The United States will have six crews racing in semifinals on Friday at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Championships on Dorney Lake in Eton, England.
The lightweight men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, lightweight men's pair, men's quadruple sculls, lightweight men's four, and men's eight all will be racing for spots in the finals. In addition, heats in the adaptive events take place on Friday morning.
The men's eight of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Chris Liwski (Sarasota, Fla.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.), and Paul Daniels (Burlington, Wis.) easily won its heat on Monday to advance to the semifinals. The crew will take on Romania, Italy, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland in the first of two semifinals, with the top three crews moving on to Sunday's final. Germany also enters Friday's race as a heat winner.
Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.), who won silver at last year's world championships, won their heat of the lightweight women's double sculls to advance directly to the semifinals. The duo will take on crews from Australia, Ireland, Great Britain, Finland, and Sweden in the second of two semifinals. The top three finishers from each semi will move on to Sunday's final. Australia is the other heat winner in the race.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine), and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) finished second in its heat to advance directly to the semifinals. The quartet will take on Germany, Estonia, Russia, Belarus, and the Czech Republic in the second of two semifinals with the top three crews advancing to the final. Estonia is the lone heat winner in the race, while Russia is the other second-place finisher.
The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) advanced to the semifinals by finishing second in its repechage, or second-chance race. The duo will take on scullers from Poland, Denmark, Great Britain, Austria, and Chile in the third of three semifinals. Denmark and Great Britain are the two heat winners in the race. The top two finishers move on to the final, while the third- and fourth-place finishers go to the B final, which determines places 7-12. The fifth- and sixth-place finishers head to the C final, which determines places 13-18.
The lightweight men's four of Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.), and Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.) also finished second in its repechage to move on to the semifinals. The crew will take on boats from Ireland, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Poland in the first of two semifinals. The top three finishers in each race move on to the final. Germany and France both won their heats on Monday.
Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) finished third in their heat of the lightweight men's pair to advance directly to Friday's semifinals. The crew will take on Denmark, Japan, Australia, Great Britain, and Russia in the first of two semifinals, with the top three finishers advancing to Sunday's final. Australia and Great Britain both won their heats on Monday.
In the adaptive events, Angela Madsen (Long Beach, Calif.) and Scott Brown (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) are back to defend their title in the trunk-arms double sculls. Madsen and Brown have won the event every year it has been contested. They will take on crews from Israel, Hong Kong, Great Britain, and Italy in the second of two heats. The winner advances directly to the final.
Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) has won back-to-back bronze medals in the adaptive men's single sculls. He will be looking to reach the podium for the third year in a row. Harvey will take on scullers from Italy, Brazil, Hong Kong, France, and Great Britain in the second of two heats. The winner advances directly to the final.
Patty Rollison (Reno, Nev.) will race in the adaptive women's single sculls. This is the first year the U.S. has entered the event. Rollison will race scullers from China and Poland on Friday, with the winner moving on to the final.
The legs-trunk-arms four with coxswain includes Ryan Pawling (Jenkintown, Pa.), Jesse Karmazin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Aerial Gilbert (Tiburon, Calif.), Jamie Dean (Pickerington, Ohio), and Jennifer Klapper (Scotia, N.Y.). The crew will take on the Netherlands, Australia, Portugal, and Croatia in the second of two heats. The winner advances directly to the final.