Fourteen U.S. crews raced in heats on Monday at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany. The lightweight men's double sculls and lightweight men's four advanced to the quarterfinals, while the remainder of the senior team boats moved on to the repechages, or second-chance races. In the adaptive events, the adaptive men's single sculls, trunk-arms double sculls and legs-trunk-arms four with coxswain advanced directly to the semifinals.
The women's eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Sam Magee (Simsbury, Conn.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) finished second in its heat and will now race in a repechage on Wednesday. Racing in the second of two heats, the crew grabbed a two-second advantage in the first 500 meters and continued to lead by just under one second as the boats passed through the 1,500-meter mark. However, Australia, which had been slowly closing the gap during the middle portion of the race, stepped up its pace and passed the American boat in the final 300 meters. Australia won the race in a time of 6:12.79, earning the qualifying spot for the final. The U.S. clocked a 6:14.85. In the other heat, Romania passed Germany in the final 500 meters to win with a time of 6:14.46.
The crew of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), Brodie Buckland (Olympia, Wash.) and Alex Hearne (Princeton, N.J.) finished third in the first of three heats of the men's eight. With the top two boats advancing to the semifinals, the American crew will have to race in Wednesday's repechages. The U.S. boat sat in second position until the final 250 meters but was unable to hold off a hard-charging Dutch crew that just missed catching Germany at the line. Germany led the race from start to finish, clocking a 5:38.21. The Netherlands finished just 0.06 seconds behind in a 5:38.27, followed by the United States in a 5:38.93.
Racing in the second of six heats of the lightweight men's double sculls, Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) finished second to advance to the quarterfinals. The duo sat in third position behind Great Britain and New Zealand through the 1,500-meter mark before passing New Zealand in the final quarter of the race. Great Britain won the race in a 6:35.86, with the U.S. coming in 2.17 seconds behind in a 6:38.03.
The lightweight men's four of Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.) and Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) finished second in its heat behind France to advance to the quarterfinals. Racing in the sixth and final heat, the quartet sat in second position the entire way down the course, clocking a 6:11.74 to finish 2.30 seconds behind France's winning time of 6:09.44.
In the lightweight women's quadruple sculls, Great Britain held off the hard-charging American crew of Carey Brezler (Waynesboro, Pa.), Sarah Bates (Garrison, N.Y.), Margaret Duggan (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) to win the second of two heats, earning a spot in the final. In the first 500 meters, the two crews quickly established a lead on the rest of the field. Great Britain held a 1.63-second advantage on the U.S. at the midway point of the race. The Americans made a strong push over the next 500 meters to close within one second of the leaders. However, the British crew was able to hold off the challenge and win the race with a time of 6:41.44. The U.S. finished 0.94 seconds behind in a 6:42.38 and will now race in a repechage on Wednesday.
Racing in the third of four heats, the men's quadruple sculls crew of Mark Flickinger (Big Flats, N.Y.), Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.), Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) and J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) finished third and now will race in the repechages on Wednesday. The crew got off the line in third position, before dropping to fifth at the 1,000-meter mark. However, the U.S. boat was able to work its way back up to third position over the last half of the race. The Czech Republic won the race in a time of 5:57.02, followed by Ukraine in a 5:57.73. Both crews advanced to the semifinals. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:03.03.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.), Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.), Jon D'Alba (Berwyn, Pa.) and Sam Saylor (San Diego, Calif.) finished third in the first of two heats. The crew sat in third position the entire way down the course. Germany led the race from start to finish, clocking a 6:02.62 to finish 2.58 seconds ahead of France. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:10.29. France earned a spot in the final, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage on Wednesday.
The women's quadruple sculls crew of Ellen Tomek (Flint, Mich.), Christen Brown (Tecumseh, Mich.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) finished fourth in the second of two heats and now will race in the repechages on Friday. The crew got off the line in second position, behind the defending world champions from Great Britain, and sat in third place as the crews passed through the 1,500 meter mark before giving way to Canada. Great Britain won the race in a time of 6:30.87 to claim the automatic qualifying spot for the final. Germany finished second, followed by Canada and the United States. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:39.52.
In the lightweight men's pair, Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) and Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.) finished fourth in the first of two heats and now will race in the repechages on Friday. The duo sat in fifth position until the final few strokes, passing The Netherlands as the crews crossed the finish line. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:50.17, 0.34 seconds ahead of the Dutch. Italy won the race in a 6:42.93 to earn a spot in the final.
The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Jana Heere (Bensalem, Pa.) and Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.) finished fifth in the first of three heats and will now race in the repechages on Wednesday. The U.S. sat in third place at the 500-meter mark before dropping to fifth as the crews passed through the midway point of the race. China led the race until the final stroke, where Finland was able to edge them at the line. Finland clocked a 7:11.32, with China finishing 0.04 seconds behind. Both crews advanced to the semifinals. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:19.79.
In the adaptive events, adaptive men's single sculler Ron Harvey (Long Beach, Calif.) had no trouble winning his heat to advance to the semifinals. Harvey clocked a 5:48.48 to defeat France's Patrick Laureau by more than 10 seconds. The top two finishers from each heat advanced to the semifinals.
Angela Madsen (Long Beach, Calif.) and Scott Brown (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) finished second in their heat of the trunk-arms double sculls to advance to the semifinals. The duo, which has won the event every year it has been contested, finished with a time of 4:42.60, more than seven seconds ahead of Israel. Italy won the race in a 4:29.84. The top two crews advanced to the semifinals.
In the adaptive four with coxswain, Ryan Pawling (Jenkintown, Pa.), Jesse Karmazin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Jamie Dean (Pickerington, Ohio), Tracy Lee Tackett (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Aerial Gilbert (Tiburon, Calif.) finished second in their heat to advance to the semifinals. The U.S. led for the first half of the race before Canada overtook the crew in the second 500 meters. Canada finished with a time of 3:40.54, while the U.S. clocked a 3:45.18.
In the adaptive women's single sculls, Laura Schwanger (Harrisburg, Pa.) finished fourth in the second of two heats. Schwanger sat in third position at the midway point of the race before falling to fourth position. Brazil's Claudia Santos won the race with a time of 6:21.14. Schwanger finished in a 6:32.87 and will now race in a repechage on Tuesday.
The eight-day regatta, which serves as the primary country qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games, features 1,285 athletes racing in 474 crews from 68 nations. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com.