LINZ, Austria - The lightweight men's eight, women's four and junior men's eight won their heats and advanced to the finals to highlight the first day of racing at the 2008 FISA World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships. In addition, the lightweight men's pair, men's pair with coxswain and lightweight women's single sculls advanced to the semifinals, while the lightweight men's single sculls advanced to the quarterfinals.
The lightweight men's eight crew of coxswain Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.), Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.), Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.), Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) won the first of two heats by 6.4 seconds to advance.
The U.S. crew took the lead at the 750-meter mark and held it through the finish. Italy crossed second in a 5:50.21, with Canada in close third with a 5:50.42. Germany finished in fourth, followed by Australia. DelGuercio, Bolton, Carcagno, Daly, Farrell, Paradiso and Todd were members of the 2007 World Championships Team.
In first of two heats of the women's four, Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.), Karen Colwell (Pawcatuck, Conn.), Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) and Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.) advanced to the final, winning in a 6:35.81. Russia led the pack through the 1,500 meter mark, but the U.S. kicked into gear in the final stretch to win by nearly three seconds. Russia finished second in a 6:38.94, with Ukraine third in a 6:54.07 and Italy fourth in a 7:01.78. Lofgren served as an alternate at last year's championships and won the eight at the 2008 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne, while Trowbridge competed on the 2007 Pan American Games Team. The U.S. won gold in the event at last year's championships.
The junior men's eight of coxswain Cameron Klotz (St. Louis, Mo.), Ivan Lys-Dobradin (Winter Park, Fla.), Justin Hopkins (Davis, Calif.), Brian Wettach (Wakefield, Mass.), Thomas Dethlefs (Lawrenceville, N.J.), Rob Munn (Redmond, Wash.), Tyler Nase (Phoenixville, Pa.), Ian Silveira (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Keanan Clark (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) won the second of two heats to advance to the final.
"Italy was right with us at the start," said Wettach. "We took a move at the 650-meter mark and kept pushing back. We stuck with it from there, and then sprinted strong to the end. I am pretty pleased, but we have a lot of work ahead of us."
The U.S. crew clocked a 5:42.97, with Italy crossing second in a 5:45.88. Great Britain finished third in a 5:46.06, with Spain in a 5:49.57. The Czech Republic and Croatia followed.
"It's a really young, raw boat and they raced hard," said coach Colin Campbell. "It's going to be a tight field going into the final."
Silveira returns to the junior men's eight that placed fifth at last year's championships, while Klotz joins the lineup from last year's junior men's four.
Racing in the second of three heats of the lightweight men's pair, Alex Rothmeier (Edina, Minn.) and John Nichols (Palo Alto, Calif.) took second to advance to the semifinals. The duo raced neck-at-neck with Great Britain the entire length of the course, with the British crew edging ahead in the final stroke to win by 0.10 seconds in a 6:41.07. The U.S. clocked a 6:41.17, with Japan in third with a time of 6:43.70. The Czech Republic and Denmark finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The men's pair with coxswain of Vincent Puma (Bronx, N.Y.), Ted Farwell (Madison, Wis.) and Ben Harrison (Dedham, Mass.) advanced to the semifinals after placing second in the third and final heat. Poland won in a 7:00.08, with the U.S. crew clocking a 7:01.69. France finished in a close third with a time of 7:01.70, followed by Slovenia in a 7:04.18.
Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) finished second in lightweight women's single sculls to advance to the semifinals. Racing in the second of four heats, the U.S. sculler clocked a 7:39.36. Switzerland's Pamela Weisshaupt won in a 7:37.54, with Spain's Teresa Mas DeXaxars in third with a 7:48.67. Nichols, a six-time national team member, won silver in the quadruple sculls at last year's Pan American Games.
In the lightweight men's single sculls, Rob Zechmann (Lincoln, Neb.) placed third to advance to the quarterfinals of the men's single sculls. With a field of 26 scullers, Zechmann raced in the second of six heats, clocking a 7:24.88. Greece's Ilias Pappas won the race in a 7:13.76, with Belgium's Wouter Van Der Fraenen in second with a time of 7:19.06. Israel finished in fourth with a 7:30.95.
The lightweight women's quadruple sculls crew of Libby Peters (New Hartford, N.Y.), Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.), Rebecca Smith (Torrington, Conn.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) finished 2.9 seconds behind Australia in the first of two heats. The U.S. crew led for the entire first half of the race, but couldn't hold off Australia's charge to the finish. Australia clocked a 6:37.80, with the U.S. in a 6:40.73. Germany finished third in a 6:46.38, while Denmark followed in fourth with a 6:50.53.
The U.S. advanced to tomorrow's repechage, or second-chance race, where they will take on Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, Germany and Denmark for a spot in the final. Tripician raced in the lightweight double sculls at last year's championships, while Moore finished fourth in the event in 2007.
In the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, Gavin Frase (Orinda, Calif.), Michael Aller (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Andrew Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) finished fourth in the first of two heats. France won the race in a 5:55.38, with Germany in second with a 5:56.46 and Turkey in third with a 5:58.78. The U.S. crew finished in a 6:02.25 and will now race in tomorrow's repechage against Great Britain, Germany, Czech Republic and Turkey for a spot in the final. Frase was a member of the lightweight eight that finished fifth at last year's championships.
The junior women's quadruple sculls crew of Rachel Knaster (London, United Kingdom), Kirsten Van Fossen (Moorestown, N.J.), Dara Dickson (Lafayette, Calif.) and Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn.) finished fifth in the first of three heats and will now race in Thursday's repechage. Italy won in a 6:46.58, with The Netherlands in second and Sweden in third. The U.S. clocked a 7:00.80.
Gabriel Fort (Miami Beach, Fla.), Harold Fort (Miami Beach, Fla.), Matthew Sobotka (Sarasota, Fla.) and Ian Stewart (Sarasota, Fla.) finished sixth in the first of four heats of the junior men's quadruple sculls. Italy won the race in a 6:01.31, with Switzerland second in a 6:05.80. Australia took third, followed by Greece and Poland. The U.S. crew clocked a 6:27.79 and will now race in Thursday's repechage.
Racing continues Wednesday with heats in nine junior events. Repechages and quarterfinals in senior-level events will also be contested.
In total, over 900 competitors from 55 nations will compete in this year's championships. The junior men's double sculls event has the largest number of entries will 31, followed by the junior men's single sculls with 30. In senior events, the lightweight men's single sculls has the largest number of entries with 26. The regatta course was built on the Danube River in 1972 and has since played host to a variety of international rowing competitions, including the 1998 FISA World Junior Championships.
For race results, visit www.worldrowing.com. For complete media guide and athlete bios, visit http://www.usrowing.org/news_media/index.aspx.