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Men's Crew's Leeming, Meeks Selected to U23 National Team
7/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Crew
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Hunter Leeming '15 (Sarasota, Fla.) and Finn Meeks '17 (Lake Forest, Ill.) of the Brown men's crew were recently selected to the U23 National Team and will represent the United States in the heavyweight eight at the U23 World Championships July 22-26 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, announced by the United States Rowing Association.
Leeming, who recently graduated with a degree in International Relations, earned a spot on the U23 Team for the second time in three years after he competed in the 8+ in 2013. Meeks, an Economics concentrator, was selected to the squad for the first time in his career.
Leeming and Meeks were members of the Brown varsity eight boat that placed fourth overall at the 2015 IRA National Championship this past spring and are slated to row in the seventh and bow seats, respectively, in Bulgaria. Additionally, both rowers were part of Brown's Ivy League-leading 15 honorees selected to the IRA All-Academic Team.
The spots for the eight and four boats were determined at the under-23 selection camp, where 24 of the top collegiate rowers in the country gathered to train during four weeks in June. The U23 team will head to Princeton on Sunday to train with the US National Senior Team for five days before leaving for Bulgaria on Friday.
"It feels great, and it is pretty insane when you think about it," said Leeming on being selected to represent his country for the second time. "That was one of the best feelings I've had and honored and humbled to be able to feel that again."
The four-week selection camp focused on syncing rowers from different backgrounds and programs into one cohesive boat and serves as a base for the upcoming world championship, which will follow the heat and final progression similar to collegiate rowing.
"In the beginning, it takes a few days to blend together because we all have different styles, and then we just rowed everyday," said Leeming. " It was tough physically and mentally, but we know that's what we needed to have the fastest boat."
In addition to Brown, Penn and California also boasted two rowers selected to the 8+, which added a sense of familiarity for the two Bruno oarsmen.
"We rowed together all year, and he is in the seventh seat, so I have some experience following him at Brown," said Meeks, who is looking forward to the first-time experience. "I'm just excited to be part of it, to represent the US and also represent Brown internationally."
Leeming and Meeks will start on Thursday, July 23 for their heat. The Grand Final is slated for July 26.
Photo credit: row2k
