The junior women's eight won a bronze medal to highlight the final day of racing at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships.
The crew 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.) sat in second position, less than one second behind Romania, through the first 1,000 meters. However, Romania used a strong third quarter of the race to extend its lead, while Germany inched past the U.S. as the crews rowed through the 1,500-meter mark. At the finish, Romania had clocked a 6:27.47 to win its eighth gold medal in the event in the past nine years. Germany finished second in a 6:29.07, while the U.S. took the bronze medal in a 6:30.17.
In the junior 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 fifth in a 5:51.56. The crew got off the line in solid position, sitting in third after the first 500 meters. However, the U.S. was unable to keep pace with the top four crews. Germany took the lead in the second quarter of the race and pulled away for a 2.48-second victory over New Zealand. The Germans finished with a time of 5:41.86, while New Zealand clocked a 5:44.34. China finished third in a 5:48.24.
The junior women's pair of Alex Japhet (Edmonds, Wash.) and Cara Linnenkohl (Redmond, Wash.) finished sixth. Japhet and Linnenkohl sat in fifth position through the 1,000-meter mark before Portugal passed them entering the final quarter of the race. After trailing for the first 1,000 meters, China passed Romania and cruised to the victory in a 7:33.17. Germany came in second in a 7:35.06, while Romania dropped to third. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:59.20.
Overall, China dominated the regatta. In addition to winning a gold medal in the junior women's pair, the host country took home gold in the junior women's four, junior women's single sculls, junior men's pair, junior women's double sculls and junior men's quadruple sculls. China also won silver in the junior men's double sculls, giving them eight total medals. Other gold medalists included Germany in the junior men's double sculls and junior women's quadruple sculls, Italy in the junior men's four, Bulgaria in the junior men's single sculls and Great Britain in the junior men's four.
Seven other U.S. crews competed for a final ranking in Saturday morning's placement finals. In the B final of the junior men's four with coxswain, Steve Matyas (Turnersville, N.J.), Matt Fluhr (Christchurch, Va.), Rob Poole (Coronado, Calif.), Kevin Kennedy (Moorestown, N.J.) and Jeremy Bernstein (Oakland, Calif.) easily defeated South Africa to win the two-boat race and finish in seventh place overall. The crew exploded off the line, grabbing a 3.60-second advantage at the 500-meter mark, before taking an 11-second lead at the midway point of the race. The U.S. continued to pull away over the final 1,000 meters, clocking a 6:45.15 to South Africa's 7:14.63.
The junior women's four crew of Celia Kohl (Wilton, Conn.), Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.), Rachel Ogundiran (Bowie, Md.) and Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif.) crossed the finish line in second place in the B final to finish eighth overall. France took the lead from the start and built a 2.13-second advantage at the midway point of the race. The U.S. made a strong move over the next 750 meters, but France was able to respond and pull away as the boats approached the finish. France won the race in a 7:10.63, followed by the U.S. in a 7:13.27. Korea finished third.
Suzanne Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished third in the B final of the junior women's single sculls to place ninth overall, the second best finish ever for a U.S. junior women's single sculler. Maddamma got off the line in fifth position before slowly working her way through the field. Sweden's Maria Wilgotsson, who led through the 1,000-meter mark but dropped to second place during the third quarter of the race, came back to defeat Ukraine's Nataliya Dovgodko. Wilgotsson finished with a time of 8:13.37, winning the race by 1.54 seconds. Maddamma finished third in an 8:16.29.
In the C final of the junior men's single sculls, James Hills (Kenmore, N.Y.) crossed the line in second place to finish 14th overall. Hills, who got off the line in fourth position, took the lead during the second quarter of the race and continued to build on his advantage through the 1,500-meter mark. However, Russia's Denis Pribyl made a strong push over the final 500 meters to overtake Hills and win the race. Pribyl clocked a 7:12.91 to finish 0.46 seconds ahead of Hills' time of 7:13.37.
In the C final of the junior men's four, Cameron Klotz (St. Louis, Mo.), Patrick Williams (San Mateo, Calif.), Chris Gear (Leesburg, Va.) and Chris Chang (Hillsborough, Calif.) finished second behind South Africa to place 14th overall. South Africa led the race from wire-to-wire, with the U.S. holding second place ahead of Korea at each split. South Africa finished with a time of 6:28.89, while the American boat clocked a 6:31.73 to finish 2.84 seconds behind.
In the junior women's double sculls, Erin Crawford (Tempe, Ariz.) and Taylor Fries (Westport, Conn.) finished fourth in the C final to place 16th overall. Crawford and Fries sat in fifth position at the midway point of the race before using the fastest third 500-meter split to move into third position, ahead of Belgium. However, Belgium came back on the American crew in the final 250 meters to take third. Sweden won the race with a time of 7:24.75, followed by Switzerland. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:30.12.
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 fifth in the D final for a 23rd-place finish overall. The crew got off the line in sixth position but worked its way up to fourth place by the 1,000-meter mark, just ahead of Norway. In the second half of the race, the U.S. dropped off of the Norwegian's pace but pulled away from Iran. The U.S. crossed the finish line in a 6:21.53, 3.54 seconds ahead of Iran. Denmark won the D final in a 6:11.98.