Opitz, Wanamaker invited to Olympic selection camp
March 30, 2021 | Women's Rowing
Badger alumni, Wisconsin natives in mix for spots on 2020 Tokyo Olympic Team
MADISON, Wis. — As the selection process for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics continues to take place, USRowing has announced 25 athletes who are invited to the Women's Sweep Boat Olympic Selection Camp. They all look to earn a spot in the women's eight or women's four boats for this summer. This list included two Badger alumni -- Vicky Opitz and Maddie Wanamaker.
Both natives of Wisconsin, Opitz and Wanamaker will compete in the selection camp starting this Thursday, April 1, in Princeton, New Jersey, and both eye a spot in either the three-time defending Olympic champion U.S. women's eight or the U.S. women's four that finished sixth in the 2019 World Rowing Championships.
Opitz, a four-time world champion in the women's eight, was at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games as an alternate for Team USA. Among her many career highlights, Opitz rowed with the crew that set a world record in the eight at the 2013 World Rowing Cup III and was the 2018 USRowing Female Athlete of the Year.
At Wisconsin, Opitz was a 2010 CRCA Pocock First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten pick when she helped the Badgers to their first Big Ten rowing championship and a program-best seventh-place finish at the NCAA rowing championships.
Wanamaker's international career includes a gold medal at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in the women's four. She's a 2017 Second-Team All-Big Ten pick, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and UW-Madison graduate, and helped the Badgers to a pair of top-10 finishes at the NCAA rowing championships during her time at Wisconsin.
Both walk-ons at Wisconsin, Opitz, and Wanamaker rowed together in the women's four at the 2019 World Rowing Championships where they placed sixth and helped the U.S. earn an Olympic spot in the event.
Invitations to the women's selection camp for the quadruple sculls will be announced following the second 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Rowing, which will be held April 12-16. Former Badger Sophia Vitas is among those in the mix for an invite to that camp.
For continued updates about selections for the 2020 Olympic Games, head to usrowing.org.
Women's Sweep Boat Olympic Team Selection Camp Invitees
Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin)
Vicky Opitz (Middleton, Wis./University of Wisconsin)
Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/Ohio State University)
Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame)
Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University)
Kendall Chase (Evergreen, Colo./University of California)
Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y./Harvard University)
Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University)
Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y./Harvard University)
Gia Doonan (Rochester, Mass./University of Texas)
Tracy Eisser (Fair Lawn, N.J./Cornell University)
Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University)
Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis./University of Washington)
Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich./Stanford University)
Brooke Mooney (Peru, Vt./University of Washington)
Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College)
Kristine O'Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y./University of Virginia)
Erin Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University)
Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University)
Emily Regan (Buffalo, N.Y./Michigan State University)
Regina Salmons (Jamestown, R.I./University of Pennsylvania)
Dr. Gevvie Stone (Newton, Mass./Princeton University)
Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington)
Brooke Wolford (San Rafael, Calif./University of Central Oklahoma)
Coxswains:
Katelin Guregian (Detroit, Mich./University of Washington
