Six With Virginia Ties To Compete at 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

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PRINCETON, N.J. – Current Cavalier rowers Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Kristine O’Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) have been named to the United States’ 2011 Under 23 National Team roster, USRowing announced on Thursday (July 14). Twenty-one crews, including Kuzzy with the women’s four and O’Brien with the women’s quadruple sculls, will represent the United States at the 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships scheduled for July 21-24 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Additionally, rising junior Susanne Grainger (London, Ontario, Canada) and class of 2011 graduate Christine Roper (Reading, St. James, Jamaica) will row for Canada’s women’s eight at the championships. Rounding out those with ties to Virginia rowing, former Cavalier and member of the 2010 NCAA Champion squad, Inge Janssen, will row in the Dutch women’s eight and pair and incoming graduate student Sarah Cowburn will row in the British double.

Kuzzy, a rising senior in the program and a tri-captain for the 2011 season, was a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) first team All-South Region selection. She rowed with the Varsity Eight for the entire spring season, including the Cavaliers’ seventh-place finish and petite final victory at the NCAA Championships.

Kuzzy earned All-ACC honors after UVa won its 11th conference championship, and was also named to the 2011 All-ACC Academic Rowing Team. At the program’s annual banquet, Kuzzy was the co-recipient (with O’Brien) of the Coach’s Award for Excellence.

Kuzzy was a member of the Varsity Eight during the Cavaliers’ 2010 NCAA and ACC Championship season, and was named the 2009 ACC Rookie of the Year.

O’Brien, a rising junior, was named a first team CRCA All-American at the conclusion of the 2011 season. She also earned first team All-South Region and All-ACC honors.

A member of the Varsity Eight for the entire spring season, O’Brien and the Cavaliers finished sixth as a team at the NCAA Championships and the Varsity Eight was victorious in its petite final.

O’Brien was a member of the 2010 NCAA and ACC Champion UVa squad, and was the 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year.

Grainger was a member of the roster that traveled to the 2011 NCAA Championships. She rowed with the Open Four that won the grand final and its heat at the Oak Ridge Invitational and was a member of the Varsity Four that defeated Princeton on its home course and was subsequently named the ACC Crew of the Week on May 4. Grainger also won the ACC Championship race with the Varsity Four, defeating Clemson, 7:17.5 to 7:28.0.

Roper was named a second team CRCA All-American after finishing her Cavalier career in 2011. She also earned first team All-South Region honors from the CRCA and was a member of the All-ACC team after the Cavaliers won their 11th conference championship. Roper rowed with the Varsity Eight for the entire spring season, including the Cavaliers’ first-place finish in the petite final at the NCAA Championships.

Racing begins on Friday, July 21, with heats. Finals will be on Saturday, July 23, and Sunday, July 24.