June 13, 2012

USRowing recap

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Stanford Men's Rowing alumnus Silas Stafford '08 and partner Tom Peszek are just one win away from a men's pair Olympic berth after capturing Wednesday's first semifinal at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Mercer Lake.

Fellow Cardinal rower Austin Hack '14 and partner Dariush Aghai finished third in the second semifinal, missing out on a finals berth by one spot.

The top two teams from each of Wednesday's semifinals advanced to Thursday's final, where the winner earns the United States' men's pair Olympic team berth.

Stafford and Peszek crossed the line first in the opening semifinal in 6:39.465, nearly four seconds ahead of fellow USRowing Training Center pair Michael Gennaro and Robert Otto.

The second semifinal took some time to get underway, as USRowing Training Center pair Jason Read and Nareg Guregian had to return to the dock so that Read could seek medical treatment for an undisclosed issue. The pair ended up not racing in the semifinal, leaving three boats to compete for the two finals spots.

The race ended up being tight all the way through the 2,000 meters, but unfortunately for Hack and Aghai, they caught the short end of the stick, finishing in 6:54.882, just under four seconds behind the second-place pair of Brandon Shald and Brad Bertoldo (California Rowing Club).

Deaglan McEachern and Ryan Monaghan, also representing the California Rowing Club, captured the semifinal with a time of 6:49.836.

Stafford and Peszek will row in Thursday's men's pair final Thursday at 2 p.m. PT.