TRAKAI, Lithuania - Seven U.S. crews begin their quest for medals Wednesday at the 2012 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Trakai, Lithuania.
The women's four of Cathy McDermott (Cazenovia, N.Y.), Liz England (Richlands, Va.), Daphne Martschenko (Fairfax, Va.) and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio) will get things started in the first race of the regatta. The four will take on crews from Ukraine, Romania, Russia and Germany in the first of two heats, with the top two finishers advancing directly to the final. Germany comes in as the defending champion, while the U.S. finished fifth in 2011.
Coxswain Seamus Labrum (Cape May Court House, N.J.), Max Mannisto (Belmont, Calif.), Patrick Marre (Portland, Ore.), Alex Kornick (Akron, Ohio) and Garrett Rinden (Costa Mesa, Calif.) will take on Germany, Lithuania, France and New Zealand in the first of two heats in the men's four with coxswain. Like the women's four, the top two finishers go directly to the finals, while the remaining crews head to the repechages. Serbia won the event last year, with the U.S. finishing sixth.
In the lightweight men's pair, Chandler Mahaney (Greenwich, Conn.) and Jack Devlin (Arlington, Va.) drew Germany, Lithuania and the Czech Republic in the second of three heats. The top three finishers move on to the semifinals, with fourth-place going to the repechages. Great Britain is the defending champion, while the U.S. finished in 16th place.
Anna Kaminski (Seattle, Wash.) and Rosie Popa (Melbourne, Australia) will take on crews from New Zealand, Hungary, Latvia and Norway in the first heat of the women's pair. The top two crews advance to the final, with the remaining boats moving on to the repechages. The U.S. crew of Grace Luczak and Felice Mueller won the event in 2011.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Roger Stone (New Canaan, Conn.), John O'Mara (Philadelphia, Pa.), Dylan Gould (Riverhead, N.Y.) and John Redos (Mount Bethel, Pa.) will race in the first of two heats against crews from Italy, Germany, Chinese Taipei, Brazil and The Netherlands. The winner moves on to the final, with the rest of the field going on to the repechages. Denmark won the event in 2011, with the U.S. finishing 13th.
In the women's quadruple sculls, Britta Syverson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Samantha Warren (Davis, Calif.), Agatha Nowinski (Sacramento, Calif.) and Martie Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) will need a victory to avoid the repechages and advance directly into the final. The crew will take on boats from Latvia, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and Russia in the first of two heats. The Germans are the defending champions, while the U.S. will be looking to improve on a seventh-place finish.
Justin Jones (Bellmawr, N.J.), Will Gillis (Seattle, Wash.), Alex Karwoski (Hollis, N.H.) and Ted Baumgardner (Longport, N.J.) close out Wednesday's racing for the U.S. in the second of three heats of the men's four. The four will race against Lithuania, New Zealand and Great Britain, with the top three boats moving on to the semifinals. Germany won the event in 2011, with the U.S. finishing sixth.
In total, 368 athletes in 118 crews from 46 nations will compete for world championships in 21 events. Racing continues with the remaining heats on Thursday beginning at 9:30 a.m., with select repechages taking place Thursday afternoon. Friday's racing includes the remaining repechages, quarterfinals and select semifinals. Saturday's racing features finals in the women's four, men's four with coxswain, lightweight women's quad, lightweight men's pair, women's pair, lightweight men's quad, women's quad and men's four. The remaining finals take place on Sunday.