Races at a glance
Saturday
GRAND MASTER SINGLES (50+)
Men: With two-time defender Craig Leeds absent, Dennis Ruane is favored to reclaim his crown, with Iain Pritchard and David Gleeson giving chase.
Women: With Susan Dandridge, last year's upset winner, not returning, Judy Geer should win her fourth crown in the division (and 11th overall).
SENIOR MASTER SINGLES (40+)
Men: Defending champ Gregory Benning will have his hands full with Scot Killen and Dino Konstatopoulos, who are up from the club event. Former champ Tom Darling and Tom Bohrer, last year's runner-up, also will contend.
Women: Ellen Kennelly goes for four straight, chased again by former champ Margarita Jekabsons and Trish Miles.
SENIOR MASTER EIGHTS (50+)
Men: Team Attager (with Head executive director Fred Schoch aboard) looks to repeat, up against former victors Kent Mitchell RC and Leander BC, plus the 1980 Olympians.
Women: Lake Union Crew looks to win for the fourth time in five years against former champs Martha's Moms RC and Saugatuck RC.
SENIOR MASTER FOURS (50+)
Men: Rocky Mountain RC, last year's winner by less than two seconds, gets an encore with runner-up Marin RA.
Women: Minnesota Coaches, which came from the shadows to win by 11 seconds a year ago, will be in full view of runner-up Watercat RC and two-time champ Conibear.
SENIOR MASTER DOUBLES (50+)
Men: Raimund Haberl and Rob Slocum, who won by half a minute last time, get a rematch with Saman Majd and Mark Alloway, plus former Rude 'n Smoothers Tiff Wood and Gregg Stone.
Women: Original (and perennial) champs Joan Linse and Susan Kinne shoot for a fifth straight. Evelyn Hamann and Linda Brumder lead the chase pack.
CLUB SINGLES
Men: With champ Jason Rose and runner-up Scot Killen both moving on, Andrew Blankertz (ninth last year) is the favorite, with Potomac clubmate Evan Day and Stephen Lambers his prime challengers.
Women: Joy Stark, seventh last year, will be first off the line in a wide-open event, with Jessica Mcalear, Kate Graham, and Regan Bernhard also in the mix.
CLUB FOURS
Men: Look for another duel between defender Riverside BC and Rivah rival (and three-time victor) Union.
Women: With last year's top three all absent, former champion University of Tulsa is the boat to beat. The New Haven RC, the Williams alumnae, and Northeastern will give it a go.
CLUB EIGHTS
Men: With multiple entries now allowed, Harvard (with five) has the numbers. But defender BMA Boat Club and Northeastern will be tough.
Women: The University of Tennessee is gunning for its fifth title in seven years. Lions RC, runner-up by less than two seconds last year, is back, along with Radcliffe, Yale, and the University of Iowa.
COLLEGIATE FOURS
Men: With two-time champ Colgate not defending, runner-up Rochester Institute of Technology is the boat to beat, with Boston College among the contenders.
Women: With Bucknell, last year's victor, opting not to return, it's Penn State's race to win, with Simmons providing a push.
MASTER DOUBLES (40+)
Men: Mike Smith and Dan Gorriaran drive for five straight, with Andy Card and Justin Moore hoping to close the gap.
Women: Pam Raila and Suzanne Padilla aren't defending, so Jessica and Linda Kennett, third last year, are the favorites, with former champions Trina Olin Santry and Gia DeAngelis among the challengers.
MASTER EIGHTS (40+)
Men: With three-time champ Pocock among the missing, Penn AC figures to reclaim its crown, with two-time victor Palm Beach and Britain's Black Sheep RC the prime obstacles.
Women: An Olympic reunion bash with Etats Unis RC and 1980 RC, both two-time champs, plus locals Riverside.
MASTER FOURS
Men: Cambridge BC, which assumed the crown from four-time champ 1980 RC, goes for three in a row, with Vesper BC and three-time winner Palm Beach in the way.
Women: Death Warmed Over (i.e., the 1992 Olympians) will defend against Minnesota BC, second last time, and Conibear.
CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES
Men: Terrific field, led by defenders Sloan DuRoss and Sam Stitt. They'll be hounded by US Rowing mates Deaglan McEachern and Francis Cuddy III and Mark Flickenger and former national teamer Aquil Abdullah, plus German aces Dennis Kuijk and Nils Brenkman (rowing as D.S.R.V. Laga).
Women: Intriguing matchup of returning champs Margaret Matia and Liz Mygatt and US lightweight teamers Sarah Bates and Margaret Duggan, who won the youth event last year. Don't rule out Caryn Davies (who stroked the US eight to global gold this summer) and Whitney Post.
CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES
Men: New Zealand's Mahe Drysdale, the three-time world champion, is back after being dethroned by Argentine surprise Santiago Fernandez, who's looking to be the first repeat winner since Duncan Free in 2002. Kevin Light and Malcolm Howard, who won global gold in the Canadian eight this year, shouldn't be overlooked.
Women: With French defender Sophie Balmary hors de combat, Radcliffe grad Michelle Guerette, the two-time world medalist, is favored to reclaim her crown. Canada's Darcy Marquardt and Jane Rumball, 2-3 last year, will give her a tussle.
Sunday
SENIOR VETERAN SINGLES (70+)
Men: After scratching last year, six-time champ Richard Kendall is back, but starting 19th. Cambridge's Carlo Zezza, half a dozen years younger, is the defender.
Women: Laurette Rindlaub, who ended Eve Green's four-year reign by 47 seconds last year, is back for a rematch.
VETERAN SINGLES (60+)
Men: Duncan Howat, going for his third title in four years, will have to deal with Pettipaug teammates Paul Flory and John Laundon.
Women: Catherine Kemper, bidding for her third straight, will duel Cambridge's three-time champ, Brooke Stevens, and Harriet
Cuyler.
YOUTH DOUBLES
Men: With collegians now barred, prep schoolers Matthew Benedetto and Michael Bohs are the chalk favorites.
Women: With last year's top eight finishers all moving up and out, Kelly Burke and Brittany Bruder are the boat to beat.
YOUTH FOURS
Men: St. Catharines, which handled college rivals last year, is favored against the schoolboys from Gunnery and Canadian countrymen Upper Canada College (actually a high school).
Women: Pocock RC, which cruised last year, will be chased again by the Friends of Shenendehowa Crew and the Peddie School.
YOUTH EIGHTS
Men: With the Harvards and Cals no longer eligible, Chaminade is favored to be the first high school winner since 1985. The Princeton National RA, a US development boat, should prove a worthy rival.
Women: Community Rowing is favored to win for the third time in four years, but Maritime RC and St. Catharines will make strong bids, as will the US entry from Princeton.
MASTER SINGLES
Men: Australia's Dale Hawkins, who won by more than 30 seconds last year, will be pursued again by Union's Greg Lewis and Riverside lightweight Sean Wolf, making his master debut.
Women: Antje Siems was last year's victor, but she'll be underdog to Union's Claudia Wagner, who's moving up from lightweight singles, where she had a faster time last year.
COLLEGIATE EIGHTS
Men: With Western RC not defending, Queen's University Canada is favored in a field that includes two-time champion Trinity and Georgia Tech.
Women: Now that Yale has moved up, Canadian schools Brock and Queen's are the class of the field.
LIGHTWEIGHT SINGLES
Men: US teamer Richard Montgomery has an excellent shot to win for the third time in five years. Cody Lowry figures to be his main competition.
Women: With champion Renee Hykel taking a pass, Daniela Nachazelova is heiress apparent, but she's up against former champion Heather Moon, Riverside's Marika Page, and Lisa Carey-Moore.
LIGHTWEIGHT FOURS
Men: Ottawa RC, looking to become the first crew to win four straight since 1981, will be nudged by Undine Barge Club, plus Brock and Yale, bidding to be the first collegiate victor since 1987.
Women: Undine and the University of Victoria, which have won six of the last seven titles, have at it again, along with the University of Pittsburgh.
LIGHTWEIGHT EIGHTS
Men: Rowing Canada , which broke an American hammerlock on the event last year, faces three-time champion New York AC, Dutch entry Hollandia, plus Princeton and Navy.
Women: The Canadians, rowing as London Training Center, go for three straight after last year's cruise. Top rivals will be three-time victor Riverside, two-time champ Wisconsin, Princeton, and Radcliffe.
CHAMPIONSHIP FOURS
Men: That entry from the University of British Columbia is the former Thunderbird Rowing Center, which won the last two crowns. It'll be up against the US (which has won seven titles under two names) plus Harvard and Stanford.
Women: This should be the Canadian intramural championships, with defender University of British Columbia, the national crew (as London Training Center), and the University of Victoria. No US entry has won since 1994, but the New York AC has a decent chance.
CHAMPIONSHIP EIGHTS
Men: The US boat, which has won 10 of the last 12 races, will get all it can handle from Germany's world silver medalists (as D.S.R.V. Laga). Yale, Brown, and the Penn AC shape up as the best domestic contenders.
Women: The usual tangle between the US (winner of four of the last six) and their Canadian neighbors, with Princeton (the last collegiate winner in 2000), Yale, and Tennessee giving chase.
COMPILED BY JOHN POWERS 