the women’s quadruple sculls in Paris, finishing fifth.

Green Racing Project’s Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University) won the A Final of the men's single sculls with a strong margin on second place, NYAC’s Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University), finishing in a time of 7:07.77. Plihal represented the U.S. in the men’s single sculls at the Olympics, while four-time national team member Sam Melvin finished fourth in the men’s lightweight single at the 2024 World Championships. Cedar Cunningham (Washington State University) from the USTC-Sarasota finished out the top three in a time of 7:15.27. Olympic bronze medalist Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington) followed Cunningham to finish fourth in a time of 7:17.82.  

In the women's pair, USRowing Training Center - Kate Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas) and Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y./Princeton University) took the top spot over USTC – Princeton's Daisy Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University) and Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson (Corballis, Ore./United State Naval Academy). Knifton and Mazzio-Manson finished fifth in the women's four at the 2024 Olympics. Knifton and VanderMeer won the race in a time of 7:26.43 finishing just 0.7 seconds ahead of Mazzio-Manson and Vallancey-Martinson. USTC-Princeton’s Kaitlyn Kynast (Ridgefield, Conn./Stanford University) and Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/University of Washington) took third in a 7:28.14, finishing ahead of USTC-Princeton's Jess Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington) and Holly Drapp (Tampa, Fla./ University of Washington). Teal Cohen and Jess Thoennes both competed at the 2024 Olympic, Cohen raced in the women’s quadruple sculls while Thoennes raced in the women’s pair. 

In the men's pair, California's Jacob Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth University) and Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University) edged out teammates Gus Rodriguez (Rye, N.Y./Brown University) and Josh Diggons (Ocean City, N.J./Drexel University) by 2.02 seconds to earn the victory. Hollingsworth, who won bronze as part of the men's eight at last year's Olympics, crossed the finish line with Hudgins, a three-time member of the U23 national team, in a time of 6:44:11. Rodriguez and Diggons clocked a 6:46.13. Rodriguez was an alternate for the 2024 Olympics, while Diggons won gold in the U23 men’s four with coxswain at the 2024 World Rowing Championships. Kai Hoite (Berkeley, Calif./Brown University) and Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn/Princeton University) finished out the men’s pair race just 0.42 seconds behind Diggons and Rodriguez. 

Paralympic silver medalist Ben Washburne (Madison, Conn./Williams College) finished his race in the PR3 men’s single sculls in a time of 8:08.91. In the PR1 men’s single sculls, Texas’s Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University) crossed the finish line in 10:18.12.

 For complete results, click here.

USRowing would like to thank our national team sponsors including our Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior and Para Rowing National Teams, Filippi Lido; our Official Apparel Provider, 776BC; our Official Partner, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., our Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Under 19 and Under 23 National Team, Hudson; our Official Performance Electronics Outfitter, Nielsen-Kellerman; the National Rowing Foundation; and TrainingPeaks, the Official Training and Coaching Software of USRowing's High Performance Team.