Northwestern University Athletics
Erica Rose Wins National 10K Open Water Title
6/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
June 2, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - USA Swimming staged its annual 10-kilometer Open Water National Championships on Sunday, June 1, in Fort Myers, Fla. For the second year in a row, Northwestern senior-to-be Erica Rose (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken School) took the women's title with a winning time of 2:10:17.24, nearly two minutes ahead of second-place Briley Bergen.
The top male finisher was Dan DeMarco of the University of Virginia, who finished with a time of 1:57:45.21. In all, more than 70 of the best open-water swimmers in the United States competed in the event which was run in the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Myers Beach.
"This race was not easy, it was frustrating in that I never really knew where I was going,'' Rose said. "I tried to break away, but there was no one to lead me.''
With her first-place finish, Rose qualified to represent Team USA in the 10K event at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. The top two in both the men's and women's divisions qualified for the World Championships this July; Rose is representing the U.S. team for the third consecutive year.
Click here to read a story of the race in the Fort Myers News Press.
