WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Racing got underway Tuesday at the 2009 USRowing World Championship Trials at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. with heats in three events. The trials, which run through Saturday, will select 16 boats that will represent the United States at the 2009 World Rowing Championships August 23-30 in Poznan, Poland.

In the women’s single sculls, USRowing Training Center’s Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) clocked the fastest time to win the second of two heats and advance directly to the finals. The 2008 Olympic alternate held off USTC teammate Jessica Reel (Ojai, Calif.) to win the race by 1.76 seconds in a 7:55.92. Reel, a gold medalist in last year’s Under 23 women’s eight, crossed second in a 7:57.68, with Potomac Boat Club’s Mae Joyce Gay third in a 7:59.67. Reel and Gay will race in tomorrow’s repechage, or second-chance race, for a spot in the finals.

Potomac Boat Club’s Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) easily won the first heat of the women’s single in an 8:03.70 to advance. Shumway, who stroked the women’s quadruple sculls in Beijing, had nearly a seven-second lead at the 1,000-meter mark and widened the gap over the second half of the course to win by 18 seconds. Undine Barge Club’s Catherine Reddick (Birmingham, Ala.) crossed second in an 8:21.72, with Lake Washington Rowing Club’s Emily Simonds (Concord, Mass.) in an 8:31.99. Reddick and Simonds will race in tomorrow’s repechage.

In the men’s double sculls, Craftsbury Sculling Center’s Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted the fastest time of the day to win the second heat and secure a spot in the finals. The Graves’ held a 2.49-second lead over USTC’s Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.) and Wes Piermarini (West Brookfield, Mass.) at the halfway point and were able to gain more in the sprint to cross first in a 6:30.34. Gault, a member of the men’s quadruple sculls in Beijing, and Piermarini, who raced the event at the 2008 Olympic Games, finished second in a 6:35.08.

In the first heat of the men’s double, the USTC/Penn A.C. Rowing Association/GMS Rowing Center duo of Stephen Whelpley (Moquon, Wis.) and Michael Sivigny (Hudson, N.H.) won in a 6:42.12 to advance. USTC’s Pat Sullivan (St. Paul, Minn.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) head to the repechage after crossing second in a 6:46.56, with the Vesper Boat Club/New York Athletic Club duo of James Dietz (Amherst Mass.) and Ben Churchill (Portland, Ore.) in third, recording a time of 7:02.77.

In the lightweight women’s single sculls, Undine Barge Club's Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.) dominated in the first of two heats to advance to the finals. Sarbanis, who won the event at the USRowing National Championships in June, clocked an 8:03.94. Pocock Rowing Center’s Carmel Zahran (Oakbrook, Ill.) crossed second in an 8:33.05. Union Boat Club’s Catherine Infantino (Boston, Mass.) held her lead to win the second heat in an 8:26.99 and grab a spot in the finals. Cecily Shiel (Brookline, Mass.) of Lake Union Crew finished second in an 8:30.622, with Dani Dewitt (Parkersburg, W. Va.) in an 8:50.75 and Lake Washington Rowing Club’s Nicole Sherey (Ft. Worth, Texas) in an 8:59.19.

Competition continues Wednesday at 8 a.m. with repechages. Finals, which are held in a best two-out-of-three format, begin on Thursday with racing in all events including the men’s adaptive single sculls, men’s single sculls, women’s single sculls, lightweight men’s single sculls, lightweight women’s single sculls, men’s pair, women’s pair, lightweight men’s pair, men’s pair with coxswain, men’s double sculls, lightweight men’s double sculls, lightweight women’s double sculls, lightweight men’s quadruple sculls, lightweight women’s quadruple sculls, women’s four and lightweight men’s eight.

For a complete schedule and race results, please visit www.powerhousetiming.com.

USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s Official Suppliers are Hudson Boat Works and Boathouse Sports; its Official Patron is Concept2; its Official Electronics Outfitter is Nielsen Kellerman; its Official Timer is Powerhouse Timing; and its Preferred Printer is Sport Graphics Printing. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation.

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