By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

Dana Moffat, a 2015 graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, has recently been named to compete for the USA team for the 2017 World Under 23 Rowing Championships this July 19 to 23 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

In the NCAA division, Moffat has been rowing the past two years for University of California, Berkeley on a full scholarship. Since June 5, Moffat has been training at Princeton National Rowing Association facilities at Mercer Lake in West Windsor Township, N.J., at the Women’s Sweep Selection Camp, under coach Megan Cooke Carcagno, the head coach for the Duke University rowing team.

On July 6, Moffat was named to the four-seat of the eight-plus coxswain board. The four-seat is known as the “engine room” of the boat and the most powerful rowers are seated there. One of her teammates from Cal, Ellen Heile, will be rowing right along with her in the five-seat at the national championships.

Though this is exciting news, Moffat isn’t new to the world championship world. In 2015, she helped the USA Junior National Team bring home the gold medal at the Junior World Rowing Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“It feels good, a lot different from being on the junior [national] team,” said Moffat. “It’s one step closer to the highest level.”

Moffat has rowed in the first varsity eight-boat this past season for Cal. Her boat won a silver medal in May at the NCAA Championships and Cal won second overall.

The entire U23 USA team departed from New Jersey on July 13 to Bulgaria to compete against teams from around the world.

“I mean obviously we would like to get the gold; we have all be training really hard for this,” said Moffat.

Moffat said it’s estimated to cost around $44,000 to send the team to Bulgaria to compete in the championship, so her team has started a RallyMe fundraiser to offset the cost. So far, they have collected nearly $10,000 to fund their trip.

To read more about the fundraiser, go to nrf.rallyme.com/rallies/8044.

For more information about the National Rowing Foundation, go to natrowing.org.