PLOVDIV, Bulgaria - Seven U.S. crews advanced from the morning reps on Friday, while the lightweight men's pair advanced from its semi. The stage is set for the first day of finals on Saturday, when the United States will go to the line in search of medals in six events.
Starting off the morning, the U.S. women's four won its rep to advance to the final. Sarah Dougherty (Kent, Wash.), Lizzy Youngling (Westport, Conn.), Mia Croonquist (Vashon Island, Wash.) and Kendall Chase (Evergreen, Colo.) posted a 6:43.31 to Germany's 6:51.46.
"Our race today was a great improvement from yesterday," said Dougherty, who is a newcomer to the crew that will look to defend its world championship title.
Dougherty, Youngling, Croonquist and Chase returned in the afternoon to compete in an exhibition race for lanes in the women's eight, along with coxswain Colette Lucas-Conwell (Palo Alto, Calif.), Alex Spaulding (Watervliet, Mich.), Erin Reelick (Brookfield, Conn.), Georgia Ratcliff (Fall Church, Va.) and Jessica Eiffert (Rochester, N.Y.). The U.S. crossed the line in a 6:32.46, behind Germany's 6:31.50
Dougherty, Youngling, Croonquist and Chase take on New Zealand, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and Germany in the four, while Ratcliff and Eiffert compete in the final of the women's pair against Norway, Germany, Australia, Great Britain and France on Saturday.
The U.S. men's four with coxswain raced to a second-place finish of 6:19.38 to Germany's 6:16.79 in the rep. United States' Seattle Area Rowing crew of Rielly Milne (Seattle, Wash.), Eric Benca (Mercer Island, Wash.), Sam Pettet (Seattle, Wash.), Oscar Golberg (Vancouver, Wash.) and Will Spencer (Redmond, Wash.) advanced the final Saturday along with Germany, Turkey, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.
In the lightweight men's four, the U.S. crew sprinted to the line and finished second to advance to its final Sunday. France won in 6:08.67. The U.S. held off Spain and Denmark to cross second in a 6:10.33. Ian Klein (Scarsdale, N.Y.), Samuel Ward (Winter Park, Fla.), Jacob Ford (Warrington, Pa.) and Marco Bustamante Nadeau (Thessalonkiki, Greece) will have the opportunity to race for a medal on Sunday.
U.S. men's eight took a clear lead early in its rep, with France and Italy battling for the second qualifying spot. The Americans won in a 5:37.33. France crossed second in 5:38.86, just 0.13 seconds ahead of Italy's 5:38.99. The men's eight final is scheduled for Sunday. The crew of Louis Lombardi (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.), Dara Alizadeh (Boston, Mass.), Hunter Leeming (Sarasota, Fla.), Justin Murphy (Montclair, N.J.), Max Meyer-Bosse (Westport, Conn.), Jordan Vanderstoep (Soquel, Calif.), Kaess Smit (Guadalajara, México), Greg Davis (Daly City, Calif.) and Finn Meeks (Lake Forest, Ill.) will look to return to the podium. Three members of this year's crew - Lombardi, Smit and Davis - won bronze in the event in 2014.
Capping off the morning, the U.S. lightweight men's pair of Alexander Bonorris (Corte Madera, Calif.) and Jordan Tewksbury-Volpe (Naples, Italy) finished third in the semifinals to claim a spot in Saturday's final. The U.S. was in third at the halfway point behind Turkey and Italy, holding on to the qualifying position. Italy won in a 6:43.60, followed by Turkey in 6:44.43 and the U.S. in a 6:46.03. Saturday's final will see the U.S. seeking a first-ever medal in the event against The Netherlands, Turkey, Italy, Greece and Great Britain.
Three crews advanced to semifinals on Saturday from Friday morning's reps-the men's pair, and men's and women's single sculls.
Stuart Maeder (Washington, D.C.) and Kevin Bielawski (Belle Mead, N.J.) finished second in their rep of the men's pair, clocking a 6:49.96. Brazil won the race in 6:49.74.
In the men's single sculls, Ben Davison (Iverness, Fla.) is back on the medal track with his rep win. Davison posted a 7:09.10 at the line to advance. U.S. women's single sculler Mary Ann McNulty (Jacksonville, Fla.) also advanced with a third-place finish in her rep (7:56.64).
"Today's race went well, almost completely to plan," said Davison. "I tried to make it through as comfortably as possible. The semi tomorrow will be tough; there is no easy draw, but I am excited to get out and test the speed."
Two other U.S. crews head into finals Saturday. The men's four of Kyle Flagg (Newport Beach, Calif.), Tim Tracey (Omaha, Neb.), Julian Hagberg (Minneapolis, Minn.) and John Carroll (Bronxville, N.Y.) take on Italy, Canada, Romania, Great Britain and Spain, while the U.S. women's quadruple sculls crew of Kendall Brewer (Austin, Texas), Meghan Wheeler (McLean, Va.), Erin Briggs (Orono, Minn.) and Sam Casto (Dallas, Pa.) races France, Germany, Australia, Poland and Greece.