Rowing: Strack chasing place in university team at champs

Lucy Strack (North End) will be seeking a spot in the New Zealand University team when she competes at the New Zealand rowing championships at Lake Karapiro next week.

Strack (18), one of the country's top lightweight scullers, is expected to gain a podium finish in the premier lightweight single sculls.

She finished fourth in the club single sculls at the New Zealand championships and hit the national spotlight by finishing runner-up in the under-18 single sculls at the Maadi Cup regatta.

Strack was also the bestperformed Otago competitor at the South Island single sculls regatta at Lake Ruataniwha last September.

Her potential was recognised by the New Zealand selectors and she was one of four Otago rowers in the New Zealand under-21 youth team that competed against Australian state crews at the Nagambie Lakes in Victoria, also last September.

Strack, who will begin her studies at the University of Canterbury this year, had an encouraging dress rehearsal for the national championships when she won the women's under-19 single sculls at the South Island championships at Lake Ruataniwha last weekend.

But she was pushed back into third spot in the women's open single sculls in heavier water three hours later.

This would indicate that she will have difficulty matching the heavier girls in the under-21 single sculls.

The other Otago contender for a place in the New Zealand University team for the world championships in Belgrade in September is Elyse Fraser.

She is technically sound and her competitive ability has improved since she became part of the training environment at the Otago University club this season.

Fraser is a member of the university senior quad that will be a medal prospect at the national championships. The other crew members are Amy Grundy, Klaasje Galama and Bridget Wright. Galama is also a medal contender in the senior women's single sculls.

Michael Nisbet (20), the Otago Rower of the Year last season, convincingly won the club single and double sculls (with Dave Waddell) at the New Zealand championships at Lake Ruataniwha last season.

He will be competing in the senior and under-21 single sculls and the double sculls with Curtis Bush next week.

He finished runner-up to Jade Uru (Southern Regional Performance Centre) in the men's open single sculls and second with Bush in the double sculls at the South Island championships last weekend.

The other Otago medal prospects are former Oamaru sculler Sonya McDonald in the club and senior single sculls, the Otago University women's double sculls of Fiona Bourke and Genevieve Martin and the Otago club combination of Renee Perrie and Gretchen Brownstein in the club double sculls.

At the South Island championships the Dunstan Arm crew (stroke Blair van der Voort) finished runner-up to the strong St Bedes crew in the men's under-17 eight.

The newly formed Wanaka club won two silver medals - Nick Jolly and Guy Wilson in the men's novice double sculls and Georgina Galloway in the women's under-16 single sculls.

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