Despite strong crosswinds, the U.S. women's eight crew won the repechage in the second day of competition at the 2007 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Strathclyde, Scotland.
Coxswain Katelin Snyder (Winter Park, Fla.), Andrea Sooter (Bellevue, Wash.), Mara Allen (San Francisco, Calif.), Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.), Elle Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine), Suzanne Van Fleet (West Chester, Pa.), Megan Smith (Templeton, Calif.), Kerry Birk (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Anne Kennedy (Mt. Vision, N.Y.) finished first in the women's eight race and will have primary placement in Sunday's A final. The U.S. rowed even with Belarus through the first 500 meters before taking the lead, clocking a 6:32.04 to beat Germany by more than five seconds.
"It was rough conditions, but I thought we handled it well, said Birk. "After the first 500 meters, we pushed through the pack. We moved ahead and stayed ahead; it was a fun race."
"This race was good for our confidence," said Snyder. "Whatever happens on Sunday - we know we can deal with it."
In the men's lightweight quadruple sculls, Chris Klotzbach (Wayne, Pa.), Chris Lambert (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Matt Carey (West Simsbury, Conn.) and Richard Klein (Westport, Conn.) finished fourth in the second repechage. The crew clocked a 6:25.29 and will race in Saturday's B final, to determine places 7-10. Australia won the repechage in a 6:13.12, followed by Great Britain and Belgium.
Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Pat Sullivan (Hingham, Mass.), Ben Nace (Dallas, Texas) and Ted Sobolewski (Williamsville, N.Y.) finished fifth in the second repechage of the men's quadruple sculls. The U.S. crew stayed even with Argentina through the 1,500-meter mark, but couldn't maintain its speed for the remainder of the race. The Czech Republic won in a 6:10.50, followed by Switzerland, Russia, Argentina, and the U.S. in a 6:16.77. The crew will race in Saturday's C final to determine places 13-17.
The women's lightweight double sculls duo of Jill Austin (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) finished sixth in the second repechage. The crew stayed even with New Zealand through the 500-meter mark, then lost momentum in the body of the race, crossing the line in a 7:40.90. They will race Russia, Portugal, Japan and New Zealand in Saturday's C final, which will determine places 13-17.
Nicole Nelson (Santa Rosa, Calif.) finished fifth in the first of two repechages of the women's lightweight single sculls. Nelson got off the line in fourth position and held off Algeria's Amina Rouba through the halfway mark, before falling back. The University of Wisconsin sculler crossed the line in an 8:13.56 to advance to Saturday's C final, which will determine places 13-18. Switzerland led the race from wire-to-wire, finishing in an 8:01.68.
Taryn O'Connell (Orinda, Calif.) and Jenny Cromwell (Bellevue, Wash.) raced for lanes in the women's pair and took third. The duo moved up on the Romanian crew in the final 500 meters, but finished 0.63 seconds behind in a 7:41.06. Great Britain won the race in a 7:34.05. All boats will compete for medals in Sunday's A final.
?It was rough conditions, but I thought we handled it well. After the first 500 meters, we pushed through the pack. We moved ahead and stayed ahead; it was a fun race. We will try to go fast again on Sunday.? Kerry Birk, two seat in women?s eight ?We rowed well. This race was good for our confidence and whatever happens on Sunday - we know we can handle it. We will have to work hard not to get complacent.? Katelin Snyder, coxswain of women?s eight ?Our practice 10?s and the warm-up felt good. We got to the line feeling confident and we just wanted to race our race. Every 500 we kept getting faster and faster, I am excited to race in the final.? Elle Logan, five-seat in the women?s eight
In total, 52 nations and more than 700 athletes have entered the 20 events at the 2007 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Racing continues with repechages on Friday and semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday.