RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - The junior women's pair and junior women's eight won their heats on Thursday morning, while men's single sculler Andrew Morley won his quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon, to highlight the second day of racing at the 2015 World Rowing Junior Championships.

In total, eleven U.S. crews advanced to the semifinals or finals during Thursday's racing.

The women's pair of Ashlyn Dawson (Annapolis, Md.) and Arianna Lee (Folsom, Calif.) led its heat from start to finish to earn a spot in Saturday's final. The duo got off the line quickly, taking nearly a three-second lead on Germany in the first 500 meters. Dawson and Lee continued to press their advantage through the middle 1,000 meters and held close to a five-second lead going into the final quarter of the race. At the line, the U.S. crossed in a 7:23.21, with Germany finishing second in a 7:26.96. Russia won the other heat in a 7:23.13 to also advance to the final.

The women's eight of coxswain Hannah Malzahn (Edmond, Okla.), Shayla Lamb (Kent, Conn.), Lindsay Noah (San Francisco, Calif.), Julia Cornacchia (Darien, Conn.), India Robinson (Berkeley, Calif.), Kailani Marchak (Long Beach, Calif.), Abigail Tarquinio (Nashville, Tenn.), Mariko Kelly (San Diego, Calif.) and Sarah Ondak (Denver, Colo.) got off to a rough start in the first 500 meters of its heat but came storming back to win the race and advance directly to Saturday's final. The crew sat in fourth position off the line, 2.34 seconds back of the leaders from Italy. However, the U.S. methodically worked its way back through the field over the middle 1,000 and trailed Italy by less than a second going into the final 500 meters. At the line, the U.S. had sprinted past the Italians to clock a 6:27.01, finishing 3.05 seconds in front. Germany won the other heat.

"We felt like our race went pretty well," Malzahn said. "We executed what we wanted to execute. We know what we need to improve on now. We're just trying to roll with the punches as they come for us - just focus on recovering and getting mentally prepared for the next race."

"The main goal was accomplished, and we're happy about that, but we're keeping it in stride because we know that there are definitely some things that we really need to improve on if we're going to (accomplish our goals)," said women's eight coach Susan Francia. "Honestly with the conditions coming in, we're just going to have to row as clean as possible to get it done."

Morley (Seattle, Wash.) opened afternoon racing with a win in his quarterfinal of the men's single sculls. After getting off the line in first, he dropped to third as the scullers crossed the 1,500-meter mark. However, Morley put on a strong sprint, overtaking Peru's Gonzalo del Solar and Belgium's Ruben Claeys in the final 250 meters. He will now race in the semifinals on Friday.

In the men's four, Daniel Hogan (Lafayette, Calif.), Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn.), Benjamin Cohen (Allentown, Pa.) and Brock Bozzani (Long Beach, Calif.) finished second in their heat to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. The crew led off the line before Germany overtook it in the second 500 meters. Germany continued to build its lead over the middle 1,000 meters. The Germans clocked a time of 6:20.68, with the U.S. finishing 2.32 seconds behind in a 6:23.00.

The women's four of Kaitlyn Kynast (Ridgefield, Conn.), Dana Moffat (Manlius, N.Y.), Marlee Blue (Seattle, Wash.) and Katy Gillingham (Seattle, Wash.) also crossed the line in second position in its heat, advancing directly to Saturday's final. The quartet grabbed an early lead and battled Germany bow-ball to bow-ball through the first 1,500 meters, trailing by just 0.2 seconds entering the final quarter of the race. However, Germany made a strong push in the final 500 meters to win by 3.47 seconds, clocking a 6:53.80. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:57.27.

Photo: row2k.com

Oliver Bub and Lucas Manning, USA JM2-

The men's pair of Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn.) and Lucas Manning (Westport, Conn.) advanced to Friday's semifinals with a third-place finish in its heat. France led for the first 1,000 meters before South Africa moved into the top spot in the third quarter of the race. The U.S. sat comfortably in third the entire way down the course. South Africa won the heat in a 6:45.59, followed by France in a 6:48.31. The U.S. finished in a 7:04.19, nine seconds ahead of China.

The women's quadruple sculls crew of Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.), Elizabeth Sharis (Bettendorf, Iowa), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa) and Meghan Gutknecht (Guilderland, N.Y.) finished third in its heat and will now race in a semifinal on Friday. The crew trailed Great Britain and France off the line before moving into second position during the middle 1,000 meters. But, the French crew was able to take back second place in the final 500 meters. Great Britain won the race in a 6:41.93, with France finishing second in a 6:46.54. The U.S. clocked a 6:47.06.

The men's eight of coxswain Ethan Ruiz (Newport Beach, Calif.), Mark Levinson (San Francisco, Calif.), Hunter Johnson (Winnetka, Ill.), Cameron Chater (Berkeley, Calif.), Ethan Seder (Berkeley, Calif.), Charles Watt (Acton, Mass.), Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis.), Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa.) and James Palmer (Rye, N.Y.) used two second-place finishes on Thursday to advance to Saturday's final. After finishing second in the heat by 0.39 seconds, the crew missed the top spot in the repechage by a canvas. In the repechage, the U.S. held first place through the 1,500-meter mark before The Netherlands was able to grab the advantage. The Dutch boat finished in a time of 5:58.12, with the U.S. crossing in a 5:58.85.

In the women's single sculls, Eliza Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.) rowed to a third-place finish in her heat, forcing her to race in the repechages. However, Kallfelz came back in the afternoon to finish second in her race and advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With two to advance, Italy's Asja Maregotto and Kallfelz took control off the start and had built more than a 10-second lead by the 1,000-meter mark. The two were never challenged. Maregotto crossed the finish line in an 8:24.59, with Kallfelz 1.50 seconds behind in an 8:47.14.

The women's double sculls duo of Elise Beuke (Sequim, Wash.) and Isabella Strickler (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) advanced to the semifinals thanks to a second-place finish in the repechage. After finishing fourth in the heat, Beuke and Strickler got off the line quickly in the repechage, leaving nothing to chance. The duo led the field 1,000 meters into the race before Australia put on a blistering move in the third 500 to take the lead. With three to advance, Australia and the U.S. left Brazil and Denmark to battle it out for the third qualifying spot. Australia won the race in a 7:36.95, with the U.S. finishing in a 7:41.40. Brazil beat Denmark by less than three seconds for the last qualifying spot.

In the men's four with coxswain, Wyatt Harrell (Tallahassee, Fla.), Michael Cuellar (Alameda, Calif.), Pau Turina (Portland, Ore.), Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore.) and Piers Deeth-Stehlin (Ross, Calif.) followed up their third-place finish in the heat by finishing third in their repechage, advancing to Saturday's final. The crew got off the line slowly but moved into fourth position at the midway point of the race. The U.S. pushed the leaders hard over the final 500 meters, coming up just short at the line but moving on to the final. Turkey won the race in a 6:32.43, with Australia finishing 0.82 seconds behind. The U.S. finished another 0.13 back in a 6:33.39.

15WRJC M4x Heat 3 WebAfter finishing fourth in its heat, the men's quadruple sculls crew of David Orner (Darien, Conn.), Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla.), Kris Petreski (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and Phoenix Susak (Lake Oswego, Ore.) finished third in its repechage, just missing a spot in the A/B semifinals. Instead, the crew will go to Friday's C/D semifinals. In the repechage, the crew held the third spot the entire way down the course. But despite a late charge, it could never overtake Turkey for second place. Italy won the race in a 6:17.32, with Turkey finishing in a 6:21.43. The U.S. crossed just about a length behind in a 6:23.75.

After finishing sixth in its heat, the men's double sculls duo of Joe Sterner (St. Charles, Ill.) and Jack Luby (Barrington, R.I.) finished fifth in its repechage and will now race in the C Final on Friday. Sterner and Luby sat in fifth position the entire way down the course, finishing with a time of 7:04.07. Great Britain won the race in a 6:47.90.

Due to potential adverse weather conditions, this weekend's racing has been moved up. Friday's racing now will feature semifinals and the C and D finals for places 13-24 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday's schedule will feature B finals for places 7-12 and A finals for places 1-6 beginning at 8:30 a.m. There will be no racing on Sunday.