ETON, Great Britain - The 2011 World Rowing Junior Championships got started Wednesday afternoon on Dorney Lake with heats in the men's four and women's quadruple sculls. The United States has a full squad of 13 boats racing in Eton.
In the women's quadruple sculls, the crew of Nancy Miles (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), Lizzy Youngling (Westport, Conn.), Erin Reelick (Brookfield, Conn.) and MacKenzi Sherman (Los Alamitos, Calif.) finished fourth in its heat with a time of 6:56.27 and will now race in a repechage, or second-chance race, tomorrow afternoon. The crew grabbed third off the line and held that position through the 1,500-meter mark before dropping to fourth. Germany won the heat in a 6:48.18, followed by Belarus.
Patrick Konttinen (Tiburon, Calif.), Kaess Smit (St. Louis, Mo.), Alex Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) and Greig Stein (Kentfield, Calif.) finished sixth in the first heat of the men's four and will also race in a repechage on Thursday. The four got off the line in third position before dropping back during the second half of the race, finishing with a time of 6:48.09. Romania won the race in a 6:15.95, followed by Spain.
In addition to the women's quadruple sculls and men's four repechages, the remaining 11 U.S. crews will hit the water for the first time on Thursday.
Women's Four
The women's four of Chandler Lally (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Lucy Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), Mia Croonquist (Vashon, Wash.) and Jessica Eiffert (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) is looking to improve on the United States' silver-medal performance at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships. Lally, Grinalds and Eiffert return from that crew and have nine junior national team appearances between them. At 14 years old, Croonquist is the youngest member of the U.S. squad. The quartet will take on Canada, France, Belarus and Germany in its heat, with the winner advancing directly to the final.
Men's Four with Coxswain
The men's four with coxswain of Sean Dougherty (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), Stuart Maeder (Washington, D.C.), Matt Milner (San Francisco, Calif.), Jordan Vanderstoep (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Sam Helms (Snohomish, Wash.) are all newcomers to the junior national team. The crew will take on France, New Zealand and Germany in the second of two heats, with the top two crews moving on to the final.
Women's Pair
Rosie Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), who won a silver medal in the women's eight at last year's championships, and newcomer Corinne Bozzini (Lafayette, Calif.) will race in the women's pair. The duo drew Romania, Italy and France in its heat and will need a win in order to earn an automatic berth in the final and avoid the repechage.
Men's Pair
Like the women's pair, the men's pair also features one newcomer and one junior national team veteran. Austen Bolves (North Bend, Wash.) will be racing at his first championships, while Michael Evans (Portland, Ore.) returns to the boat after finishing 17th last year. The duo will race Greece, South Africa, Hungary, Chile and France in the last of three heats, with the top two finishers advancing directly to the semifinals.
Women's Double Sculls
Nineteen crews are scheduled to race in the women's double sculls. The American duo of Hannah Solis-Cohen (New York, N.Y.) and Maria Maydan (Ridgefield, Conn.) will race Sweden, Lithuania and Belarus in its heat, with the top two earning spots in the semifinals. Solis-Cohen helped the U.S. to a sixth-place finish in the quadruple sculls at last year's championships, while Maydan is a first-time team member.
Men's Double Sculls
With 24 entries, the men's double sculls event is the second-most subscribed at the regatta. Both Graham Anderson (Weston, Conn.) and Charles Campbell (New Canaan, Conn.) raced at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships in the quadruple sculls and four, respectively. The duo will take on Croatia, Norway, Lithuania, Zimbabwe and France in the second of four heats. The winner will advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will head to the repechages.
Men's Quadruple Sculls
Ben Delaney (Windermere, Fla.), Ned Benning (Weston, Mass.), Jonathan Young (St. Louis, Mo.) and Jonathon Rosow (Avon, Conn.) are all junior national team rookies. The quartet will race the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Serbia and Denmark in the second of four heats of the men's quadruple sculls, with the winner moving on to the semifinals.
Women's Single Sculls
Last year, Sophie Heywood (Tempe, Ariz.) helped the U.S. to a best ever, sixth-place finish in the women's quadruple sculls. This year, Heywood will test herself in the women's single. Heywood will take on scullers from Latvia, Zimbabwe, Germany and Croatia in the third of four heats, with the top two finishers moving on to the semifinals.
Men's Single Sculls
In the men's single sculls, first-time national team member Ryan Allen (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) will take on scullers from Kazakhstan, Brazil and Croatia in the fifth of six heats. The top three finishers automatically qualify for the quarterfinals. Last year, Andrew Campbell took home the bronze medal for the U.S. With 27 entries, the men's single is the most subscribed event at this year's regatta.
Women's Eight
After winning a silver medal in the women's eight last year, coxswain Christine Devlin (Harvard, Mass.) will pilot an entirely new crew in Eton. In addition to Devlin, the boat includes Abbie Young (Centerville, Mass.), Charlotte Passot (Mill Valley, Calif.), Maddie Wolf (Mill Valley, Calif.), Georgia Ratcliff (Vienna, Va.), Caitlin Byrnes (Ross, Calif.), Logan Harris (Stinson Beach, Calif.), Katie Toothman (Waynesburg, Pa.) and Deirdre Fitzpatrick (Cheshire, Conn.). With only three crews entered in the event, the U.S. will be racing on Thursday for lane assignments for the final.
Men's Eight
The U.S. is the defending champion in the men's eight but returns only one member of that boat in five-seat Zach Hershberger (Los Gatos, Calif.). He is joined by coxswain Max Blumenthal (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Alex Perkins (Westport, Conn.), Max Meyer-Bosse (Westport, Conn.), Patrick Eble (Fort Washington, Pa.), Harry Holroyd (Piedmont, Calif.), Stephen Podwojski (Cincinnati, Ohio), Greg Schneiter (Latham, N.Y.) and Hunter Leeming (Sarasota, Fla.). Both Eble and Meyer-Bosse raced at last year's junior world championships in other events. The men's eight drew the Czech Republic, Great Britain and Spain in its heat, with the winner earning a spot in the final.
Thursday's racing begins at 9:30 a.m. local time. The remaining repechages, quarterfinals and select semifinals take place Friday. Saturday's racing features finals in the women's four, men's four with coxswain, women's pair, men's four, women's quadruple sculls and men's eight, while Sunday's racing features finals in the men's pair, women's double sculls, men's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls, women's single sculls, men's single sculls and women's eight.