July 22, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Two University of Notre Dame rowing All-Americans will represent the United States this week at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, which will be held on July 23-27 in Varese, Italy. More than 800 athletes representing 51 different countries will compete in the regatta’s 21 events.
Class of 2014 graduate Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio) and returning senior Erin Boxberger (Overland, Park, Kan.) are two of 59 rowers from the U.S. team that are set to race during the regatta. Bruggeman and Boxberger are each racing for the U.S. team for the second straight year at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships after taking part in the 2013 championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria last summer.
The duo will row with the U.S. women’s four in the second heat of the regatta on Wednesday at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) against Germany, France, New Zealand and Italy. The top two crews from each heat will advance to Saturday’s ‘A’ final (3:45 p.m. local time/9:45 a.m. ET), with the remainder competing in the repechage heat on Thursday at 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET).
Both athletes will also race with the U.S. women’s eight crew during preliminary heats that are scheduled to begin on Thursday at 12:25 p.m. (6:25 a.m. ET). Boxberger was a member of the women’s eight lineup that claimed a gold medal in the grand final race of the 2013 World Rowing Under 23 Championships last July.
Boxberger completed her second straight All-America season at Notre Dame as a junior, earning Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Pocock All-America first team accolades in June. Boxberger is one of only three Notre Dame rowers ever to achieve All-America status in consecutive seasons, joining four-time All-American and U.S. National Team standout Amanda Polk (2005-08) and three-time All-American and former Irish teammate Bruggeman (2012-14).
Bruggeman has earned sixth place finishes in the quadruple sculls (2013) and the women’s four (2012) at each of the last two World Rowing Under 23 Championships. The first Notre Dame rower ever to earn three straight invitations to the USRowing Women’s Under 23 National Selection Camp (2012-14), Bruggeman and Polk are the only rowers to claim three or more All-America citations in program history.
Live streaming of the finals of the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships will be available on July 26-27 at www.worldrowing.com. For more information on the regatta, visit www.usrowing.org or www.worldrowing.com.
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