Former St. Lawrence University student Meghan Musnicki will be in the boat when the U.S. women’s eight rowing team competes for a gold medal Thursday in England.

Musnicki, who is from Naples and graduated from Canandaigua Academy, helped the team advance to the final during heats Sunday in her Olympic debut.

Musnicki came to the sport of rowing while at SLU her freshman year. The former high school basketball and soccer standout was convinced to try rowing by SLU coach Nick Hughes in 2001. Musnicki transferred to Ithaca College after her freshman year and the death of her father. She helped the Bombers to two NCAA Division III championships. She began training for the London Olympics in 2008.

Musnicki’s uncle, Don Musnicki, works at RBC Wealth Management in Watertown.

The U.S. women’s eight final is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. EST Thursday. The U.S. team has not lost a race since the World Cup in 2006.

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