Three United States crews won their heats on Thursday to highlight the first day of racing at the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Brest, Belarus. Unfortunately, thunderstorms caused the postponement of racing midway through the afternoon schedule, forcing the lightweight men's four, women's quadruple sculls, men's quadruple sculls and men's eight to wait until Friday to race their heats.
Felice Mueller (Cleveland, Ohio) and Ashley Kroll (Edmonds, Wash.) dominated the second heat of women's pair, winning the race by just over 17 seconds to advance directly to Saturday's final. Mueller and Kroll, who are teammates at the University of Michigan, took command of the race in the first 500 meters, building a 4.43-second advantage over South Africa during the first quarter of the race. Mueller and Kroll continued to build on their advantage, taking nearly a 10-second lead at the halfway point and crossing the finish line with a final margin of 17.05 seconds. The duo finished with a time of 7:22.56. Romania won the other heat, clocking a time of 7:29.30 to finish 3.83 seconds ahead of Bulgaria.
"It felt pretty solid," Mueller said. "We definitely have more speed to gain in the last 1,000 (meters)."
"The first races are always the hardest because you don't know speeds in the other pairs or the other boats," Kroll said. "You're just getting a taste and a feel for what the others have. We went out testing the field. The first 1,000 (meters) was nice, our start was nice, but we have a lot more in us. We have more to work on in the next day or so."
In the women's double sculls, twin sisters Elizabeth and Rebecca Donald (Falmouth, Mass.) advanced to Saturday's final with a victory in the second of two heats. The duo trailed Estonia at the 500-meter mark before moving into first place at the midway point of the race. At the finish line, the Donald sisters had defeated Italy by 2.30 seconds, finishing with a time of 7:30.38. Belarus won the first heat in a 7:08.04, earning the other automatic qualifying spot in the final.
In the women's four, Sara Hendershot (West Simsbury, Conn.), Julie Smith (Raleigh, N.C.), Hannah Malvin (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Michaela Strand (Seattle, Wash.) recorded the fastest time of the heats in winning their race. The quartet clocked a 6:43.37 to finish more than eight seconds ahead of The Netherlands. In the process, the U.S. boat earned a spot in Saturday's final. Australia won the other heat in a 6:46.02, also advancing directly to the final.
In the lightweight men's pair, Michael Kerrigan (Charlottesville, Va.) and Christian Klein (Herndon, Va.) finished second in their heat, advancing directly to Saturday's semifinals. Kerrigan and Klein held second place the entire way down the course. Italy's Matteo Pinca and Marcello Nicoletti won the race in a 6:49.48, while the American duo stroked a 6:52.51.
Women's single sculler Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) also advanced directly to Saturday's semifinals with a second-place finish in her heat. Meyer got off the line in third before moving into second during the second quarter of the race. Poland's Natalia Madaj used a fast start to establish nearly a five-second lead on the field during the first 500 meters. Meyer clocked the fastest final 1,500 meters but was unable to catch Madaj. She finished with a time of 7:43.81, with Madaj winning the race in a 7:41.61.
The men's four of Dane McFadden (Fillmore, Calif.), Nick Jordan (Princeton, N.J.), Alexander Syverson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Evan Cassidy (Westbury, N.Y.) also claimed a spot in Saturday's semifinals with a second-place finish in its heat. The U.S. boat got off the line quickly and held the lead over Germany through the 1,500-meter mark. However, the Germans made a late push over the final 500 meters to earn the victory. Germany crossed the line in a 6:17.24, 1.01 seconds ahead of the American's 6:18.25.
Lightweight men's single sculler John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) also finished second in his heat, just missing a spot in the semifinals. Graves got off the line in third position before moving into second place just past the 1,000-meter mark. However, Belarus' Hannes Obreno pulled away over the final 500 meters to earn the victory and a spot in the semifinals. Obreno crossed the line in a 7:07.50, with Graves finishing 5.37 seconds behind in a 7:12.87. Graves will now race in a repechage, or second-chance race, on Friday.
In the men's single sculls, Brendan McEwan (New Canaan, Conn.) finished third in his heat and will now race in a repechage on Friday. McEwan held third through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into second place with 500 meters to go. However, he was unable to challenge Russia's Maxim Zhemaldinov for the top position. Zhemaldinov won the race in a 7:12.98, with Latvia's Kristaps Cirulis finishing second in a 7:16.02. McEwan clocked a 7:18.12.
Kimberly Hopewell (Ridgefield, Conn.), Elizabeth Robinson (Seattle, Wash.), Summers Nelson (Kansas City, Mo.) and Devery Karz (Park City, Utah) finished third in their heat of the lightweight women's quadruple sculls. The crew led a tight race going into the final 500 meters but caught a boat-stopping crab and dropped to third. The crew will now have to race in tomorrow's repechage. Germany ended up winning the race with a time of 6:41.43, earning a spot in the final. The U.S. crossed the line in a 7:03.04.
Emily Boucher (Lee, N.H.) finished fourth in her heat of the lightweight women's single sculls. Boucher clocked an 8:08.51 and will now race in Friday's repechages for the chance to advance to the semifinals. Belarus' Alena Kryvasheyenka won the race in a 7:51.87.
Likewise, the lightweight women's double sculls duo of Elizabeth Bates (Tenants Harbor, Maine) and Sarah Keller (Perrysburg, Ohio) finished fourth in its heat and will now race in tomorrow's repechages. Bates and Keller sat in fourth position the entire way down the course but were within striking distance of third-place Great Britain going into the final 500 meters. However, the British boat clocked the fastest final 500 to solidify the third and last qualification spot for the semifinals. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:25.07. Greece won the race in a 7:18.02.
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 fifth in its heat, crossing the finish line in a 6:26.42. The crew will now compete in a repechage on Friday. Germany won the race in a 6:15.88.
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 finished fifth in its heat and will race in Friday's repechages. The crew took fifth off the line and held that position the entire way down the course, finishing in a 6:20.39. Great Britain won the race in a 6:04.75.
Henry Moore (Jaffrey, N.H.) and Ben Johnson (Northford, Conn.) finished fifth in their heat of the men's pair and also will head to the repechages. Moore and Johnson crossed the finish line with a time of 7:14.60, while Canada won the race in a 6:46.21.
After finishing fifth in its heat, the lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Alex Burjakowsky (Irvine, Calif.) and Nick Trojan (Los Alamitos, Calif.) will also race in tomorrow's repechages. Burjakowsky and Trojan finished with a time of 6:59.16. Greece won the heat in a 6:38.41.
The men's double sculls duo of Erich Hanxleden (Garden Grove, Calif.) and Andrew Gallagher (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished sixth in its heat and will race in a repechage on Friday. Hanxleden and Gallagher got off the line in fifth position before dropping to sixth at the 1,000-meter mark. The crew crossed the line in a 6:49.24. Germany won the race in a 6:28.81.
With only six entries, the women's eight will see its first action of the regatta on Friday in a race to determine lane assignments for the final. The U.S. boat returns five athletes from last year's silver-medal crew. Coxswain Ariel Frost (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Taylor Ritzel (Larkspur, Colo.), Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Mary Jeghers (San Diego, Calif.) and Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y.) are being joined by Emily Regan (Buffalo, N.Y.), Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif.), Kerry Simmonds (San Diego, Calif.) and Jennifer Cromwell (Bellevue, Wash.).
Racing continues on Friday starting at 8 a.m. local time (seven hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time) with the remaining heats and repechages. For full results, roster, heat sheets, athlete bios and more information, please visit www.usrowing.org.
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|