While Thursday's afternoon thunderstorms forced the women's quadruple sculls, men's quadruple sculls, men's eight and lightweight men's four to wait until Friday to race their heats, the U.S. crews didn't seem to mind as all four recorded victories to highlight the second day of competition at the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Brest, Belarus.
In addition, seven more crews advanced through Friday's repechages, or second-chance races, giving the U.S. 18 boats in either the semifinals or finals, eclipsing last year's record of 14.
The women's quadruple sculls quartet of Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt.), Desiree Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Nicole Bielawski (Old Westbury, N.Y.) and Helen Tompkins (Friendswood, Texas) got Friday's racing off to a strong start in the opening race, clocking a 6:29.58 to win its heat and advance directly to Saturday's final. The crew got off the line in second position before taking the lead from the Ukraine. The U.S. held a 1.18-second advantage on Germany going into the final 1,000 meters. With only one crew earning an automatic berth in the final, the Americans held Germany in check over the second half of the race, winning by 0.85 seconds. Russia won the second heat in a 6:34.17, also advancing directly to the final.
Ian Silveira (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Henry Cole (New Canaan, Conn.), Hans Struzyna (Kirkland, Wash.) and Mike Donohue (Malvern, Pa.) followed up the women's quad victory with a win of their own in the first heat of the men's quadruple sculls. Lithuania led the race through the 1,500-meter mark, with Great Britain trailing close behind in second place and the U.S. in third. Over the final 500 meters, the U.S. overtook Lithuania and the British boat, crossing the finish line in a 5:58.84. Great Britain finished 1.96 seconds back in second place, with Lithuania dropping to third.
The men's eight continued the morning trend by defeating Great Britain to win its heat, advancing to tomorrow's semifinals. The crew of coxswain Zach Vlahos (Piedmont, Calif.), Michael Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), Tom Dethlefs (Lawrenceville, N.J.), Ty Otto (Seattle, Wash.), Blaise Didier (San Francisco, Calif.), Rob Munn (Redmond, Wash.), Nick Lucey (San Francisco, Calif.) and Sam Walker (Seattle, Wash.) trailed the British boat by 0.11 seconds at the midway point before taking the lead in the third quarter of the race. The Americans crossed the line in a 5:39.32, with Great Britain finishing second in a 5:39.79. Australia finished third, 6.45 seconds back.
The lightweight men's four of Robin Prendes (Miami, Fla.), Ed King (Ironton, Mo.), William Newell (Weston, Mass.) and Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) made it a clean sweep of the delayed heats, winning its race by 1.94 seconds to advance directly to the semifinals. The crew sat in second position behind Denmark through the 1,000-meter mark before taking the lead with just over 500 meters to go. The U.S. pulled away from the Danes over the final 500 meters, finishing with a time of 6:10.75. Denmark finished second in a 6:12.69, with Spain taking third.
With only six entries in the women's eight, the U.S. boat of coxswain Ariel Frost (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Taylor Ritzel (Larkspur, Colo.), Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Emily Regan (Buffalo, N.Y.), Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif.), Mary Jeghers (San Diego, Calif.), Kerry Simmonds (San Diego, Calif.), Jennifer Cromwell (Bellevue, Wash.) and Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y.) got the chance to race for lanes on Friday. The U.S. boat grabbed the top spot off the line, building a 2.37-second lead at the 1,000-meter mark. The crew continued to extend its advantage through 1,500 meters before cruising home to a 2.86-second victory over New Zealand. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:17.15 and will enter Sunday's final as the top seed.
In the repechages, seven crews advanced to either the semifinals or the finals. The lightweight women's double sculls duo of Elizabeth Bates (Tenants Harbor, Maine) and Sarah Keller (Perrysburg, Ohio) won their repechage by 2.74 seconds to advance to the semifinals. After getting off the line in fourth, Bates and Keller moved into the top spot at the midway point of the race and held the lead the rest of the way down the course. The duo finished with a time of 7:22.59, with Denmark finishing second in a 7:25.33.
Lightweight men's single sculler John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished second in his repechage to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. After starting off in third, Graves led the race through the middle 1,000 meters. However, he was unable to hold off The Netherlands' David Ten Napel in the final stretch. Graves crossed the line in a 7:14.58, 1.52 seconds behind Ten Napel's winning time of 7:13.06.
In the repechage of lightweight women's quadruple sculls, Kimberly Hopewell (Ridgefield, Conn.), Elizabeth Robinson (Seattle, Wash.), Summers Nelson (Kansas City, Mo.) and Devery Karz (Park City, Utah) also took second to earn a spot in the final. The crew sat in fourth through the 1,000-meter mark before making a move into second with 500 meters to go. The U.S., which recorded the fastest second-half split, continued to push the leaders from France during the final quarter of the race, missing first by just 0.23 seconds. France won with a time of 6:45.49, while the U.S. clocked a 6:45.72.
In the men's single sculls, Brendan McEwan (New Canaan, Conn.) finished second to earn a spot in Saturday's semifinals. McEwan held second the entire way down the course, finishing a little less than seven seconds behind The Netherlands' Dirk Uittenbogaard. The Dutch sculler finished with a time of 7:07.70, with McEwan clocking a 7:14.62.
Emily Boucher (Lee, N.H.) finished third in her repechage of the lightweight women's single sculls to earn a berth in tomorrow's semifinals. With three crews to advance, Boucher sat in fourth position at the midway point before overtaking Denmark's Sarah Juergensen in the third quarter of the race. Boucher pulled away from Juergensen in the final 500 meters, crossing the finish line in an 8:05.67. Austria's Stefanie Borzacchini won the race in a 7:58.12.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Steven Cutler (Lutz, Fla.), Erich Schultze (Foxboro, Mass.), John Redos (Mount Bethel, Pa.) and Tobin McGee (Rye, N.Y.) also took third in its repechage to earn a spot in tomorrow's semifinals. With three to advance, the U.S. got off the line in fifth position before moving into third at the midway point of the race. The U.S. battled Belarus for the last qualification position the rest of the way down the course, beating the host nation by 1.41 seconds. France won the race in a 6:03.54, followed by Poland in a 6:06.18 and the U.S. in a 6:10.71.
The men's pair of Henry Moore (Jaffrey, N.H.) and Ben Johnson (Northford, Conn.) held third place the entire way down the course to earn a berth in tomorrow's semifinals. Belarus won the race in a 6:55.87, followed by Italy. The American duo crossed the line in a 7:04.05.
The men's four with coxswain of Kereeti Pisapati (Bethlehem, Pa.), Michael Grose (Jacksonville, Fla.), Patrick Kenny (Malvern, Pa.), Joe Ledvina (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Benjamin Dann (Pond Ridge, N.Y.) finished third in its repechage, just missing a spot in the final. With two to advance, the U.S. crew got off the line in third position but moved into second as the boats crossed the 1,000-meter mark. However, Croatia was able to take over second place during the third quarter of the race. The U.S. made a late push but was unable to reel in the Croatians. New Zealand won the race in a 6:23.61. Croatia finished second in a 6:25.02, with the Americans clocking a time of 6:27.70. The U.S. will now race in Saturday's B final for places 7-9.
The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Alex Burjakowsky (Irvine, Calif.) and Nick Trojan (Los Alamitos, Calif.) finished fourth in its repechage and now will race in the C/D semifinals, which determines what crews will advance to the C and D placement finals. Burjakowsky and Trojan dropped to fourth off the line and were never able to challenge for a top-two position and a spot in the semifinals. The duo finished with a time of 6:53.35. Australia won the race in a 6:36.49.
After finishing fourth in its morning repechage, the men's double sculls duo of Erich Hanxleden (Garden Grove, Calif.) and Andrew Gallagher (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished second in their C/D semifinal to advance to the C final, which determines places 13-18. Hanxleden and Gallagher finished with a time of 6:44.16. Romania won the race in a 6:39.22.
Racing continues on Saturday starting at 8 a.m. local time (seven hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time) with semifinals in events with more than 12 entries and finals in the women's four, men's four with coxswain, lightweight women's quadruple sculls, women's pair, women's double sculls and women's quadruple sculls. The U.S. will have five crews racing in finals on Saturday. Sunday's racing features finals in the remaining 15 events. For more information and full results, please visit www.usrowing.org.