Kuzzy, O?Brien and Herald Earn National Team Camp Selections

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia rowing junior Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) and sophomore Kristine O’Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) have been selected to attend the USRowing 2011 Women’s Under 23 National Team Selection Camp and freshman Brandy Herald (Portland, Ore.) has been selected to attend the USRowing 2011 Women’s National Team Pre-Elite Camp this summer, USRowing recently announced.

Kuzzy and O’Brien, both former Atlantic Coast Conference Freshmen of the Year, will be in a group of 24 rowers vying for a spot in the women’s eight and quadruple sculls crews that will compete at the 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships July 21-24 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In addition, coaches will select boats in the women’s pair, four and double sculls that will compete at the 2011 USRowing Under 23 World Championship Trials scheduled for July 27-29 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The winners of those trials will also earn the right to compete in Amsterdam.

For Herald, the camp is focused on developing athletes for the Under 23 and senior national teams. The goal of the camp is to teach skills necessary to compete at the elite level by introducing and developing sculling, focusing on small boats, gaining fitness and increasing strength-to-eight ratio. Athletes will have the opportunity to race at the 2011 USRowing Club National Championships July 13-17 in Indianapolis, Ind. The camp will start June 12 at Syracuse University and will be run by Justin Moore, women’s head coach at Syracuse.

Kuzzy and O’Brien were both members of Virginia’s Varsity Eight in 2010 that was the silver medal winner at the NCAA Championship. That crew also won the South/Central Regional and ACC Championships. This season, Kuzzy and O’Brien have rowed with the Varsity Eight in its victories over Michigan and Ohio State. Kuzzy was the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year and O’Brien earned the honor in 2010.

Herald has rowed with the Second Varsity Eight for each of its four victories (Michigan, Ohio State, California and Stanford) this season. Prior to UVa, she won a gold medal with the junior women’s eight at both the FISA Junior World Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria (2008) and France (2009).

Virginia is preparing for its sole home regatta of the season at Lake Monticello on April 16-17. The Cavaliers welcome No. 8 Michigan State (April 16, 9 a.m.), No. 16 UCLA (April 16, 1 p.m.) and No. 3 Southern California (April 17, 9 a.m.) to their home course.