row2k news Men's Eight and Women's Single Sculls Advance to Finals at World Rowing Junior Championships
August 5, 2006
The men's eight and women's single sculler Lindsay Meyer advanced to Saturday's finals to highlight the third day of competition at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In the men's eight, coxswain Zach Vlahos (Piedmont, Calif.), Nick Lucey (San Francisco, Calif.), Jack Lindeman (Sewell, N.J.), Carl Thunman (Herndon, Va.), Michael Lombardi (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), Chris Courtin (Buffalo, N.Y.), Tom Kicinski (Vashon Island, Wash.), Lucas Spielfogel (Boca Raton, Fla.), and Vince Berry (East Lansdowne, Pa.) advanced to the final by finishing second in the first of two semifinals. The crew led the race through the 1,000-meter mark, with New Zealand trailing close behind. But New Zealand made its move during the third quarter of the race, overtaking the U.S. as the crews approached the 1,500-meter mark. The U.S. came home in a 5:59.16, finishing 3.12 seconds behind New Zealand's 5:56.04. Italy finished third to claim the other spot in the final. In the other semifinal, Germany, Romania, and Great Britain advanced to the final. Germany won the race with a time of 5:56.45
In the women's single sculls, Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) reached Saturday's final by finishing third in the first of two semifinals. Meyer sat in sixth position through the 1,000-meter mark but used a strong second half of the race to claim a spot in the final. She crossed the finish line with a time of 8:33.82. Poland's Natalia Madaj won the race with a time of 8:27.76, while Latvia's Ilze Leoke finished second in an 8:32.13. South Africa's Kirsten McCann won the other semifinal in an 8:29.04. Meyer became the first U.S. junior women's sculler to ever make the final at the junior world championships.
In addition to the men's eight and Meyer, the women's eight of coxswain Ariel Frost (Oakland, Calif.), Adrienne Mecham (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Jennifer Cromwell (Bellevue, Wash.), Maren McCrea (Larkspur, Calif.), Desiree Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Elise Wilson (Montara, Calif.), Nancy Graves (Washington, N.C.), Sarah Gribler (Marysville, Wash.), and Katelin Kelley (Seattle, Wash.) also will race in Saturday's finals. The crew won its race for lanes on Thursday and will be the top seed in the final.
In other races on Friday, Caroline Nash (Darien, Conn.) and Michaela Strand (Seattle, Wash.) just missed a spot in the final after finishing fourth in their semifinal of the women's pair. Nash and Strand clocked an 8:10.34. Germany won the race with a time of 7:58.72, followed by Portugal and Canada. The duo will now race in Saturday's B final for places 7-12.
The women's double sculls tandem of Lori Gordon (Winchester, Mass.) and Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, Vt.) also finished fourth in its semifinal, just missing the final. Gordon and Dreissigacker crossed the finish line with a time of 7:48.59. Germany won the race by clocking a 7:41.84, followed by Poland and Romania. The duo will now race in Saturday's B final for places 7-12.
In the men's single sculls, Robin Prendes (Miami, Fla.) finished third in his C/D semifinal and will now race in the C final for places 13-18. Prendes led through the 1,500-meter mark before being overtaken by scullers from the Ukraine and Estonia. Prendes clocked a 7:42.58. The Ukraine's Ivan Yurchenko won the race with a time of 7:35.56.
In the men's quadruple sculls, Sebastian Kirwan (Wilton, Conn.), Carter Lindborg (Coatesville, Pa.), A.J. DiValerio (Malvern, Pa.), and William Kelly (New Canaan, Conn.) finished third in their D/E semifinal and will now race in the D final for places 19-24. The U.S. sat in third place the entire way down the course, clocking a 6:42.41. Japan won the race with a time of 6:29.04.
In the men's double sculls, Daniel Kenefick (New Canaan, Conn.) and Brendan McEwan (New Canaan, Conn.) finished fourth in the D/E semifinal and will now race in the E final for places 25-30. The U.S. clocked a 7:16.48. Latvia won the race with a time of 7:11.80.
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