POZNAN, Poland - Five U.S. crews advanced from Wednesday's repechages, or second-chance races, on the fourth day of competition at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
In the lightweight men's four, the crew of Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.), Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.) and Taylor Washburn (Andover, Mass.) finished second and will now race in the semifinals on Friday. Competing in the second repechage, the U.S. was in fourth place at the 500-meter mark, but steadily worked its way through Great Britain and Russia to finish 2.1 seconds behind France in a 6:02.93. France, the Lucerne silver-medalists, won the race in a 6:00.83. Great Britain crossed 0.74 seconds behind the U.S. boat in third.
"This was one of the best races we've had this year," said Daly, who raced in the 2008 Olympic boat that finished 11th in Beijing and also was a member of last year's world-champion lightweight eight. "We went out with a conservative start to set ourselves up for a strong second half. Looking ahead, we've got a good shot and nothing to lose."
"I thought it was a really great race," said lightweight men's coach John Parker. "We got a chance to show the hard work we've been doing in practice. There's a lot of positive energy and it's fun to see all of the lightweights work together as a team. They are motivated for themselves and for their teammates."
In 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.) finished second in its repechage and will now race in Friday's semifinals. After coming up 0.32 seconds short of the qualifying spot on Monday, the U.S. quartet moved into second place early and crossed the line 2.42 seconds behind Australia in a 5:49.35. Australia won in a 5:46.93, with Spain third in a 5:59.61.
The lightweight women's double sculls duo of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) finished second in its repechage to earn a spot in Friday's semifinals. Trannel and Hedstrom held off Sweden's Karin Hoegberg and Cecilia Lilja, clocking a 7:11.94 behind The Netherlands, who won in a 7:08.71.
The crew of Sam Cunningham (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Dan Scholtz (Springfield, Ore.), Jon Winter (New Haven, Conn.) and Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished third in its repechage of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls to advance to Sunday's final. The U.S. came back from fourth place at the 1,000-meter mark to finish 0.9 seconds ahead of Mexico in a 5:59.53. France won the race in a 5:56.27, with Denmark second in a 5:57.92.
In the men's eight, the U.S. finished third in its repechage, missing a spot in the semifinals by 2.57 seconds. 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.) will now race in the B final on Saturday for places 7-10. The U.S. held the lead for the first half of the race, but could not keep up with the charge of Poland and Italy in the final stretch. Poland won the race in a 5:29.72, with Italy second in a 5:32.15. The U.S. clocked a 5:34.72 in third place.
The lightweight men's pair of John Wainwright (Alameda, Calif.) and Alex Rothmeier (Boston, Mass.) finished fifth in its repechage and will now race in the B final on Saturday for places 7-11. The U.S. was in fifth place the entire length of the course, crossing the line in a 7:03.75. South Africa and Denmark advanced to the final, finishing first and second, respectively.
In the lightweight men's double sculls, Andy Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) finished third in the repechage and will now race in the C finals on Friday for places 13-18. The U.S. duo held the third position from start to finish, missing a spot in the semifinals by 1.52 seconds. Portugal crossed first in a 6:26.55, followed by South Africa second in a 6:29.11.
Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) finished third in his C/D semifinal of the men's lightweight single sculls and will now race in Friday's C final for places 13-18. Lowry pulled ahead from fourth place at the halfway point, crossing the line in a 7:04.21. Slovakia won the race in a 7:00.69.
In the lightweight women's quadruple sculls, the crew of Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho), Stefanie Sydlik (Allentown, Pa.), Lindsey Hochman (Seattle, Wash.) and Hillary Saeger (Dedham, Mass.) finished fifth in its race for lanes. Great Britain led from wire to wire, crossing the line first in a 6:35.94. The U.S. clocked a 6:40.78 and will compete in Sunday's final.
Four U.S. crews will race in the semifinals on Thursday including the men's single sculls, women's double sculls, men's pair and women's pair.
Competing in the second semifinal of the women's pair, 2008 Olympic gold-medalists Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) will take on Croatia, Argentina, Romania, Russia and Australia, with the top three finishers advancing to the final on Saturday. On Sunday, the U.S. duo controlled the race from start to finish, winning its heat by over four seconds.
Racing in the second semifinal of the women's double sculls, Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) will take on Denmark, New Zealand, Poland, Bulgaria and Finland, with the top three finishers advancing to Saturday's final. The tandem, who won gold at the world cup race in Lucerne and finished fifth in the event at the 2008 Olympic Games, took second to Australia in its heat Sunday.
The men's pair of Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) will compete in the second semifinal against Canada, France, New Zealand, Germany and Cuba. Coming off of a bronze-medal finish in Lucerne, the U.S. duo took second to Greece's Nikolaos and Apostolos Gkountoulas in Sunday's heat. The top three finishers in tomorrow's race advance to the final on Saturday.
After his electric second-place finish in yesterday's repechage, Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) will race in tomorrow's first semifinal of the men's single sculls. With three to advance to the final on Saturday, Anderson will face off against Great Britain's Alan Campbell, Norway's Olaf Tufte and Czech Republic's Ondrej Synek, as well as Lithuania and Greece, in the first semifinal.
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.