MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College alum Evan Tsourtsoulas '10 will represent the United States at the 2010 World Rowing Championships, Oct., 31-Nov., 7, in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand. Tsourtsoluas and teammate Mike Nucci won the lightweight men's pair (LM2-) at the USRowing Senior Team Trials.

The 2010 World Championships Trials were contested in a best two-out-of-three format Sept. 27-Oct. 1 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The shell won the first final of the lightweight men's pair by just over two seconds. Nucci, representing Malta BC, and Tsourtsoulas, representing Penn AC, finished with a time of 7:20.461. They then made it a sweep with a five-second victory in the second final with a time of 6:49.025.

Tsourtsoulas, a citizen of both Greece and the United States, bypassed his senior season with Marietta to chase his dream of rowing in the Olympics. He won a gold medal for Greece in the Senior B Lightweight Men's 4 (BLM4-) at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships and took sixth as a member of the Lightweight Pair (LM2-) at the World Championships in 2007, but his country failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2008.

Tsourtsoulas returned to Marietta College and finished his undergraduate degree in the spring of 2010. He then joined Penn AC and resumed his training, which led him to the US Team Trials and a trip back to the World Championships. It will be Tsourtsoulas' first time representing the United States but the ninth time at a world championship.

Originally recruited by John Bancheri in 2003, Tsourtsoulas helped Marietta win three Dad Vail medals during his collegiate career. The Pioneers' Freshmen Eight won a gold medal in 2004, while the Varsity Eight took home a bronze in 2005 before winning gold under Coach Chris Pucella in 2006.