Four U.S. boats advanced to the finals on Sunday to highlight the second day of rowing competition at the 2007 Pan American Games at the Lagoa Rowing Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The lightweight women's double sculls, women's double sculls, men's double sculls and men's four all moved on to Wednesday's finals. The rowing competition includes races in 13 total events and runs through July 19.
"We had a good solid start," Moore said. "This was the first time for both of us to race internationally, and it was a great experience to get on the line against other countries and have the confidence to row a good race. It was a good race. Canada was right behind us, and we knew in our heat they would be tough competition for us. We felt good throughout the whole race."
With only four entries in the event, Margaret Matia (Burke, Va.) and Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.) raced for lanes in the women's double sculls and came away with the top seed. The duo led from start to finish, clocking a 7:16.03 to earn the victory. Canada finished second in a 7:18.27, followed by Cuba and Argentina.
The men's four crew of Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Sebastian Bea (San Francisco, Calif.) and Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) also won its race for lanes. The quartet sat in second position through the 1,000-meter mark before passing Canada in the third quarter of the race. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:13.91, followed by Canada in a 6:17.54. Brazil, Cuba, Argentina and Mexico rounded out the six finishers.
In the men's double sculls, Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) finished third in their race for lanes. The duo sat in third position through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into second place with 500 meters to go. However, Argentina was able to come back on the U.S. boat in the final 500 to regain second position. Cuba's Yoennis Hernandez and Janier Concepcion led the race from start to finish, clocking a 6:30.93. Argentina finished second in a 6:35.86, followed by Cuddy and McEachern in a 6:36.13.
With five crews qualifying for the finals yesterday, the four remaining U.S. crews will begin competition on Monday.
The lightweight men's four of Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.), Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.), Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.) will take on crews from El Salvador, Cuba and Brazil in the second of two heats. The winner of each heat advances to Thursday's final, while the rest of the crews move on to an afternoon repechage.
With only five entries in the event, the men's quadruple sculls crew of Cuddy, McEachern, Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) and Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) will race for lanes, with the winner earning the top seed in the final. The quartet will take on boats from Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Brazil.
Likewise, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Matia, Trowbridge, Reilly Dampeer (Weston, Conn.) and Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) will take on four crews in a race for lanes. The U.S. will face off against boats from Cuba, Argentina, Brazil and Canada.
The men's eight of coxswain Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Tyler Winklevoss, Cameron Winklevoss, Bea, Winkler, Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.), Troy Kepper (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Chris Callaghan (Tualatin, Ore.) will take on three other crews in a race for lanes. The eight with face boats from Brazil, Cuba and Argentina.
Heats and repechages continue on Monday, with finals being held Tuesday through Thursday.