ST. CATHARINES, Ont., Canada - Rowing enthusiasts have plenty to keep themselves occupied this weekend, with major international competitions underway in Lucerne, Switzerland at 2015 World Rowing Cup 3 and in St. Catharines, Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games.
The United States advanced all seven crews to the finals on the opening day of rowing events in Ontario. Here's a look and the results for U.S. crews Saturday.
One of the most exciting races of the day was the first heat of the lightweight men's double sculls, as Cambridge Boat Club's Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) and Malta Boat Club's Colin Ethridge (Laytonsville, Md.) led from start to finish, crossing ahead of Mexico's Alexis Lopez and Alan Armenta to win 6:31.53 to 6:32.59.
Meyer and Ethridge, who qualified for the senior national team that will race at the 2015 World Rowing Championships next month, advanced to the final on Tuesday, July 14, scheduled for 10:05 a.m. EST. Cuba and Chile advanced from the second heat in 6:45.83 and 6:48.14, respectively.
In the first heat of the men's double sculls, Ryan Monaghan (Pittsford, N.Y.) of California Rowing Club and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) of Potomac Boat Club advanced directly to the final. The U.S. led from the start, pulling ahead of the field at each of the 500-meter course markers to win in a 6:28.72, nearly seven seconds ahead of second-place Peru.
Monaghan, a three-time senior national team member, and Stitt, a 2008 Olympian in the quadruple sculls, secured their lane for the final, scheduled for 9:45 a.m. EST on Monday, July 13. Cuba's London Olympic finalist Angel Fournier and Eduardo Rubio advanced from the second heat with a time of 6:27.28.
Vesper Boat Club's Yohann Rigogne (Besançon, France) won his heat of the men's single sculls to advance directly to the final. Rigogne, who clocked a 7:06.78, represented the U.S. in the event at the 2014 World Rowing Championships.
"It was a fast start," said Rigogne. "One guy was ahead of me, but I kept my calm and just tried to row well, tried to get ahead. The Canadian (Rob Gibson) was slowly coming back on me and at the cable (with 500-meters to go), I just did a big move and he shut down."
Cuba's Angel Fournier won the first heat, his second race of the day, with a time of 7:11.74. The final is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. EST on Wednesday, July 15.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, GMS Rowing Center's Victoria Burke (Redding, Conn.) and Sarah Giancola (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished second in their heat, missing the final by just over seven seconds. Canada advanced directly to the final with a time of 7:21.43. The U.S. crew returned to finish second to Argentina in the repechage to advance, along with rep winner Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.
Giancola took seventh at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight quadruple sculls. Burke is a 2010 lightweight quad silver-medalist. Their final is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. EST on Tuesday, July 14.
Women's Double Sculls (W2x) (s) Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.), Vesper Boat Club (b) Nicole Ritchie (Dummerston, Vt.), Vesper Boat ClubIn preliminary racing, the U.S. women's double sculls crew of Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) and Nicole Ritchie (Dummerston, Vt.) finished second with a time of 7:07.61. Canada's Antije Von Seydlitz and Kerry Shaffer led from the start to win in a 7:01.73.
The U.S. will race in the final, scheduled for 9:25 a.m. EST on Monday, July 13. In a field of six crews, Meyer, a 2008 Olympian in the women's quadruple sculls, and first-time national team member, Ritchie, take on Cuba, Canada, Chile, Brazil and Argentina.
The U.S. women's pair of Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio) and Emily Huelskamp (Sainte Genevieve, Mo.) recorded the fastest time in the race for lanes, with a 7:19.44.
With six crews entered in the event, the U.S. will be top seed in the final against Canada, Argentina, Chile, Nicaragua and Cuba. The final is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. EST on Monday, July 13.
The U.S. men's four of Keane Johnson (Palo Alto, Calif.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), Kyle Peabody (LaGrange, N.Y.) and David Eick (Raleigh, N.C.) finished third in its preliminary race, posting a 6:30.48. Canada's top crew of Conlin McCabe, Kai Langerfeld, Tim Schrijver and Will Crothers won in a 6:18.01, with Argentina's Agustin Diaz, Ivan Carino, Francisco Esteras and Joaquin Iwan in second place with time of 6:26.97.
Men's Four"The water was pretty flat," said Johnson. "Earlier in the week, we had a pretty strong headwind coming down the course. I was pretty happy with the race. We had a strong middle thousand. Our middle thousand was the fastest behind the Canadians. We'll look to clean up our start and add a sprint, then I think we can be pretty competitive for a medal. We definitely want to medal."
Seven more U.S. crews are in action tomorrow including many athletes racing in a second event at the Pan Am Games: