Ten U.S. crews begin their medal quests on Wednesday at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships in Beijing, China.
The U.S. will have crews competing in the women's single sculls, men's single sculls, women's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls, women's pair, women's four, men's four, men's four with coxswain, women's eight and men's eight.
With the addition of Russia to the field, the junior women's eight moved from a final-only event to one requiring heats. Last year, the U.S. brought home a silver medal in the event. This year's crew of Alaizah Koorji (Orinda, Calif.), Molly Hamrick (Tampa, Fla.), Lauren Shook (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.), Elise Wilson (Montara, Calif.), Natalie Eisermann (Key Biscayne, Fla.), Melisa Ongun (Chicago, Ill.), Caroline Nash (Darien, Conn.), Felice Mueller (Cleveland, Ohio) and Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Mich.) will be looking to repeat or improve on that performance. Racing in the first of two heats, the crew will take on boats from Romania, Russia and The Netherlands. Always a top contender, Romania has won seven of the last eight junior women's eight titles.
The junior men's eight of Anthony Altimari (Huntington, N.Y.), Ian Silveira (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Chris Bowman (Wilmette, Ill.), Nick Jordan (Princeton, N.J.), T.J. Laher (Orinda, Calif.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.), Ian Winthrop (Roxbury, Conn.), Chris Lutz (Fairless Hills, Pa.) and Mike Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.) will take on Italy, New Zealand and Russia in the first of two heats. New Zealand is the defending champion, while the U.S. finished fifth last year.
The junior women's four of Celia Kohl (Wilton, Conn.), Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.), Rachel Ogundiran (Bowie, Md.) and Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif.) will race in the second race of the day. The crew will take on boats from China, Belarus and Italy in the second of two heats. Belarus won the event last year.
The junior men's four with coxswain crew of Steve Matyas (Turnersville, N.J.), Matt Fluhr (Christchurch, Va.), Rob Poole (Coronado, Calif.), Kevin Kennedy (Moorestown, N.J.) and Jeremy Bernstein (Oakland, Calif.) take on South Africa, Australia and France in the second of two heats. Last year, the U.S. finished seventh in the event. Romania, which did not send a crew this year, is the defending champion.
Suzanne Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who raced in the junior women's quadruple sculls last year, moves to the junior women's single sculls this year. Maddamma will take on scullers from Canada, Norway, Slovenia, Germany and Ukraine in the first of three heats. All six of last year's finalists, including bronze medalist Lindsay Meyer of the United States, have left the junior ranks, leaving a wide-open field.
In what is the deepest event of the regatta, James Hills (Kenmore, N.Y.) will race in the sixth of six heats in the men's single sculls. With an overall field of 32 scullers, Hills will take on rowers from Georgia, Uruguay, Turkey and The Netherlands in his first race of the regatta. Last year's silver medalist, Bulgaria's Aleksandar Aleksandrov, is the top returning athlete in the field. He will race in heat four.
The junior women's pair of Alex Japhet (Edmonds, Wash.) and Cara Linnenkohl (Redmond, Wash.) will race South Africa, Romania, Canada, Portugal and China in the first of two heats. Germany won the event last year, with the U.S. finishing eighth.
Erin Crawford (Tempe, Ariz.) and Taylor Fries (Westport, Conn.) will race in the sixth and final heat of the women's double sculls. The duo will take on Hungary, Australia and Denmark. Last year, Estonia won the gold medal and the U.S. finished 12th.
Cameron Klotz (St. Louis, Mo.), Patrick Williams (San Mateo, Calif.), Chris Gear (Leesburg, Va.) and Chris Chang (Hillsborough, Calif.) will race in the first of three heats of the junior men's four. The crew will take on Serbia, Great Britain, Canada and Germany. Great Britain won the event last year.
Ben Ludlow (Cincinnati, Ohio), Jason Koch (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.), Kynan Reelick (Morris, Conn.) and Greg Magarian (Cincinnati, Ohio) will race in the first of four heats in the men's quadruple sculls. The quartet will take on Bulgaria, Japan, France, Latvia and China. Germany won the event last year.
The regatta, which is serving as the test event for the 2008 Olympic venue, runs through August 11 and features more than 600 athletes from 49 countries. Quarterfinals and repechages, or second-chance races, will be raced on Thursday. Semifinals take place Friday, with finals being held on Saturday.
Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com.