The U.S. lightweight men's four, women's quadruple sculls, men's quadruple sculls and men's eight advanced to the finals on Monday to highlight the third day of rowing competition at the 2007 Pan American Games at the Lagoa Rowing Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With all four boats advancing from today's heats, the entire U.S. contingent of 13 boats has moved on to the finals, which begin on Tuesday and run through Thursday.
The lightweight men's four of Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.), Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.), Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) had no trouble winning its heat to advance to Thursday's final. The crew sat in second place behind Cuba at the midway point of the race before using a strong second 1,000 meters to earn the victory. The U.S. boat crossed the line with a time of 6:22.79. Brazil finished second in a 6:30.41, followed by Cuba and El Salvador. Canada won the other heat in a 6:30.15, finishing 1.14 seconds ahead of Guatemala. The heat winners advanced directly to the final, while the remaining crews went on to race in an afternoon repechage, or second-chance race.
With only five entries in the event, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Margaret Matia (Burke, Va.), Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.), Reilly Dampeer (Weston, Conn.) and Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) won its race for lanes. The quartet sat in second position behind Canada as the crews crossed the 1,000-meter mark before taking over the lead in the third quarter of the race. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:57.11, followed by Canada in a 7:01.71. Cuba finished third, followed by Brazil and Argentina.
The men's eight of coxswain Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.), Sebastian Bea (San Francisco, Calif.), Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.), Chris Callaghan (Tualatin, Ore.) and Troy Kepper (Tallahassee, Fla.) led its race for lanes from start-to-finish, clocking a 6:14.38 to defeat Brazil by 6.33 seconds. The crew got off to a blistering start, grabbing more than a six-second lead in the first 500 meters. The U.S. led by more than 13 seconds at the midway point of the race before coasting to the six-second victory. The U.S. will be the top seed in Thursday's final.
In what was an extremely tight race the entire way down the course, the men's quadruple sculls crew of Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.), Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.), Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) and Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) finished second in its race for lanes, 0.01 seconds behind Cuba. At the 500-meter splits, the U.S. never trailed by more than one second and kept the Cubans within a half-second for much of the race. In the end, Cuba crossed the finish line in a 6:05.57, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:05.58. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay rounded out the field.
With the heats now complete, five crews will race for medals on Tuesday. The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) had no trouble winning its race on Saturday, clocking the fastest time of the heats. The duo will take on Cuba, the other heat winner, as well as Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and Canada, in the final.
In the men's single sculls, Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) advanced to the final after finishing second in his repechage. Schroeder will take on scullers from Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Chile in the final. Argentina's Santiago Fernandez and Cuba's Yoennis Hernandez won the two heats and enter the final as the top seeds.
With only six entries in the event, the men's pair of Dan Beery and Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.) finished second in its race for lanes on Saturday. The duo will line up against Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina in the final. Canada's Christopher Jarvis and Dan Casaca enter the race as the top seeds after winning the race for lanes.
Likewise, Reilly Dampeer (Weston, Conn.) finished second in her seeding race in the women's single sculls. Dampeer will take on scullers from Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador and Venezuela in the final. Cuba's Myra Gonzalez won the race for lanes and will be the top seed.
The women's pair of Ruth Stiver (Madisonville, Texas) and Jennifer Reck (Detroit, Mich.) finished fourth in its race for lanes. The duo will take on Canada, Chile and Cuba in the final. Canada's Nathalie Maurer and Zoe Hoskins are the top seeds.