NBRC finishes season in Sacramento

North Bay Rowing Club's Junior Team finished their successful 2014 season at the USRowing Southwest Regional Championships last weekend at Lake Natoma in Sacramento.  The young squad competed in 13 events  and established themselves as one of the brightest up and coming teams in what is widely regarded as the fastest region in the country.  "We showed a ton of improvement this year" said Head Coach Will Whalen, "Across the board we improved, the athletes pushed really hard and in every single event we entered, we were markedly faster."  The weekend was highlighted with three semi-final appearances and one boat that made a Grand Final, the Women's Novice 4+ (M. Cline, N. Kinmont, H. Holberton, S. Wakerlin, K. Svinth) qualified third in their semi-final for a shot at a medal on Saturday.  "The girls in the Novice 4+ have been fast all year.  They were up against some really tough competition and made the final by beating teams that were exponentially larger and more established than ours."  The other two semifinal appearances were made by the Mens Novice 4+ (J Gause, M. Kuhn, E. Ash, B. Holm, Z. Majumdar) and Womens 2x (D. DeBois, S. Lamos).  "It was great to see all the hard work the team put in paid off.  Eight months ago, we sat down as a squad and set goals for the year.  The season ended last weekend and I can say without question we accomplished everything we set out to do.  They are really building something special and I cannot wait to start next season." It was also the final race for 5 athletes who will be moving on to row at the collegiate level (L. Krautheim, H. Molloy, D. DeBois, M. Cline, E. Ash).  "It was emotional to watch the kids race for us for the last time.  Rowing is a unique sport that creates very tight team bonds, and they will be missed.  I am sad to see them leave, but really excited to cheer for them in college!"  The racing is over until next Fall, but the squad has lots going on through the summer.  Sam Lamos, a Petaluma High Junior, was invited to attend the United States Junior National Team High Performance camp in Conneticut this June.  She is amongst the top athletes in the country and will train in preparation for national and international competitions in July and August.  Many of the other athletes will be returning over the summer as Junior Instructors in a Learn to Row program on the Petaluma River.

Results from the weekend are below:

US Rowing Southwest Junior District ChampionshipLake Natoma, Rancho Cordova, California
May 2-4, 2014
Heat to Final Format  
Friday Time Trials
Top 14 advances to Semi-Finals
Women's 2X : 8:23.09 12th place
Mens 2X: 8:07.37 20th place
Women's Novice 4+: 8:11.16 6th place
Men's Novice 4+: 7:56.25 13th place 

Saturday Heats
Top 3 advances to Finals
Men's Varsity 8+: 7:04.32 7th place
Women's Varsity 8+: 7:30.0 5th place
Men's Novice 4+: 7:56.89 6th place (semi final)
Women's Novice 4+: 8:45.21 3rd place*(semi final)
Top 2 advances to Finals
Women's Lightweight 2X: 9:10.75 3rd place
Men's Lightweight 2X: 9:32.70 7th place
Men's Lightweight 4X: 8:22.93 6th place 
*Saturday Finals:
Women's Novice 4+: 9:52.83 6th place 

Sunday Heats
Top 2 advances to Finals:
Men's Novice 8+: 7:09.78 4th place
Women's Novice 8+: 7:57.25 5th place
Men's Varsity 4+: 7:28.47 5th place
Women's Varsity 4+: 8:05.88 5th place 
Top 3 advances to Finals:
Women's 2X: 8:35.82 6th place (semi final)