USRowing’s 2023 National Selection Regatta Gets Underway Tuesday

World cup berths in six boat classes – the men's and women's single sculls, double sculls, and pairs, as well as spots at the Gavirate International Para Regatta in the PR1 men's single sculls and PR2 mixed double sculls – will be on the line when racing gets underway Tuesday at the 2023 National Selection Regatta in Chula Vista, Calif.

In total, 59 rowers in 40 boats are scheduled to race April 25-28 at the Lower Otay Reservoir.

Ten scullers are entered in the men's single sculls including Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University) and California Rowing Club's Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University), who finished third and fourth, respectively, in the single at the 2023 Winter Speed Order last month in Sarasota, Fla. Plihal, who raced in the quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, recently won the single at the 2023 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta in Chile, securing a spot on the 2023 Pan American Games squad. LeRoux was an alternate at last year's world championships. Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho/Coeur d'Alene Rowing Association) won the silver medal in the single at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and is stepping up to the senior level this week. Texas Rowing Center's Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University) raced the quadruple sculls at last year's world championships, while San Diego Rowing Club's Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich./University of Michigan) is a 2012 Olympian and 10-time national team member.

The women's single sculls event has nine rowers entered including TRC's Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley), a nine-time national team member and two-time Olympian, who won the bronze medal in the event at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. Kohler finished 13th in the single at last year's worlds. Craftsbury's Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University) and ARION's Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College) raced the women's quadruple sculls at last year's world championships, while Cambridge Boat Club's Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, won a silver medal in the lightweight women's double sculls in Racice. Whitemarsh Boat Club's Audrey Boersen (West Olive, Mich./Grand Valley State University) made last year's world championships' squad in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls but was unable to compete due to injury.

Five crews are entered in the men's double sculls including California Rowing Club's Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University). Koszyk and Davison finished first and second in the single sculls, respectively, at the 2023 Winter Speed Order and will be racing the double together for the first time. Davison finished eighth in the single at the 2022 World Championships, while Koszyk finished seventh in the double sculls in Racice. Texas Rowing Center's Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville) and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania) will race together in Chula Vista. They were boatmates in the quadruple sculls at last year's world championships. TRC's Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania), who finished first and second in the lightweight single sculls at the 2023 Winter Speed Order, raced the lightweight double sculls at last year's world championships. The TRC/Riverside Boat Club combination of Jimmy McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware) and Ian Richardson (Amesbury, Mass./University of Connecticut) both raced at the world championships last year, McCullough in the lightweight single sculls and Richardson in the lightweight quadruple sculls.

Like the men's double, the women's double sculls features five entries including the TRC/Cambridge Boat Club combination of Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin) and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University). Vitas, who won the single sculls at the 2023 Winter Speed Order, finished fifth in the event at the 2022 World Championships with ARION's Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University). Kallfelz raced in the women's quadruple sculls at last year's world championships. Wagner, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, will race with ARION's Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin), who finished second in the single at last month's speed order. Sarasota Crew's Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian who won silver with Sechser in the lightweight double at last year's world championships, will race with Cambridge's Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee), who raced the lightweight single last year. Cambridge's Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University), who raced the quadruple sculls at last year's world championships, and Cicely Madden (Weston, Mass./Brown University), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, are scheduled to race, as is the New York Athletic Club/ZLAC combination of Tracy Eisser (Fair Lawn, N.J./Cornell University) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis./University of Washington). Eisser is a two-time Olympian and seven-time national team member, while Kalmoe is an Olympic bronze medalist, four-time Olympian, and 13-time national team member.

Five crews are entered in the men's pair event. California Rowing Club's Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University) and Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University), both of whom competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, won the 2023 Winter Speed Order and are rowing together in Chula Vista. Grady raced the pair at last year's world championships, while Corrigan was part of the men's eight. CRC's Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington) will race with USRowing Training Center – Princeton's Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University). Carlson was part of the men's eight at last year's world championships, while the Tokyo 2020 Olympian Mead raced in the four. Tokyo Olympian Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University), who raced the pair with Grady at the 2022 World Championships, will row with Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College), an alternate on last year's national team. CRC's Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University), a member of the men's four last year, will race with Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University), who rowed in the men's eight.

The women's pair event will feature four crews. Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University), who won a bronze medal in the pair and finished fourth in the eight at the 2022 World Championships, will be racing with USRowing Training Center – Princeton teammate Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame), a Tokyo 2020 alternate. Bruggeman, who raced in the women's eight last year, finished second in the pair at the 2023 Winter Speed Order, while Collins, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, finished third. California Rowing Club's Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University) finished fourth at the speed order and will be racing together in Chula Vista. Musnicki is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time Olympian, while Rusher is a Tokyo 2020 Olympian. USRowing Training Center's Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University) and Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) will race together. Both were members of the eight at last year's world championships, while Salmons was a member of the women's eight in Tokyo.

Only one boat is entered in the PR2 mixed double sculls. Lake Casitas Rowing Club's Russell Gernaat (Redwood City, Calif.) and West Side Rowing Club's Madison Eberhard (Buffalo, N.Y.) will race together at the NSR for the first time. Gernaat is a four-time national team member and a Tokyo 2020 Paralympian in the event. Eberhard is a one-time national team member, having raced in the PR2 single sculls in 2019.

Likewise, the PR1 men's single sculls only has one entry – West Side Rowing Club's Andrew Mangan (Buffalo, N.Y./Stanford University). Mangan made his first national team last year, finishing 10th in the event at the 2022 World Championships.

Racing will get underway Tuesday with time trials in the events with more than one entry. Thursday will feature semifinals in the men's and women's single sculls, with finals being held Friday. Racing is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. each day.

Winners in the singles, doubles, and pairs will earn the right to race at World Rowing Cup 2 in Varese, Italy. A top-six finish in Varese (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 at the 2023 World Championships 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.

In the PR1 men's single sculls and PR2 mixed double sculls, the winning crew will earn the right to race at the Gavirate International Para Regatta. A top-six finish in Gavirate (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 at the 2023 World Championships. If six of the top eight nations are not in attendance, the placement criteria will be adapted. Click here to see the complete 2023 Para National Team Selection Procedures.

The 2023 World Rowing Championships will take place September 3-10 in Belgrade, Serbia.

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.