FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mara Keggi Ford Named Executive Director of the National Rowing Foundation

North Stonington, CT, August 10, 2018 — The National Rowing Foundation (NRF) today announced the naming of Olympian and past National Team member Mara Keggi Ford as Executive Director.

Ford has served as the Acting Executive Director since the retirement of Charlie Hamlin in January of this year.  Jamie Koven, Co-Chair of the NRF stated, “The NRF is very excited to have Mara as our Executive Director. Mara has demonstrated strong organizational and leadership skills and is well positioned to lead the NRF as it scales its fundraising and increases support of US rowers working to achieve their potential at the World Championships and Olympics. Mara’s years of experience allow have her to take the reins and immediately begin to move the organization forward.”  Mara joined the NRF in 2009 and has been an integral member of the NRF team, running all NRF events, managing the NRF’s day-to-day operations, growing the organization’s donor community, and assisting with all fundraising efforts supporting US National Team Rowers.  Mara, a three-time US National Rowing Team Member and Olympian, is familiar with the needs of the athletes and is committed to increasing the support for USA Rowers to win medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, and beyond.

Mara Ford stated, “I look forward to continuing my work to provide the funding needed to support athletes training to earn a spot on the medal stand at the World Championships and Olympic Games.  The funding needs of the National Teams are a daily priority for us at the NRF.  As an Olympian, I understand the commitment that these athletes make, and I want to provide the support that they need to achieve their goals.  I know what impact the NRF support has on the US National Rowing Teams and am excited to see what the NRF can accomplish together with the team at USRowing.”

About the National Rowing Foundation

The National Rowing Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to raising funds to support the U.S. National Rowing Teams. Founded in 1966, the NRF has been supporting Olympic and World Championship athletes for more than five decades. The funds raised support year-round training, development, and competition.  https://www.natrowing.org

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For additional information:  Tracy Brown (617) 803-8660, National Rowing Foundation; E-mail: tracy@natrowing.org

U.S. NAMES 2018 UNDER 19 NATIONAL TEAM

PRINCETON, N.J. – USRowing is pleased to announce the 59-person roster of the 2018 Under 19 National Team that will compete at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships August 8-12 in Racice, Czech Republic.

The U.S. will have 14 crews competing at the five-day regatta. Events include the men’s and women’s single sculls, double sculls, quadruple sculls, pair, four, four with coxswain, and eight.

The roster includes 13 athletes returning from the 2017 Under 19 National Team including Julia Abbruzzese, Julia Braz, Harrison Burke, Azja Czajkowski, Clark Dean, Owen King, Kaitlyn Knifton, Kelsey McGinley, Fran Raggi, Emory Sammons, Harrison Schofield, Kristopher Schumann, and James Wright.

The U.S. won three medals at the 2017 World Rowing Junior Championships in Trakai, Lithuania. Dean became the first U.S. men’s single sculler to win the gold medal in 50 years, while the men’s eight won silver and the women’s four won bronze.

The U.S. roster includes athletes from 19 states, plus Switzerland. California claims 14 athletes on the U19 roster, while Connecticut has 13.

Complete press coverage, athlete bios and links to event information will be available at www.usrowing.org andwww.worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. Under 19 National Team as it prepares for the 2018 World Rowing Under 19 Championships by using the hashtags #WRJChamps and #WRJChamps18.

2018 U.S. Under 19 National Team Roster (Boat lineups are subject to change.)
Name (Hometown) – Affiliation

Men’s Single Sculls
Clark Dean (Sarasota, Fla.) – Sarasota Crew

Women’s Single Sculls
Cassandra Reed (Belmont, Mass.) – West Cambridge Rowing

Men’s Double Sculls
(s) Cooper Tuckerman (Bozeman, Mont.) – Vesper Boat Club
(b) Kristopher Fisher (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) – Vesper Boat Club

Women’s Double Sculls
(s) Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y.) – Narragansett Boat Club
(b) Sarah McErlean (Saint-Legier, Switzerland) – Club Aviron Vevey

Men’s Quadruple Sculls
(s) Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn.) – Maritime Rowing Club
(3) Emory Sammons (Fort Plain, N.Y.) – Sarasota Crew
(2) James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa.) – Germantown Friends School Rowing
(b) Kristopher Schumann (Sarasota, Fla.) – Sarasota Crew

Women’s Quadruple Sculls
(s) Bridget O’Callahan (Los Angeles, Calif.) – California Yacht Club
(3) Emmeline Laurence (Greenland, N.H.) – Great Bay Rowing
(2) Kathleen Dolan (Barrington, R.I.) – Narragansett Boat Club
(b) Delaney Evans (Bettendorf, Iowa) – Y Quad Cities

Men’s Pair
(s) Jack Gallagher (Newtown, Pa.) – Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer
(b) Gregoire Le Meur (San Francisco, Calif.) – Pacific Rowing Club

Women’s Pair
(s) Lucy Koven (Greenwich, Conn.) – Greenwich Crew
(b) Caitlin Esse (Fairfield, Conn.) – Saugatuck Rowing Club

Men’s Four
(s) Grant Person (Newport Beach, Calif.) – Newport Aquatic Center
(3) Alexander DeGrado (Jacksonville, Fla.)  – Sarasota Crew
(2) Zachary Vachal (San Francisco, Calif.) – Pacific Rowing Club
(b) Kai Hoite (Berkeley, Calif.) – Oakland Strokes

Women’s Four
(s) Catherine Garrett (Darien, Conn.) – Connecticut Boat Club
(3) Kelsey McGinley (Westport, Conn.) – Saugatuck Rowing Club
(2) Julia Braz (Sarasota, Fla.) – Sarasota Crew
(b) Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass.) – Community Rowing, Inc.

Men’s Four with Coxswain
(c) George Doty (Corte Madera, Calif.) – Marin Rowing Association
(s) Michael Fairley (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) – Saratoga Rowing Association
(3) Chase Haskell (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) – The Bolles School
(2) Owen King (Montclair, N.J.) – Montclair High School
(b) Henry Bellew (Bethesda, Md.) – Harvard University

Women’s Four with Coxswain
(c) Caroline Ricksen (Orinda, Calif.) – Oakland Strokes
(s) Julia Abbruzzese (Ridgefield, Conn.) – Connecticut Boat Club
(3) Kaitlyn Knifton (Austin, Texas) – Texas Rowing Center
(2) Heidi Jacobson (Greenwich, Conn.) – Connecticut Boat Club
(b) Noelle Amlicke (Westport, Conn.) – Saugatuck Rowing Club

Men’s Eight
(c) Dylan White (Newport Beach, Calif.) – Newport Aquatic Center
(s) Harrison Schofield (Sarasota, Fla.) – Sarasota Crew
(7) Eli Kalfaian (Milford, Conn.) – Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer
(6) John Mark Ozaeta (Moraga, Calif.) – Oakland Strokes
(5) Harrison Burke (Westport, Conn.) – Saugatuck Rowing Club
(4) Nicholas Fisher (West Hartford, Conn.) – Kent School Boat Club
(3) Charles Fargo (Winnetka, Ill.) – New Trier High School Rowing
(2) Henry Lowe (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) – Deerfield Academy Crew
(b) Ryan Beeler (Melrose, Mass.) – Boston College High School

Women’s Eight
(c) Alin Pasa (Westport, Conn.) – Saugatuck Rowing Club
(s) Hannah Schaenman (Rye Brook, N.Y.) – RowAmerica Rye
(7) Isabel Mezei (Brookfield, Conn.) – Saugatuck Rowing Club
(6) Francesca Raggi (Maitland, Fla.) – Winter Park Crew
(5) Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif.) – San Diego Rowing Club
(4) Gabrielle Graves (Vashon, Wash.) – Burton Beach Rowing Club
(3) Samantha Henriksen (Chicago, Ill.) – Chicago Rowing Foundation
(2) Larkin Brown (Chattanooga, Tenn.) – Girls Preparatory School
(b) Jessica Mixon (Brentwood, Tenn.) – Nashville Rowing/University of Pennsylvania

Alternates
Matthew Boranian (Oakland, Calif.) – Oakland Strokes
Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga.) – Henley Rowing Club
Travis Keating (Placerville Calif.) – Capital Crew
Jenna Macrae (Cincinnati, Ohio) – Connecticut Boat Club
Jeri Rhodes (St. Louis, Mo.) – St. Louis Rowing Club

Coaches
Chris Chase, Men’s Four with Coxswain
Nick D’Antoni, Men’s Four
Brian Ebke, Women’s Eight
Jesse Foglia, Men’s Eight
Casey Galvanek, Men’s Single Sculls/Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Mark Grinberg, Women’s Single Sculls
Bill Manning, Women’s Four with Coxswain
Stephen McCarthy, Men’s Pair
Trevor Michelson, Men’s Double Sculls
Catherine Starr, Women’s Pair
Marko Serafimovski, Women’s Spares
Liz Trond, Women’s Four
Jamie Whalen, Women’s Quadruple Sculls
Peter Wilhelm, Women’s Double Sculls

Support Staff
Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, Team Doctor
Will Daly, Team Leader
Liz Fusco, Team Dietician
Nicholas Haley, Team Leader
Steve Hargis, Director, U19 High Performance Programs
Kaitlin Jackson, Team Physical Therapist
Brett Johnson, Team Press Officer
Patrick McNerney, NGB Delegate
Gillian Perry Millsom, National Rowing Foundation
Laura Moretti, Team Dietician