Women’s eight coxswain Katelin Snyder is part of an impressive team — a team that earlier this month won its 10th consecutive world or Olympic gold medal. But what the 28-year-old Rio 2016 Olympic hopeful thinks is even more impressive is the team of female rowers who came before her. Read More …

West Windsor, NJ – The Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club won nine gold medals in Saint Catherine’s, Ontario at the 133rd Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, the premier summer event for amateur rowers in North America. Read more …

For Immediate Release

West Windsor, NJ

September 5, 2015

The Princeton National Rowing Association (“PNRA”) is pleased to announce the addition of Steve Baranoski and Maddie Alden to the Mercer Rowing Program Coaching Staff.  Mr. Baranoski joins the program as the Varsity Girls Head Coach and Masters Coach.  Ms. Alden joins the staff as the assistant rowing coach.  Additionally, Justin Ochal will take over the role of Rowing Programs Manager filling the position vacated by Ted Sobolewski’s departure to Northeastern University.  Mr. Ochal will continue to be the Varsity Boy’s Coach.

Steve Baranoski joins the Mercer Rowing Program coaching staff after coaching at Old Lyme High School and the Blood Street Sculls Rowing Program where he was the Head Coach and Director of Rowing.  While at Old Lyme/Blood Street, Coach Baranoski’s junior boys 4+ finished in second place at both the 2014 Head of the Charles Regatta and the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, FL.

Coach Baranoski coached both the Men’s and the Women’s teams at Wesleyan University where he was also in charge of recruiting.  At Wesleyan, he worked both in the athletic department and as a graduate teaching assistant.  Steve has also coached at the Northeast Rowing Center, Craftsbury and the Hartford’s RiverFront Program.

Coach Baranoski began his rowing career in high school and continued it at Marietta College.  He continues to compete as a Master’s rower.

Maddie Alden began her rowing career as a coxswain with the Mercer Junior Rowing Program where she coxed the women’s varsity eight with coxswain.  She is a graduate of Princeton High School.  After her career as a junior rower with the Mercer Junior Rowing Program, Ms. Alden continued her rowing career at the University of California Los Angeles where she coxed the UCLA crew for 4 years.

PNRA is pleased to welcome our new coaches to the PNRA Mercer Rowing family.

About the Princeton National Rowing Association

The Princeton National Rowing Association, a 501(c)3 organization, operates the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center located on the shores of Mercer Lake, Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey.  The Princeton National Rowing Association is dedicated to operating a world-class training site for our nation’s elite athletes, providing opportunities for area youth to excel in the sport of rowing and to expand rowing in the area through community-based programs.  PNRA runs the Mercer Junior Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for youth from over 30 area schools and the Mercer Masters Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for adults.  The center is a home to the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as rowing clubs and schools. PNRA received generous support from University Orthopaedic Associates, Harry’s Army Navy, JL Racing, Resolute Racing Shells, Wells Fargo Advisors-Gould Group, Red Roof Inn, Hampton Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.

For more information, contact Kristopher Grudt, tel: 609-977-1094, krisgrudt@rowpnra.org or visit www.rowpnra.org.

MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY — Looking back on my trip, I keep returning to the lake with the two boathouses. Mercer Lake is tucked inside a large county park several miles east of Trenton and

the Delaware River and wraps around the west side of New Jersey. It’s shaped like an amoeba, with a seven-lane rowing course that fits perfectly in its center. Read more …

The Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club won nine gold medals in Saint Catherines, Ontario at the 133rd Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, the premier summer event for amateur rowers in North America. Read more …

As the Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club (PNRA/Mercer) girls rowers headed into the 133rd Royal Canadian Henley Regatta earlier this month, they brought some extra emotion across the border. Read more …

It is with profound sadness that the Princeton National Rowing Association notes the passing of  the President PNRA’s Board of Directors, Dr. Tim Hosea.  Dr. Hosea suffered a heart attack while at his vacation home this morning.

The number of rowers that have benefited from Dr. Hosea’s dedication and the contributions he has made to both rowing and PNRA are inumerable.

Dr. Hosea is survived by his wife, Libet, and three daughters, Hadley Whitney, and Kirby.

Services will be private.  Tim hoped his friends would spend time doing something that they love: golfing, shooting, fishing, rowing and spending time with family.

The family has asked that gifts in Tim’s honor be made to:

Timothy M. Hosea Memorial Fund

PNRA Princeton National Rowing Association
1 S Post Road
Princeton, NJ  08550

or on our website here.

Please join me and PNRA in keeping Tim’s family in your thoughts and prayers.

Tim you will be missed . . .

Kris

USRowing In Memoriam

Row2k

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 12, 2015

West Windsor, NJ – The Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club won nine gold medals in Saint Catharines, Ontario at the 133rd Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, the premier summer event for amateur rowers in North America. The club’s performance topped last year’s five gold medals in junior events and was an appropriate send-off for Ted Sobolewski, PNRA/Mercer program manager and girl’s coach. Sobelewski will leave the club to assume the role of Associate Head Coach for Men’s Rowing at Northeastern University.

“We wanted to perform well because this was our last regatta with Coach Ted,” said co-captain Kate Hickey (Yardley, PA).  The girls won Henley gold in seven of the nine events they entered.

“Coach Ted will be greatly missed by the entire program, but thanks to the environment of hard work he fostered, and the high expectations he instilled in us, PNRA/Mercer will continue to be a strong contender on the national level,” said co-captain Caitlin Cleary (Princeton, NJ).

“Coach Ted first brought us to Canadian Henley in 2013, and we didn’t win any events that year.  He believed in us, and we improved a lot because of his coaching and training plans.  Now we love this regatta because we get so many opportunities to race great competitors,” added Hickey.  With heats, semi-finals and finals, some of the girls had fourteen races over the five days of the regatta.

The PNRA/Mercer boys won their first two Henley gold medals ever, enjoying success in the under age 17 (U17) eight plus coxswain event and U17 four plus coxswain event.  Boys’ coach Justin Ochal commented, “I’m really proud of the U17 guys.  They got a taste of winning and what hard competition is all about.  The whole program performed exceptionally well, and we saw good racing all week.”

The gold medal winning PNRA/Mercer crews were:

U17 Men’s 8 with coxswain – Daniel Stoddard (West Windsor, NJ), Andrew Hickey (Yardley, PA), Erik Wicks (Holmdel, NJ), Philip Collins  (Lawrenceville, NJ), Jack Gallagher (Newtown, PA), Andrew Moss (Princeton, NJ), Brian Karp (Princeton, NJ), Tyler Harris (Princeton Junction, NJ) and coxswain Katelyn Takacs (Lawrenceville, NJ).

U17 Men’s 4 with coxswain – Stoddard, A. Hickey, Gallagher, Collins, and coxswain Takacs

U23 Lightweight Women’s 8 with coxswain – Rena White (Princeton, NJ), K. Hickey, Kathryn Miller (Hamilton Township), Sheila Kennedy-Moore (Cranbury, NJ), Jenna Kugel (Skillman, NJ), Elise Gorberg (West Windsor, NJ), Anna Heckler (Colts Neck, NY), Eileen Hu (West Windsor, NJ), and Madeline Alden (Princeton, NJ)

U23 Women’s Lightweight Pair – K. Hickey, R. White

U19 Women’s 8 with coxswain – White, K. Hickey, , Katherine Lustig (Newtown, PA), Celia Varga (Princeton, NJ) Hayley Bork (Robbinsville, NJ), Kelly Fischer (Hopewell, NJ), Sabrina Marki (Bedminster, NJ), Rachel Mumau (Millstone Township), and coxswain Sydney Holgado (Robbinsville, NJ)

U19 Women’s 4 with coxswain – White, K. Hickey, Mumau, Bork, and coxswain Colleen Gillis (Freehold Township)

U19 Women’s Pair – K. Hickey, R. White

U17 Women’s 8 with coxswain – Sara Hansen (West Windsor, NJ), Varga,  Lustig, Lauren Miller (Hamilton, NJ), Bridget Parker (Princeton, NJ), Mia Barkenbush (West Windsor, NJ), Gwyneth Lavery (Lawrenceville, NJ), Isabel Roemer (Princeton, NJ), and coxswain Caroline Galati (Princeton Junction, NJ)

U17 Women’s 4 with coxswain – Hansen, Varga, Lustig, K. Miller, and coxswain C. Galati

About the Princeton National Rowing Association

The Princeton National Rowing Association, a 501(c)3 organization, operates the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center located on the shores of Mercer Lake, Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey.  The Princeton National Rowing Association is dedicated to operating a world-class training site for our nation’s elite athletes, providing opportunities for area youth to excel in the sport of rowing and to expand rowing in the area through community-based programs.  PNRA runs the Mercer Junior Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for youth from over 30 area schools and the Mercer Masters Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for adults.  The center is a home to the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as rowing clubs and schools. PNRA received generous support from University Orthopaedic Associates, Resolute Racing Shells, Swift Racing, Hampton Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.

For more information, contact Kristopher Grudt, tel: 609-977-1094, krisgrudt@rowpnra.org or visit www.rowpnra.org.

BRADENTON, Fla. – Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club (PNRA/Mercer) rowers won a silver medal in the Women’s Youth Eight plus coxswain event and a bronze medal in the Women’s Youth Lightweight Eight plus coxswain event at the USRowing Youth National Championships June 13-15 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. Read more…

Caitlin Cleary’s approach to rowing changed when she joined the Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club (PNRA/Mercer) women’s top open 8 last spring.

“I stroked for the 4 in the fall and then moved to the 8 in the spring,” recalled Cleary, now a rising senior at Princeton High. Read more …

Mercer Junior Alumni Jack Gliem, Marretta College, and Richard Censits, University of Pennsylvania,  have been named to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s 2015 All-Academic list.  For a student-athlete to be eligible, he or she must be at least a sophomore in standing and completed one full year at his or her respective institution; maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.35 or higher; earn an institutional letter; and compete at the 2015 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.

The Princeton National Rowing Association and its Mercer Rowing Program congatulates our alumni on their acheivements.

Read more…

Coming up big on the national stage, the Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club (PNRA/Mercer) rowers won a silver medal in the Women’s Youth Eight plus coxswain event and a bronze medal in the Women’s Youth Lightweight Eight plus coxswain event earlier this month at the USRowing Youth National Championships at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. Read more …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Windsor, NJ – Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club (PNRA/Mercer) rowers won a silver medal in the Women’s Youth Eight plus coxswain event and a bronze medal in the Women’s Youth Lightweight Eight plus coxswain event at the USRowing Youth National Championships on June 13-15 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida.  The National Championships featured more than 1700 athletes from 163 clubs and high school rowing programs from 30 states competing in 18 sweep rowing and sculling categories.  All five PNRA/Mercer boats competed in the finals on Sunday in their respective categories.

“When Coach Ted (Sobolewski) came to coach Mercer in fall of 2012, he told us our goal is to win a medal in the premier Women’s Youth Eight event, even though we never even had a girl’s open eight crew reach the Grand Final at Nationals,” said team co-captain senior Rena White (Princeton High School) who will be rowing at Stanford University in the fall.  “It seemed like a really lofty goal at the time, but we achieved it within three years.”  In addition to White, the crew included co-captain senior Hayley Bork (Robbinsville High School) who will row at UCLA in the fall, senior Alex Natale (The Hun School) who will row at the University of Virginia in the fall, seniors Kelly Fischer who will row at the University of Notre Dame next year and Badia Shehab who will row at the University of Tennessee in the fall (both from Hopewell Valley Central High School), juniors Kate Hickey (Notre Dame High School) and Caitlin Cleary (Princeton High School), sophomore Katie Lustig (Council Rock North High School) and coxswain senior Kate Edmondson (Westfield High School) who will cox at the University of Miami in the fall.

A thunderstorm on Friday night cancelled races and resulted in a more grueling regatta schedule for the Women’s Youth Eight category:  both the Semifinal and Final races were held on Sunday.  The Grand Final race thrilled the crowd with some spectators shaking their heads in disbelief at the rowers’ endurance and tenacity.  PNRA/Mercer was in fourth and fifth place early in the race but moved into third place behind Saugatuck Rowing Club (Connecticut) and Holy Names Academy (Washington) half-way through the 2000-meter race.  Just before the 1500-meter mark, PNRA/Mercer pulled ahead of Holy Names and continued to gain on Saugatuck through the last 500-meters.  The commentator noted a 42-stroke rate by Saugatuck and momentum from PNRA/Mercer that seemed to lift the bow of the boat out of the water on every stroke.  As the race ended, PNRA/Mercer clinched the silver medal spot, missing the National Championship by less than 1.4 seconds.

The PNRA/Mercer crew has surprised the rowing community with its success despite the small stature of the girls relative to many of the other crews reaching the Grand Final.  The girls credit Coach Sobolewski for teaching them precision in rowing technique and emphasizing strength training and conditioning, all of which were critical to their success in the heat and humidity of Florida in June.

“Coach Ted has instilled a winning attitude in all of us, which is something that I will carry with me in all aspects of my life” says senior Katarina Stough (Princeton High School), the coxswain for the bronze-medal winning Women’s Youth Lightweight  Eight who will cox for Georgetown University next year.  Along with White, Stough is the only five-year veteran on the girls’ team; both started with PNRA/Mercer when they were in eighth grade.

Stough provided leadership for the lightweight crew which included several underclassmen competing at the national level for the first time.  The lightweight crew showed tremendous poise, winning their heat on Friday and going straight to the Semifinal round on Saturday.  In the Grand Final on Sunday, the crew clinched the bronze medal and trailed the silver medal winner by only 0.4 seconds.  Rowers in PNRA/Mercer’s lightweight eight were: senior Hannah Ash (Princeton High School) who will swim for Occidental College in the fall, freshman Sara Hansen and junior Eileen Hu (both from West Windsor- Plainsboro South), juniors Elise Gorberg (West Windsor-Plainsboro North), Jenna Kugel (Montgomery High School), as well as sisters junior Kathryn Miller and sophomore Lauren Miller (Steinert High School) and sophomore Celia Varga (Princeton Day School).

Rounding out the girls’ accomplishments at Youth Nationals, PNRA/Mercer finished 13^th in the nation in Women’s Youth Four with coxswain category.  The boat included senior Lauren Colanduoni (Hopewell Valley Central) who will row for the University of Alabama, senior Megan Botsch (Robbinsville High School) who will row for the University of Delaware, junior Rachel Mumau (Millstone Township), freshman Bridget Parker (Princeton High School) and junior coxswain Sydney Holgado (Robbinsville High School).  Sophomore Laila Shehab (Hopewell Valley Central High School) was PNRA/Mercer’s alternate rower for Youth Nationals.

The PNRA/Mercer boys are seeing their own progress under first-year coach Justin Ochal, who was a collegiate teammate of Sobolewski at Northeastern University and shares his coaching philosophy.  PNRA/Mercer finished 11^th in the nation in the Men’s Youth Eight with coxswain category and finished 12^th in the nation in the Men’s Youth Lightweight Four with coxswain.

The PNRA/Mercer Men’s Youth Eight boat included senior co-captain Elias Abilheira who will row for Cornell University, senior Alex Levine who will row for Princeton University (both from Princeton High School), senior Dan Gleim (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) who will row for Jacksonville University, senior Scott Hanks (The Hun School) who will row for Hobart University, senior Aaron Goodman (Princeton High School) who will row for Northeastern University, junior Kevin Borup (South Brunswick High School), junior John Tanguay (Hopewell Valley Central), sophomores Carter Levine (Princeton High School), coxswain co-captain senior Matt Perez (Robbinsville High School) who will cox for Northeastern University as well as junior Jason Fleurial (Princeton High School) as the alternate rower.  The Men’s Youth Lightweight 4 included senior Mark Hayton (Hopewell Valley Central) who will attend Rutgers University, senior Ron Haines (Hamilton High West) who will row for the University of Delaware, senior Griffin Petri (West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South) who will attend Arizona State University, sophomore Andrew Hickey (Notre Dame High School) and coxswain junior Nikhil Modi (West Windsor Plainsboro South).

About the Princeton National Rowing Association

The Princeton National Rowing Association, a 501(c)3 organization, operates the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center located on the shores of Mercer Lake, Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey.  The Princeton National Rowing Association is dedicated to operating a world-class training site for our nation’s elite athletes, providing opportunities for area youth to excel in the sport of rowing and to expand rowing in the area through community-based programs.  PNRA runs the Mercer Junior Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for youth from over 30 area schools and the Mercer Masters Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for adults.  The center is a home to the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as rowing clubs and schools. PNRA received generous support from University Orthopaedic Associates, Resolute Racing Shells, Swift Racing, Hampton Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.

 

For more information, contact Kristopher Grudt, tel: 609-977-1094, krisgrudt@rowpnra.org or visit www.rowpnra.org.

For Immediate Release

West Windsor, NJ – Junior rowers from 12 local high schools will be representing Mercer Rowing as they compete for the title of the top Junior crew in the country at USRowing’s Youth National Rowing Championship this weekend in Sarasota, Florida. The Youth National Championship brings in the top crews from throughout the United States to vie for titles in 18 different events. 163 teams earned the right to enter boats in the National Championship through their performance at regional championships. Racing starts with the first round of competition on Friday, June 12 with the finals concluding on Sunday, June 14.

The Mercer Rowing Program will be competing in the Men’s 8 with coxswain, Men’s Lightweight 4 with coxswain, Women’s 8 with Coxswain, Women’s Lightweight 8 with coxswain and Women’s 4 with coxswain. The Lawrenceville School is sending a Women’s Lightweight 4 with coxswain and Peddie will be competing in the Women’s 4 with coxswain. All of these crews earned the right to complete at the Mid-Atlantic Junior Regional Championships held on Mercer Lake, May 9-10, 2015.

In 2016, Princeton National Rowing Association and its Mercer Rowing Program will host the USRowing Youth National Championships at Mercer Lake in Mercer County Park, West Windsor, NJ.

The line-up for the crews competing in the 2015 USRowing Youth National Championships are:

Mercer Rowing Program

Men’s Youth 8 with Coxswain

Matt Perez, Robbinsville High School

Scott Hanks, Hun School

Aaron Goodman, Princeton High School

Dan Gleim, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

Kevin Borup, South Brunswick High School

Alex Levine, Princeton High School

Carter Levine, Princeton High School

John Tanguay, Hopewell Valley Central High School

Elias Abilheira, Princeton High School

Men’s Lightweight 4 with Coxswain

Nikhil Modi, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

Mark Hayton, Hopewell Valley Central High School

Andrew Hickey, Notre Dame High School

Griffin Petri, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

Ron Haines, Hamilton High School

Women’s 8 with Coxswain

Kate Edmonson, Westfield High School

Bedia Shebab, Hopewell Valley Central High School

Hayley Bork, Robbinsville High School

Kelly Fischer, Hopewell Valley Central High School

Caitlin Cleary, Princeton High School

Katie Lustig, Council Rock High School

Kathleen Hickey, Notre Dame High School

Alex Natale, Hun School

Rena White, Princeton High School

Women’s Light Weight 8 with Coxswain

Katarina Stough, Princeton High School

Elise Gorberg, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

Eileen Hu, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

Lauren Miller, Steinert High School

Jenna Kugel, Montgomery High School

Hannah Ash, Princeton High School

Kathryn Miller, Steinert High School

Celia Varga, Princeton Day School

Sara Hansen, West Windsor-Plainsboro South

Women’s 4 with Coxswain

Sydney Holgado, Robbinsville High School

Megan Botsch, Robbinsville High School

Bridget Parker, Princeton High School

Rachel Mumau, Home School

Lauren Colanduoni, Hopewell Valley Central High School

Lawrenceville School

Women’s Lightweight 4 with Coxswain

D. Massihpour

M. Marcus

C. Dragonetti

H. Kruger

G. de Vinq De Cumtich

Peddie School

Women’s 4 with Coxswain

Alex Baum

Katie Benham

Michaela Nieuwenhuizen

Jordan Kelly

Mia Caglieris

About the Princeton National Rowing Association

The Princeton National Rowing Association, a 501(c)3 organization, operates the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center located on the shores of Mercer Lake, Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey. The Princeton National Rowing Association is dedicated to operating a world-class training site for our nation’s elite athletes, providing opportunities for area youth to excel in the sport of rowing and to expand rowing in the area through community-based programs. PNRA runs the Mercer Junior Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for youth from over 30 area schools and the Mercer Masters Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for adults. The center is a home to the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as rowing clubs and schools. PNRA received generous support from University Orthopaedic Associates, Harry’s Army Navy, JL Racing, Resolute Racing Shells, Wells Fargo Advisors-Gould Group, Red Roof Inn, Hampton Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.

For more information, contact Kristopher Grudt, tel: 609-977-1094, krisgrudt@rowpnra.org or visit www.rowpnra.org.

WEST WINDSOR – While the summer Olympics are more than a year away, rowers across the nation are already preparing for national selection regattas that could land them a spot on a boat at West Windsor’s Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center, and on the Olympic team. Read more…

WEST WINDSOR — Mercer Lake at Mercer County Park in West Windsor will be the site of the 2016 USRowing Youth National Championships, officials announced Wednesday. Read more…

Click for more information and to buy tickets.

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – USRowing and the Princeton National Rowing Association today announced that Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., will be the site of the 2016 USRowing Youth National Championships, June 10-12, 2016. The premiere youth rowing event in the United States, USRowing’s annual Youth National Championships sees approximately 1,500 athletes competing in more than 350 crews, representing some 150 teams from across the country – all vying for national titles in 18 boat classes. Read more…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 11, 2015

West Windsor, NJ – Princeton National Rowing Association’s Mercer Rowing Club (PNRA-Mercer) won 7 bids to the 2015 USRowing Youth National Championships next month by achieving success at the Mid-Atlantic Youth Championships this past weekend, May 9 and 10.  Hosted by PNRA, the Mid-Atlantic Youth Championships featured 281 crews from 34 clubs based in six states and the District of Columbia and is one of six USRowing regional championships this month leading up to the national championship regatta.

Mercer qualified crews to compete for the national championship in the following events:  Women’s Youth Varsity 8 plus coxswain (two crews), Women’s Youth Lightweight Varsity 8 plus coxswain, Women’s Youth Varsity 4 plus coxswain, Men’s Youth Varsity 8 plus coxswain, Men’s Youth Lightweight 4 plus coxswain, and Men’s Youth Varsity Pair.

The depth of the girls’ team was on display this weekend.  Coach Ted Sobolewski’s girls’ first varsity 8+ crew has been turning heads all season and placed first on Sunday with an impressive time of 6 minutes, 40 seconds on the 2K course.  The crew included senior co-captain Rena White (Princeton High School), senior Alex Natale (The Hun School), sophomore Katie Lustig (Council Rock North High School) junior Kate Hickey (Notre Dame High School), senior Kelly Fischer (Hopewell Valley Central High School), junior Caitlin Cleary (Princeton High School), senior Badia Shehab (Hopewell Valley Central High School), senior co-captain senior Hayley Bork (Robbinsville High School), and coxswain Kate Edmondson (Westfield High School).  The second varsity 8+ rowed to third place behind Mt. St. Joseph’s Academy and therefore is eligible to compete at Youth Nationals as well.  Some of the girls in the second varsity 8+, also rowed in the other boats that won bids to compete for the national championship by “hot seating” or competing twice with less than an hour between races.

Junior coxswain Sydney Holgado (Robbinsville High School) was full of praise for the crew she coxed, Mercer’s girls’ varsity 4 consisting of senior Lauren Colanduoni (Hopewell Valley Central High School), freshman Sara Hansen (West Windsor Plainsboro South High School), senior Megan Botsch (Robbinsville High School) and junior Rachel Mumau (home schooled). “Going into it, we knew that the category was very competitive in this region,” said Holgado.  Indeed, four crews seemed to be in a virtual tie with 500 meters to go in the race.  “I called for five strokes to focus on technique at the 500 and then we started our sprint at the 300 meter mark. We increased the pressure and the stroke rate came up with that,” Holgado added.  The Mercer boat finished two seconds ahead of the other three boats.

“We have a lot of work to do in the next 4 weeks, but everyone is excited to keep training,” said Holgado.  Mercer typically qualifies more boats than it ends up entering into the national championship regatta.  In addition, coaches have the discretion to change up to fifty percent of the lineup of a qualifying crew.  The Mercer coaches will have some difficult decisions to make about which crews to take to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., June 12-14 for the Youth National Championships.

In other weekend news, USRowing and PNRA announced that Mercer Lake will be the site of the 2016 Youth National Championships.

About the Princeton National Rowing Association

The Princeton National Rowing Association, a 501(c)3 organization, operates the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center located on the shores of Mercer Lake, Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey.  The Princeton National Rowing Association is dedicated to operating a world-class training site for our nation’s elite athletes, providing opportunities for area youth to excel in the sport of rowing and to expand rowing in the area through community-based programs.  PNRA runs the Mercer Junior Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for youth from over 30 area schools and the Mercer Masters Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for adults.  The center is a home to the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as rowing clubs and schools. PNRA received generous support from University Orthopaedic Associates, Harry’s Army Navy, JL Racing, Resolute Racing Shells, Wells Fargo Advisors-Gould Group, Red Roof Inn, Hampton Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.

For more information, contact Kristopher Grudt, tel: 609-977-1094,krisgrudt@rowpnra.org or visit www.rowpnra.org.