ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands — Exactly 35 minutes were all Kendall Chase and Georgia Ratcliff had to spare between racing in the women’s pair and eight today in arguably the most important races of the week for many of the under 23 women’s team. That didn’t stop them from posting their second open-water victory of the day as they hot-seated into the eight in one of the last races of the afternoon.
“Going into the eight, we all hot-seated off of some pretty big races,” said coxswain Colette Lucas-Conwell (Palo Alto, Calif.). “Despite that, everyone was feeling really good. We stayed loose and calm and raced our race. It was a hot start, and the conditions kept picking. But, we just did our thing.”
Down off the start to an eager New Zealand crew, the U.S. women’s eight surged and stayed ahead to win the first heat and advance directly to the final in a time of 6:20.86. Lucas-Conwell was joined by Chase (Evergreen, Colo.), Ratcliff (Falls Church, Va.), Sarah Dougherty (Kent, Wash.), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass.), Gia Doonan (Rochester, Mass.), Kendall Brewer (Austin, Texas), Cassandra Johnson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Erin Briggs (Orono, Minn.).
“We knew there were going to be crews that tried to figure us out at the start, but we just stayed internal,” said Lucas-Conwell. “We knew our strength was in the third 500, so we took our move when we normally did and then it was game over.”
With open water over the field at the halfway mark, the women’s pair of Chase and Ratcliff recorded one of the largest victory margins of the day. Finishing in a time of 7:29.71, 10.74 seconds ahead of the second-place crew from Germany.
Similar to their finishes in the eight, Dougherty, Salmons, Doonan and Brewer handily won the first heat of the women's four in a time of 6:39.24 to advance directly to the final.
Historically, the U.S. has been a dominant figure in the under 23 women’s sweep events. The women’s eight has won a medal every year in the event, while the four has won medals five of the last six years. The pair has won gold the past two years.
“This is definitely something I have wanted to do for a while,” said Doonan, a first-time national team member. “It is great to be a part of something and part of the movement in the women’s dynasty. To know that I can help and be a part of that drives me even more to be the best that I can be to aid that process.”
In total, 71 races were held on the first day of racing at the 2016 World Rowing Championships as the U.S. sent 21 crews down the Willem-Alexander Baan Rowing Regatta Venue in one of the largest international regattas ever.
First to race for the United States, Cambridge Boat Club's Cicely Madden (Weston, Mass.) took the third heat of the women's single sculls in 7:45.28. Madden finished 5.5 seconds ahead of New Zealand to advance to the quarterfinals.
Craftsbury Sculling Center's Benjamin Davison (Inverness, Fla.) advanced to the men's single sculls quarterfinals after placing second in the fifth heat with a time of 7:27.11.
Facing some of the most difficult conditions of the morning racing, Brennan Wertz (Marin, Calif.) and Jovanni Stefani (San Francisco, Calif.) will advance directly to the final, posting a time of 6:41.05. Hailing from Stanford University, the duo finished 7.24 seconds ahead of Serbia and posted the fastest time of the heats, all while battling a heavy downpour.
"The torrential rain and gusty winds made for an exhilarating warm-up," said Stefani. "Absorbing all of the chaos in the weather helped clear out all the jitters from before launching. A minute before the start was when the wind settled down, and only the rain remained, which made for smooth racing.
"Advancing directly to the finals is always nice because it takes away the pressure of the reps, which is a black-and-white type of race — get top two, otherwise you’re placed into the B finals. We look forward to training on this nice course for a few more days before racing in the finals."
Posting another large margin for the U.S., the sister lineup of Emily and Eliza Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.) started its under 23 competition strong, winning the third heat of the women's double sculls in a time of 7:14.88, 5.86 seconds faster than Latvia.
>Princeton National Rowing Association’s Kyle James (Princeton, N.J.) and Jack Gleim (West Windsor, N.J.) advanced to the semifinals in their first international race after taking second in the lightweight men's pair, clocking in at 6:48.82.
Avery Reavill (Culver, Ind), Brooks Reavill (Culver, Ind.), Cuyler Hamilton (Wayne, Pa.) and Michael Colella (Kensington, Md.) of the men’s four advanced to the semifinals, finishing third in the first heat in a time of 6:09.21.
Justin Murphy (Montclair, N.J.), one of the two returning members from the 2015 men’s eight that took silver, was looking forward to racing in the event this year.
“Last year, it was a really big deal and a huge step forward for us to take silver,” Murphy said. “Coming into this event where competition is always so high means that all you can do is progressively get better. Continuing to get better as an athlete and seeing the other guys who were invited to camp are really what brought me back. It is exciting to row with these guys.”
Coxswain Jake Mendelson (Jacksonville, Fla.), Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa.), Nate Goodman (Montclair, N.J.), Murphy, Kyle Flagg (Newport Beach, Calif.), Greg Davis (Daly City, Calif.), Alex Wallis (Cupertino, Calif.), Trey Francis (St. Louis, Mo.) and Bobby Moffitt (Greenwich, Conn.) won the final heat of the day in 6:20.86.
Relegated to the repechage in under 23 competition included the men's single sculls, men's double sculls, lightweight women's single sculls, lightweight men's single sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls, men's four with coxswain, lightweight women’s quadruple sculls, lightweight men’s quadruple sculls, lightweight men’s four and women’s quadruple sculls.
Competition will continue on Monday with the repechages in the under 23 events beginning at 9:30 a.m. local time. Senior-level racing will begin at 4:10 p.m. local time with the women's four. The U.S. will have seven senior-level crews racing on Monday.