The U.S. men's four advanced out of the semifinals on Saturday to highlight the third day of competition at the 2009 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
The boat joins the women's pair, women's eight, men's four with coxswain, women's four and lightweight women's quadruple sculls - which all advanced to the finals earlier in the week - in tomorrow's races for the medals.
The crew of Mark Murphy (Madison, Wis.), James Long-Lerno (Seal Beach, Calif.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.) and Michael Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.) advanced to Sunday's final with a third-place finish in its semifinal. Racing in the first of two semis, the crew took second place off the line and held it through the midway point of the race. In the second 1,000 meters, Germany overtook the American boat for second, but the U.S. had no trouble finishing third and earning the final qualification spot. New Zealand led the race from start to finish, clocking a 5:59.38. Germany finished second in a 6:03.39, with the U.S. stroking a 6:04.66. France finished fourth, more than five seconds back. The three crews will take on Canada, Romania and Slovenia in the final.
Racing in the second semifinal of the lightweight men's four, Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.), Edward King (Ironton, Mo.), Julian Bowling (Shelby, N.C.) and Chad Healy (Ashland, Ore.) finished fourth, missing the final by 0.70 seconds. The quartet was in fifth position at the midway point of the race before moving into fourth as the boats passed through the 1,500-meter mark. The U.S. battled Hungary and France for the last two qualification spots during the final 500 meters. Germany won the race in a 6:04.03, followed by Hungary in a 6:06.85 and France in a 6:06.96. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:07.66 and will now race in tomorrow's B final for places 7-12.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Bob Duff (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.), Michael Nucci (Blue Bell, Pa.), Pete Orlando (Pelham, N.Y.) and Will Kelly (New Canaan, Conn.) also finished fourth in its semifinal, missing the final by less than two seconds. The U.S. got off the line in sixth place but moved into fourth position as the crews crossed the 1,000-meter mark. Coming into the final 500 meters, the crew sat less than one second off a qualifying spot. However, the U.S. could not overtake the French crew and will now race in tomorrow's B final. Germany won the race in a 5:51.37, with Russia finishing second in a 5:54.59. France clocked a 5:55.04, while the U.S. finished with a time of 5:56.76.
Women's single sculler Helen Tompkins (Friendswood, Texas) finished sixth in her semifinal and will now race in the B final on Sunday. After starting off in sixth, the American moved into fourth place at the midway point of the race and continued to hold that position as the scullers reached the 1,500-meter mark. Unfortunately, Tompkins was unable to keep pace in the battle for the final qualification spot. Lithuania's Donata Vistartaite won the race in a 7:37.16, with Estonia's Kaisa Pajusalu finishing second. Greece's Konstantina Kourkoumpa clocked the fastest final 500-meter split to move from fifth to third, stroking a 7:41.55 to finish 1.26 seconds ahead of The Netherlands' Kirsten Wielaard. Tompkins finished with a time of 7:52.40.
The lightweight women's double sculls duo of Madeline Davis (West Chester, Pa.) and Lindsay McAlpine (Berkeley, Calif.) also finished sixth and will now race in the B final. The crew fell to sixth off the line and could not mount a challenge for a top three position and a spot in the final. Germany won the race in a 7:11.43, followed by Russia and Austria. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 7:38.24.
In addition to the semifinal races, the U.S. had 10 crews race in placement finals on Saturday.
The men's eight of Daniel Connolly (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Nick Lucey (San Francisco, Calif.), Brad Bertoldo (San Jose, Calif.), Max Goff (Sun Prairie, Wis.), Matthew Wheeler (Eugene, Ore.), Blaise Didier (San Francisco, Calif.), Sebastian Peterlin (San Francisco, Calif.), Scott Morgan (Portola Valley, Calif.) and Neil McPeak (Linwood, N.J.) took control of the B final in the second quarter of the race and cruised to a six-second victory over Italy to finish seventh overall. Russia took a slight advantage as the three crews passed the 500-meter mark, but the U.S. made a strong move to pull ahead by more than four seconds at the midway point of the race. Italy cut the American's advantage slightly during the third 500, but the boat responded immediately and rowed away for the 6.03-second victory. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:37.11, with Italy finishing in a 5:43.14. Russia finished third.
Thomas Davidson (Seattle, Wash.) and Nick Donald (Seattle, Wash.) finished second in the B final of the lightweight men's pair for an eighth-place finish overall. After getting off the line in third position, the duo grabbed the lead from Hungary going into the final 500 meters. However, the Hungarian boat was able to retake the top spot with less than 250 meters to go, winning the race in a 7:00.53. Davidson and Donald crossed the finish line in a 7:02.48.
The women's quadruple sculls crew of Amanda Chase (Alexandria, Va.), Desiree Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt.) and Michelle Nance (Simpsonville, S.C.) finished third in the B final for a ninth-place finish overall. The crew dropped to third in the first 500 meters and was unable to hunt down Russia or Australia. Russia won the race in a 6:43.20, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:50.29.
The women's double sculls duo of Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif.) and Emily Eiffert (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) finished fourth in its B final for a 10th-place finish overall. The crew crossed the line with a time of 7:39.57. Germany won the race in a 7:16.99, passing Russia in the final 500 meters.
Sebastian Kirwan (Wilton, Conn.) and Nate Kelly (New Canaan, Conn.) finished second in the C final of the men's double sculls for a 14th-place finish overall. Kirwan and Kelly got off the line in third but passed Venezuela in the second half of the race. Georgia won with a time of 6:37.38, while the U.S. clocked a 6:40.49.
In the men's single sculls, Stephen Lambers (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) finished third in the C final for a 15th-place finish overall. Lambers moved from sixth to third in the final 500 meters, clocking a 7:15.30. Austria's Alexander Leichter won the race in a 7:12.05. In the morning C/D semifinal, Lambers won his race by 2.48 seconds.
In the C final of the lightweight women's single sculls, Dani Dewitt (Parkersburg, W.Va.) crossed the line in fourth place to finish 16th overall. Dewitt held second position behind Slovakia's Barbora Sagova during the first half of the race before dropping back. Sagova won the C final with a time of 8:01.30, while Dewitt crossed in an 8:13.03.
The men's quadruple sculls quartet of Singen Elliott (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Hans Struzyna (Seattle, Wash.), Martin Etem (Long Beach, Calif.) and Sean Engel (Greenbrae, Calif.) finished fifth in the C final for a 17th-place finish overall. The crew crossed the finish line with a time of 6:05.70. Lithuania won the race in a 5:55.28. The U.S. finished second in its C/D semifinal in the morning.
Andrew Campbell (New Canaan, Conn.) and Alec Buckenheimer (New Canaan, Conn.) finished sixth in the C final of the lightweight men's double sculls for an 18th-place finish overall. The duo clocked a time of 6:45.27. Ireland won the race in a 6:29.19. The U.S. advanced to the C final with a third-place finish in the morning C/D semifinal.
After finishing fourth in his morning C/D semifinal, Mike Orzolek (New Milford, Conn.) finished fifth in the D final of the lightweight men's single sculls for a 23rd-place finish overall, clocking a 7:27.01. Argentina's Agustin Campassi won the race in a 7:15.89.
The regatta concludes on Sunday with the remaining placement finals and grand finals. Racing begins at 9:30 a.m. local time.