The U.S. women's eight and women's quadruple sculls won their heats Monday to highlight the second day of competition at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Battling a gusty headwind, the U.S. women's eight took the first step towards defending its three-time world-champion status, clocking the fastest time of the heats to advance directly to Sunday's final. Racing in the second of two heats, the lineup of coxswain Katelin Snyder (Winter Park, Fla.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Kady Glessner (Seattle, Wash.), Laura Larsen-Strecker (Brookline, Mass.), Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Mara Allen (San Francisco, Calif.) led the race from wire to wire, crossing over three seconds ahead of Germany to win in a 6:46.14. Germany finished second in a 6:49.23, with The Netherlands third in a 7:00.06.
"It was a really good race and we were able to come together as a crew," said Lind. "The boat felt solid the whole way down the course. It was super windy in the beginning and, even though we were prepared for it, it was still pretty challenging. Looking ahead to the final, we're focusing on staying healthy and prepared."
The lineup includes five returning members of the 2008 Olympic eight in Lind, Francia, Goodale, Shoop and Cafaro and three members of the women's eight that won gold at the 2008 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
The women's quadruple sculls also won its heat to advance directly to Sunday's final. The crew of Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.), Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.), Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) and Megan Walsh (Charlotte, N.C.) took the lead at the 400-meter mark and continued to push the other crews away over the length of the course. The U.S. won the race by over seven seconds, crossing ahead of Italy in a 7:00.36. Italy clocked a 7:07.39 in second place, followed by Russia and New Zealand.
"We rowed a very internal race," said Trowbridge, a member of the four that won silver in the four at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships, along with teammate Carle. "We just tried to execute our race plan and maintain focus."
Racing in the first heat of the men's quadruple sculls, the crew of Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.) missed a spot in the semifinals by 0.32 seconds and will now race in Wednesday's repechage, or second-chance race. The U.S. was in the lead crossing over the 1,000-meter mark, but couldn't hold off the charge of Croatia in the third 500 meters. The Croatians, who won gold at the second world cup in Munich, crossed first in a 6:15.80. The Czech Republic and Italy edged in front of the U.S. in the final stretch, finishing within 0.16 seconds of each other in 6:16.75 and 6:16.91, respectively. The U.S. clocked a 6:17.23 in fourth.
Racing in the first heat of the men's eight, the U.S. finished fifth and will now race in the repechage Wednesday. The crew of coxswain Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Grant James (DeKalb, Ill.), Ross James (DeKalb, Ill.), Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.), Jake Cornelius (Brooktondale, N.Y.), Steve Kasprzyk (Cinnaminson, N.J.), Alex Osborne (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), Mike Holbrook (Madison, Wis.) and Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) had a difficult time keeping up with the pack, falling nearly ten seconds behind Germany at the 1,000-meter mark. Germany, the gold-medalist crew from Lucerne, won the heat in a 5:58.16, while Great Britain edged 0.05 seconds ahead of Australia to qualify for the final in a 5:59.48. Australia crossed third in a 5:59.53, with the Ukraine fourth in a 6:01.75. Despite clocking the fastest third 500 meters, the U.S. crossed the line in a 6:04.13. Hoopman is a two-time Olympian in the event, winning bronze in Beijing and gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, while Winklevoss was a member of the men's pair that finished sixth at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Competing in the second of two heats of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, the crew of Sam Cunningham (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Dan Scholtz (Springfield, Ore.), Jon Winter (New Haven, Conn.) and Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished second and will now race in the repechage Wednesday. The U.S. held on to second place the entire length of the course to cross in a 6:39.14. Italy won the heat in a 6:29.18. Cunningham was a member of last year's under 23 national team, while Winter won silver in the event at the 2006 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
The lightweight women's double sculls combination of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) finished third its heat and will now race in the repechage Wednesday. Racing in the third heat, the U.S. was in fourth place through the halfway mark before sprinting to the line for third place in an 8:11.86. Great Britain led the race from wire to wire, clocking an 8:02.46 for the win, followed by Australia in second with a time of 8:03.94. Trannel raced in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2006 World Rowing Championships, while Hedstrom is a two-time under-23 national team member.
In the lightweight men's four, Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.), Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.) and Taylor Washburn (Andover, Mass.) finished fifth and will now compete in the repechages Wednesday. Racing in the first of four heats, the U.S. crew was in third place for the first half of the race course, but slipped back in the final stretch to cross in a 6:47.22. Poland won the race in a 6:39.59, with The Netherlands second in a 6:40.36.
Racing in the first heat of the lightweight men's double sculls, Andy Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) finished fifth and will now race in the repechages Wednesday. The U.S. crossed in a 7:46.50, while New Zealand won the heat in a 7:12.84.
The lightweight men's pair of John Wainwright (Alameda, Calif.) and Alex Rothmeier (Boston, Mass.) finished fifth in its heat and will now race in the repechage Wednesday. Wainwright and Rothmeier held the fifth-place position the entire length of the course, crossing in a 7:48.33. France won the race in a 7:07.99.
In the adaptive mixed four of coxswain, the crew of coxswain Tim Edsell (Louisville, Ky.), Eric McDaniel (Weeki Wachee, Fla.), Andrew Johnson (Greenwich, Conn.), Emma Preuschl (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Jen Klapper (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished third in the first of two heats. The U.S. will now race France, Germany and Ukraine in the repechages Tuesday, with the top two finishers advancing to the final. Preuschl returns from last year's boat that won silver in Beijing, while Klapper brings four years of senior national team experience to the lineup.
In the adaptive men's single sculls, Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) finished fourth in the first of two heats and will now race in Tuesday's repechage. Harvey, a 2008 Paralympian, will take on Germany, Australia, Spain and Belarus in the second race, with the top two finishers advancing to the final.
The lightweight men's single sculls, lightweight women's single sculls, men's single sculls, women's single sculls, men's double sculls and men's four also will compete in Tuesday's repechages.
In addition, the women's four crew of Elle Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine), Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.) will race for lanes Tuesday. The field of six crews also includes Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Belarus and Germany. Logan was a Beijing gold-medalist in the women's eight, while Redman and Polk won gold in the 2008 under 23 women's eight and Lofgren won silver in the event at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships.
In total, the U.S. has entered 24 of the 27 events. The eight-day regatta features 973 athletes racing in 358 crews from 54 nations. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com. Live coverage of the finals (August 29-30) will be streamed on the Web at http://fisa.feedroom.com.
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