PLOVDIV, Bulgaria - The U.S. under 23 national team will look to open up the 2015 World Rowing Under 23 Championships this week strong as the women's four and eight defend their gold medal titles July 22-26 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Medaling in five of the 21 events at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Varese, Italy, the U.S. will once again contend with top rowers in the world under the age of 23 as more than 820 athletes from 51 nations are entered in 21 events.
The lightweight men's double sculls attracted the most entries with 28 boats. The men's single sculls also attracted a large number of entries with 25 crews. The lightweight women's single sculls and the lightweight women's double sculls have 19 and 18 boats entered, respectively.
The five-day competition will feature U.S. crews in 20 of the 21 events including the men's and women's single sculls, lightweight men's and women's single sculls, men's and women's double sculls, lightweight men's and women's double sculls, women's quadruple sculls, lightweight men's and women's quadruple sculls, men's and women's pair, lightweight men's pair, men's and women's four, lightweight men's four, men's four with coxswain, and men's and women's eight.
The United States is represented by 59 athletes, with 25 returning national team members and 34 new faces as athletes from across the country come together for a common goal: gold for the U.S.A.
In 2014, the U.S. made five trips to the podium as the lightweight men's single, the women's eight and the women's four won gold, the women's pair took silver and the men's eight claimed the bronze medal.
The three medals for the women's crews were particularly special in 2014, as a record number of 298 female competitors were scheduled to race.
After posting the best finish in the women's four since the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, last year's double gold medalist Kendall Chase (Evergreen, Colo.) will return to the four this year, joined by Mia Croonquist (Vashon Island, Wash.) and Sarah Dougherty (Kent, Wash.) and member of last year's eight, Lizzy Youngling (Westport, Conn.).
The four athletes will double into the women's eight, as the boat looks to defend its three-year running gold standard. In six of the last nine under 23 world championships, the U.S. has walked away with the top spot. Joining the four will be coxswain Colette Lucas-Conwell (Palo Alto, Calif.), Alex Spaulding (Watervliet, Mich.) and returning gold medalist of the 2014 eight and four Erin Reelick (Brookfield, Conn.). The women's pair of Georgia Ratcliff (Fall Church, Va.) and 2014 dual-medalist Jessica Eiffert (Rochester, N.Y.) will round the eights lineup as stern pair.
"We are excited that we get to race in the pair and still get the opportunity to race in the eight," said Eiffert. "It is a really amazing atmosphere, and I think the group is going to have a lot of fun this year."
Returning to international competition after placing 22nd in the single sculls in 2014, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla.) will look challenge one of the toughest fields this year as Poland's 2014 silver medalist in the event, Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, will fight to stand atop the podium this year.
The lightweight women's double of first-time national team members Jennifer Sager (Erdenheim, Pa.) and Kathryn Oram (Mendham, N.J.) will also look to tackle a highly competitive group as 2014 gold medalist Zoe McBride and her new partner Jackie Kiddle are entered again. McBride set the new World Best Time at the 2015 World Rowing Cup II in Varese, Italy and has paired up with Kiddle, who was also a finalist at the 2015 World Rowing Cups II and III.
After making the 2014 U.S. Under 23 National team as a spare, Hector Formoso-Murias (Key Biscayne, Fla.) spent the past year training for Bulgaria to compete in the lightweight men's single.
"I have wanted nothing but this since I was in the eighth grade," said Formosa. "It was such a memorable experience last year, and I can't wait to do it again this year as a competitor. I have worked really hard at just getting faster all year and I want to put it to work."
One of the most decorated and seasoned crews at the trials, the lightweight men's pair of Alexander Bonorris (Corte Madera, Calif.) and Jordan Tewksbury-Volpe (Naples, Italy) are in their second and third national teams, respectively.
Volpe finished seventh in the lightweight four alongside Bonorris at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and 15th in the lightweight pair at the 2013 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. They will be the first U.S. crew to the line Wednesday, taking on Brazil, Greece, Great Britain and Norway in the second of three heats, with the top three crews advancing to the semifinals.
Two other crews are scheduled to race Wednesday. Following the lightweight men's pair is the women's quadruple sculls featuring Sam Casto (Dallas, Pa.), Kendall Brewer (Austin, Texas), Meghan Wheeler (McLean, Va.) and Erin Briggs (Orono, Minn.). The U.S. crew competes in the second of two heats with Germany, New Zealand, Canada, Greece and France. The winner advances to the final, while the remaining crews will have a second opportunity to advance through a repechage.
The last crew to the line is the U.S. lightweight men's double sculls crew of Austin Velte (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jim Sincavage (Malvern, Penn.) from Conshohocken Rowing Center. Velte and Sincavage race home team Bulgaria, Belarus, Sweden and Thailand in the fourth of five heats. The top four finishers of each race will advance to the quarterfinals.
Hosting the World Rowing Under 23 Championships for the first time, Plovdiv is seasoned in hosting high-level events as the site of the 2011 European Rowing Championship and the 2012 World Rowing Junior and Senior Championships.
The regatta course in Plovdiv is a man-made canal stretching 2,300 meters along the Maritza River in the center of the city. The course is framed by forest that provides natural shelter. It will also play host to the 2018 World Rowing Championships.
The World Rowing Under 23 Championships is held for 21 boat classes and is open to all FISA-member nations for athletes under the age of 23. The event began in 1976 as the 'Seniors Match' and then became the 'Nations Cup.' It became the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in 2005.