Finals are now set following Friday's racing at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships. The U.S. will have three crews - the women's eight, men's eight and women's pair - racing for medals on Saturday.
In Friday's racing, Suzanne Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished fifth in the first of two semifinals of the junior women's single sculls and now will race in the B final for places 7-12. Maddamma sat in fifth position the entire way down the course. China's Weiwei Zhu dominated the race, finishing with a time of 7:49.01. Germany's Tina Maker finished second in an 8:03.91, followed by Canada's Lauren Wilkinson. Maddamma will face scullers from Ukraine, Russia, Sweden, Croatia and Japan in the B final.
In the junior men's single sculls, James Hills (Kenmore, N.Y.) finished third in his C/D semifinal to advance to Saturday's C final, which determines places 13-18. Hills sat in fifth at the midway point of the race before pulling ahead of the scullers from Serbia and Turkey in the second 1,000 meters. Hills clocked a 7:17.64. Russia's Denis Pribyl won the race with a time of 7:14.02. In the C final, Hills will take on scullers from Russia, Estonia, China, Denmark and The Netherlands.
In the junior women's double sculls, Erin Crawford (Tempe, Ariz.) and Taylor Fries (Westport, Conn.) also finished third in their C/D semifinal to advance to the C final. The duo sat in fourth position through the 500-meter mark before moving into third place, finishing in a 7:36.44. Hungary won the race in a 7:32.90. The U.S. will take on Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and Latvia in tomorrow's race.
In the junior men's quadruple sculls, Ben Ludlow (Cincinnati, Ohio), Kynan Reelick (Morris, Conn.), Jason Koch (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and Greg Magarian (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished sixth in their C/D semifinal and will now race in the D final for places 19-24. The crew crossed the finish line with a time of 6:32.42. Portugal won the race in a 6:14.87. In the D final, the U.S. will face Russia, Iran, Norway, Denmark and Bulgaria.
In addition to the four crews that raced today, six other U.S. boats will race on Saturday including the three crews that will compete for spots on the medal stand.
The junior women's eight of Alaizah Koorji (Orinda, Calif.), Molly Hamrick (Tampa, Fla.), Lauren Shook (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.), Elise Wilson (Montara, Calif.), Natalie Eisermann (Key Biscayne, Fla.), Melisa Ongun (Chicago, Ill.), Caroline Nash (Darien, Conn.), Felice Mueller (Cleveland, Ohio) and Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich.) dominated its heat to advance directly to Saturday's final. The crew clocked the fastest time in the heats and enters the final as one of the top two seeds, along with Germany, which won the other heat. The two crews will take on Romania, China, Poland and The Netherlands in tomorrow's race for medals.
In the men's eight, Anthony Altimari (Huntington, N.Y.), Ian Silveira (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Chris Bowman (Wilmette, Ill.), Nick Jordan (Princeton, N.J.), T.J. Laher (Orinda, Calif.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), Ian Winthrop (Roxbury, Conn.), Chris Lutz (Fairless Hills, Pa.) and Mike Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.) finished second in the repechage, or second-chance race, to advance to Saturday's final. The crew will take on New Zealand, Germany, China, Italy and Romania.
The junior women's pair of Alex Japhet (Edmonds, Wash.) and Cara Linnenkohl (Redmond, Wash.) also finished second in its repechage to earn a spot in Saturday's final. The duo will take on crews from Romania, Germany, China, Bulgaria and Portugal in the race for medals.
The remaining U.S. crews will race in placement finals. In the junior women's four, the crew of Celia Kohl (Wilton, Conn.), Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.), Rachel Ogundiran (Bowie, Md.) and Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif.) finished third in its repechage and will race in Saturday's B final for places 7-9. The quartet will face Korea and France in the three-boat race.
The junior men's four with coxswain of Steve Matyas (Turnersville, N.J.), Matt Fluhr (Christchurch, Va.), Rob Poole (Coronado, Calif.), Kevin Kennedy (Moorestown, N.J.) and Jeremy Bernstein (Oakland, Calif.) finished fifth in its repechage and will race against South Africa in the B final for places 7-8.
Cameron Klotz (St. Louis, Mo.), Patrick Williams (San Mateo, Calif.), Chris Gear (Leesburg, Va.) and Chris Chang (Hillsborough, Calif.) finished fourth in their repechage of the junior men's four and will race in the C final for places 13-15. South Africa and Korea join the U.S. crew in the C final.
The regatta, which is serving as the test event for the 2008 Olympic venue, runs through Saturday and features more than 600 athletes from 49 countries. Finals will be held on Saturday. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com.