May 2009

May 6, 2009- New Milford, CT…. The GMS Junior Rowing Team, based in New Milford, traveled to Camden New Jersey on April 25 for the William and Sarah Cooper Cup Regatta. One of the most prestigious and popular events of the spring racing season, this year’s regatta included 366 entries from 51 rowing teams from eight states. Under sunny skies and very warm conditions, GMS once again demonstrated its strength in the sculling events- bringing home nine medals- two gold, five silver and two bronze and the Sarah Cooper Cup.

The Girls Varsity 4x proudly won one of the major trophies of the day- the Sarah Cooper Cup, taking first place out of a field of ten teams. Kim Hopewell and Mairi McKellop from Ridgefield, Kelsey Reelick from Brookfield and Anna Kobayashi from New Milford solidly won both their heat and final by 19 and 16 seconds respectively. The Boys Varsity 4x –Matt Savino from New Fairfield, Justin Cromwell and Sam Rouse from New Milford and Greg Burke from Redding competed in the very competitive Men’s event and put on an amazing sprint to take the bronze medal just .36 seconds ahead of New York Rowing Club.

In other Varsity and JV events, Newtown’s Eric Wessel and New Milford’s Dave Cullmer took 4th in the Men’s 2x. Anna Kobayashi took gold in the JV 1x and Wilton’s Celia Kohl took second place. Sam Rouse and Greg Burke took fifth in the Men’s Varsity Lightweight 2x out of a field of 12 entries. Christi Kowalczyk from New Milford and teammate Maria Maydan from Ridgefield won silver in the Women’s JV2X Final B and Bridgewater’s Molly Murcucilli and New Milford’s Becca Sanders also won silver in their JV2x final. Justin Cromwell and Matt Savino placed 4th in the Men’s JV2x.

GMS had a strong showing in the novice categories as well- Jess Lagoie from Newtown and Catherine Lott from Roxbury took a silver medal in the Women’s Novice 2x. Blaze Kelly and Graham Baldwin from New Milford teamed up with Nick Dickinson and Dylan Berger from Newtown to take 4th place n the Men’s Novice 4x. Paige Foss and Jenny Borsavage, both from New Milford, placed 5th in the Women’s Novice 2x Final.

GMS Wins Nine Medals in Strong Showing at Long Island Championships

On Sunday May 3, GMS Rowing Center won nine medals, including three gold, three silver and three bronze against strong competition from 27 clubs and schools at the Long Island Championships in Oyster Bay, New York, hosted by Sagamore Rowing Association. With a roster of 22 athletes competing, GMS entered boats in the premiere sculling events across varsity, JV and novice divisions .The cold rainy weather didn’t deter the athletes who were anxious to extend their winning record from the previous weekend at the Cooper Cup.

GMS continues to prove that it is a contender in the varsity sculling events- winning gold medals in both Varsity 4x events - Kim Hopewell, Mairi McKellop, Kelsey Reelick and Celia Kohl in the girls event - Justin Cromwell, Sam Rouse Matt Savino, and Greg Burke in the boys. In the Women’s Varsity 1x, Kim Hopewell won silver , Kelsey Reelick took bronze, and Mairi McKellop finished 4th , Anna Kobayashi finished 5th and Celia Kohl 7th. Dave Cullmer finished 4th in the Men’s 1x.

Showing the club’s depth, GMS also performed well in the JV and Novice events—Maria Maydan and Becca Sanders won a gold medal in the JV 2x race and Erik Wessel and Dave Cullmer took bronze in the Men’s Varsity 2x. GMS also had a strong novice showing with two teams bringing home silver- the Men’s Novice 4x-including Graham Baldwin ,Blaze Kelly ,Nick Dickinson and Joe Guglielmo from Brookfield and in the Women’s Novice 2X- Jessica Lajoie and Catherine Lott Jenny Brosavage and Paige Foss, took bronze in the Women’s JV 2X and Bridgewater’s Brendan Berg placed 5th in the JV1x.

Next up for the GMS rowers will the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Junior Regional Championships which will be held at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester MA. Here the athletes will compete against the best teams in the region for the right to compete at the Junior National Championships which will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio June 11-14. Last year, GMS qualified seven boats for Cincinnati.

The 2008 GMS Summer Rowing Program will run from June 1- August 7 on beautiful Lake Lillinonah in New Milford, CT. Programs are specifically designed for both new and experienced rowers- for both juniors and adults.

For more information go to www.gmsrowingcenter.us or call 203 350 4004.

GMS Rowing Center is located at New Milford, CT and enjoys some of the best rowing water in the Northeast. It offers rowing programs for all ages from high school (Grades 8 through 12), college students to adults. It has programs ranging from learn-to-row through to experienced competitive athletes. This year we helped a number of high school students achieve scholarships to college and look forward to helping more students achieve their ambitions. In addition GMS offers highly regarded personalized training programs. For more details please visit www.gmsrowingcenter.us