History Made in Florida as Alums Compete at World Championships
10/1/2017 12:28:00 PM | Rowing
BRADENTON-SARASOTA, Fla. -- University of Michigan alumnae Felice Mueller (2012, single sculls) and Ellen Tomek (2006, double sculls) wrapped up competition at the World Rowing Championships on Sunday (Oct. 1). Tomek and partner Meghan O'Leary earned a silver medal and made history for Team USA, while Mueller won the B final in impressive fashion to take seventh overall in her event.
Tomek and O'Leary carved their path to the podium by virtue of a dominant road to the A final. The duo won its heat in 6:52.080, more than two seconds ahead of the next-closest boat. In their semifinal, they put on an equally dominant display, again coming in more than two seconds of the next-closest boat.
In this morning's A final, the Americans took silver, crossing the finish line at 6:46.570 behind New Zealand's time of 6:45.080. It was a noteworthy finish for several reasons, but most importantly, Tomek and O'Leary secured the best-ever finish for the women's double sculls in U.S. World Championships history. As the oldest crew in the field, Tomek and O'Leary supplied the fastest sprint down the finish, and it paid off with a trip to the podium to close the championships.
On the single sculls side, Mueller raced in the repechages on Wednesday (Sept. 27) and recorded the fastest time of any athlete at 7:34.480 after finishing third in her heat to open the weekend. That strong effort gave her an opportunity to make the A final during Friday's semifinals, but Mueller finished fourth in the semis, timing 7:27.890, which was less than one second off the winning boat in a very tight finish.
Mueller ended up in Sunday's B final, and she dominated the field in an open-water victory. Mueller brought her boat across the line in 7:32.240, with the next-closest coming in at 7:40.570.
