The U.S. junior women's eight began defense of the world title with a victory in its heat on Wednesday, highlighting the first day of competition at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France.
After getting off the line in second position, the crew of Chelsea Lucas (Greenbrae, Calif.), Kelly Bauer (Orinda, Calif.), Kristin Wentzel (San Anselmo, Calif.), Michelle Pearson (Pembroke, Bermuda), Louise Breen (North Hampton, N.H.), Rebeca Felix (San Marino, Calif.), Brandy Herald (Portland, Ore.), Molly Hamrick (Tampa, Fla.) and Elisabeth Murray (Tampa, Fla.) passed New Zealand just after the 1,000-meter mark and rowed to a 2.93-second victory. The crew clocked a 6:35.75 to advance directly to Saturday's final, while New Zealand finished second in a 6:38.68. Romania had no trouble winning the other heat, clocking a 6:42.90 to finish more than seven seconds ahead of France. The Romanians also advanced directly to the final.
Nicole Bielawski (Old Westbury, N.Y.) finished second in her heat of the women's single sculls to advance directly to tomorrow's quarterfinals. Bielawski and France's Helene Lefebvre battled each other through the 1,500-meter mark, with the American holding a 0.62-second lead going into the final 500 meters. With three to advance to the quarterfinals, Lefebvre decided to go for the victory, while Bielawski settled into second place to easily advance. Lefebvre finished with a time of 7:56.04, with Bielawski coasting home in an 8:03.44. Hong Kong's Wing Hei Ng finished third in an 8:25.61.
Men's single sculler Matthew Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also finished second in his heat to advance to the quarterfinals. Ukraine's Olexandr Nadtoka used a blistering first 500 meters to grab a 5.49-second advantage over the place Maddamma in the first quarter of the race. Maddamma chipped away at the Ukrainian's lead over the final 1,500 meters, finishing 1.24 seconds behind at the line. Nadtoka finished with a time of 7:07.95, with Maddamma clocking a 7:09.19. China's Wanjie Yuan finished third to also advance.
The men's four of Allan Amico (Orchard Park, N.Y.), Constantinos Gioulekas (Buffalo, N.Y.), Sean Johnston (Commerce, Mich.) and Ronald Rubino (Buffalo, N.Y.) also advanced to the semifinals off of a second-place finish in the heats. The quartet got off the line in first place, but Romania took over the lead in the second quarter of the race. The Americans continued to chase the Romanians over the second 1,000 meters, finishing three seconds behind. With two to advance to the semis, Romania clocked a 6:25.63 for the victory, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:28.63. Croatia finished third, 2.74 seconds behind the U.S.
The men's four with coxswain of Elliott Oakley (Arlington, Va.), Sam Hoidal (Evergreen, Colo.), Alec Macrae (Los Gatos, Calif.), Lenny Futterman (New York, N.Y.) and Nick Jaroszewicz (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished second in its heat and will now race in a repechage, or second-chance race, tomorrow. The U.S sat in fifth position through the 1,000-meter mark before making a move over the second half of the race. South Africa led going into the final 500 meters, but Canada, the U.S., and New Zealand all overtook the leading crew in the final stretch. The Canadians ended up with the victory, clocking a 6:24.77 to finish 0.98 seconds ahead of the United States' time of 6:25.75. New Zealand finished third.
Likewise, the junior men's eight of Dylan Fish (Saratoga, Calif.), Alexander Bunkers (Maitland, Fla.), Preston Sandbakken (Folsom, Calif.), Brian Wettach (Wakefield, Mass.), Austin Hack (Old-Lyme, Conn.), Whitney Blodgett (Stanfordville, N.Y.), Patrick McGlone (Newton Square, Pa.), Jason Kopelman (Winnetka, Ill.) and Alex Taaffe (Sarasota, Fla.) finished second in its heat and will race in tomorrow's repechages. The crew got off the line in third place and sat in second position, one second behind Great Britain, as the boats crossed the midway point. However, the British boat made a solid move during the next quarter of the race, increasing its advantage to 2.84 seconds heading into the final 500 meters. Great Britain earned the victory, finishing with a time of 5:48.79 to advance directly to the final. The U.S. finished in a 5:51.49.
Viktor Romanov (Moscow, Russia) and Matt Clark (Winnetka, Ill.) finished third in their heat of the men's pair, advancing directly to tomorrow's quarterfinals. The duo sat in second position through the midway point of the race before dropping to third place. Croatia led from start to finish, clocking a 6:50.07. Great Britain finished second in a 6:53.19, with the U.S. clocking a 7:00.58 to finish third.
In the junior women's four, the crew of Elizabeth Nilan (Milford, Conn.), Jennifer Stockwood (Winchester, Mass.), Chandler Lally (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) and Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) finished third in its heat and now will race in tomorrow's repechage. The crew took second behind Great Britain off the line \ and held that position through the 1,500-meter mark. With the British crew leading by five seconds going into the final 500 meters and only one boat qualifying for the final, the U.S. was content to conserve energy in preparation for the repechage. Great Britain won the race in a 7:01.29, with China taking second in a 7:06.57. The U.S. clocked a 7:08.23.
The women's pair of Lucy Grinalds (Southport, Conn.) and Kristine O'Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) led its heat through the 1,500-meter mark but couldn't hold off Bulgaria and South Africa at the line, dropping to third and missing a spot in the semifinals by 0.25 seconds. The duo will now race in the repechages. With two crews advancing to the semifinals, Bulgaria made a huge move in the final 500 meters, turning a 3.21-second deficit into a 1.29-second victory. The crew clocked a 7:30.49. South Africa finished second in a 7:31.78, with the U.S. placing third in a 7:32.03.
In the women's quadruple sculls, Kimberly Hopewell (Ridgefield, Conn.), Samantha Warren (Davis, Calif.), Alexandria Chrumka (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) and Margaret Bertasi (Weston, Conn.) will race in tomorrow's repechages after finishing third in their heat. With two to advance to the semifinals, the U.S. held a narrow advantage over The Netherlands for second place going into the final 500 meters but was unable to hold on to the qualifying spot. France led from wire-to-wire, clocking a 6:51.38 to finish 1.87 seconds ahead of The Netherlands. The Dutch crew stroked a 6:53.25, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:55.44.
The women's double sculls crew of Katie Burke (Lutz, Fla.) and Abby Knight (Clifton Park, N.Y.) also finished third in their heat and will head to the repechages. The duo sat in third place behind the Czech Republic and Greece at each of the 500-meter splits. The Czech Republic won the race in a 7:15.72, with Greece stroking a 7:24.29. The U.S. crossed the finish line with a time of 7:29.52.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Michael Wales (Mercer Island, Wash.), Mason Leasure (Jacksonville, Fla.), Gabriel Fort (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Will Dannemann (New Canaan, Conn.) advanced to the quarterfinals with a victory in its afternoon repechage. With two to advance, the crew led the race from start to finish, crossing the line in a 6:22.12. China finished second in a 6:24.43. In the morning heat, the crew finished fourth with a time of 6:19.17.
In the junior men's double sculls, Mark Reinis (Long Beach, Calif.) and Nick Trojan (Los Alamitos, Calif.) finished third in the afternoon repechage and will now race in the E/F semifinals, which determine who will race in the E final for overall places 25-30 and F final for overall places 31-36. With two to advance, the Czech Republic won the repechage in a 6:59.38, and Austria finished second in a 7:04.08. Reinis and Trojan clocked a 7:09.29. In the morning heat, the duo finished fourth in a 6:52.68.
Racing continues on Thursday with the remaining repechages and quarterfinals. Semifinals and several placement finals will take place on Friday, with finals being held Saturday. Racing begins each day at 9:30 a.m. local time.