The junior women's eight and junior men's single sculler James Hills won their heats on Wednesday to highlight the first day of competition for the United States at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships in Beijing, China.
The junior women's eight 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.) led its heat from start to finish, advancing directly to the final. The crew built a 1.34-second lead in the first 500 meters of the race and then walked away from the rest of the field, defeating Romania by 5.86 seconds. The U.S. boat clocked a 6:41.10, with Romania finishing second in a 6:46.96. Germany won the other heat in a 6:45.38, finishing 4.20 seconds ahead of China.
In the junior men's single sculls, Hills (Kenmore, N.Y.) won his heat to advance to Thursday's quarterfinals. Racing in the last of six heats, Hills sat in second position behind Georgia's Miheil Ejoshvili through the 1,000-meter mark before taking control during the third quarter of the race. Hills finished with a time of 7:31.97, 2.81 seconds ahead of the Thijs van Luijk of The Netherlands. Ejoshvili dropped to fourth but still advanced to the quarterfinals.
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.) finished second in their heat of the junior men's eight and now will race in a repechage, or second-chance race, on Thursday. The crew sat in third position through the 1,000-meter mark before passing Italy in the last half of the race. New Zealand, the defending champions in the event, won the race with a time of 6:03.70 to advance to the final. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:07.28. Germany won the other heat in a 5:57.25 and also advanced to the final.
In the junior women's double sculls, Erin Crawford (Tempe, Ariz.) and Taylor Fries (Westport, Conn.) finished third in their heat to advance directly to tomorrow's quarterfinals. The duo sat in second position at the 1,000-meter mark before Australia made its push. Australia passed the U.S. and then Denmark in the final 500 meters to win the race in a 7:41.14. Denmark finished second in a 7:42.99, followed by Crawford and Fries in a 7:48.37.
The junior women's four of Celia Kohl (Wilton, Conn.), Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.), Rachel Ogundiran (Bowie, Md.) and Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif.) finished third in its heat and will now race in a repechage. The crew got off the line in fourth place and was unable to challenge China for the top spot. China won the race with a time of 6:53.68 to advance directly to the final. Belarus finished second in a 6:59.79, followed by the U.S. in a 7:08.16. Germany won the other heat in a 7:07.11.
Racing in the second of two heats, the junior men's four with coxswain of Steve Matyas (Turnersville, N.J.), Matt Fluhr (Christchurch, Va.), Rob Poole (Coronado, Calif.), Kevin Kennedy (Moorestown, N.J.) and Jeremy Bernstein (Oakland, Calif.) also finished third and will race in a repechage. France led the race from start to finish, coming home in a 6:35.24. Australia finished second in a 6:41.41, while the U.S. clocked a 6:42.48. Germany won the other heat in a 6:30.95, clocking the fastest time of the morning.
With the top two finishers advancing to the semifinals, Suzanne Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished third in her heat of the women's single sculls and now will race in Thursday's repechages. Maddamma got off the line in fifth position before moving into third place in the final 500 meters. Germany's Tina Manker won the race in an 8:00.50, followed by the sculler from Norway. Maddamma finished with a time of 8:15.75.
The junior women's pair of Alex Japhet (Edmonds, Wash.) and Cara Linnenkohl (Redmond, Wash.) also finished third, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:55.34. Romania won the race by clocking a 7:46.41. Canada finished second in a 7:50.89. Japhet and Linnenkohl will race in a repechage on Thursday.
Cameron Klotz (St. Louis, Mo.), Patrick Williams (San Mateo, Calif.), Chris Gear (Leesburg, Va.) and Chris Chang (Hillsborough, Calif.) finished fifth in their heat of the junior men's four. The crew finished with a time of 6:53.33 and now will race in the repechages. Great Britain won the race in a 6:25.54.
In the junior men's quadruple sculls, Ben Ludlow (Cincinnati, Ohio), Jason Koch (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.), Kynan Reelick (Morris, Conn.) and Greg Magarian (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished sixth in the first of four heats and will race in a repechage on Thursday. The quartet sat in sixth position all the way down the course, finishing with a time of 6:39.66. Latvia won the race in a 6:10.03.
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 will be raced on Thursday, with semifinals taking place on Friday. Finals will be held on Saturday. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com.