The United States will have six crews racing for medals on Sunday, the final day of competition at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany. The men's eight, women's eight, women's quadruple sculls, men's four with coxswain, lightweight women's quadruple sculls and lightweight men's quadruple sculls will be looking to reach the medal stand.
The men's eight 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.) edged out Russia to win its semifinal, earning a spot in Sunday's final. The crew, which won a bronze medal at last year's world championships, will take on Canada, Russia, Great Britain, Germany and Poland in tomorrow's race. Canada won the other semifinal, clocking the fastest time of the day.
After finishing second in its heat, 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.) came back to win its repechage, or second-chance race, qualifying for a spot in Sunday's final. The U.S., which won a gold medal last year, will face crews from Australia, Romania, Germany, Great Britain and Canada in the race for medals. Australia and Romania enter the race as the top seeds, having won the heats.
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 second in its repechage to earn a spot in Sunday's final. The crew will take on China, Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine and Canada in the race for medals. China and Great Britain won the two heats, while Germany and Ukraine won the two repechages.
With only six entries, the men's four with coxswain is a final-only event. The crew of Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Chris Liwski (Sarasota, Fla.), Sam Burns (Seattle, Wash.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) and Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.) won its race for lanes on Wednesday to earn the top seed in the final. The U.S. will take on boats from Germany, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy and Serbia.
In the lightweight women's quadruple sculls, the crew of Carey Brezler (Waynesboro, Pa.), Sarah Bates (Garrison, N.Y.), Margaret Duggan (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) earned a spot in the final by finishing second in its repechage. The quartet will take on heat winners Australia and Great Britain, as well as China, Germany and The Netherlands, in tomorrow's race.
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 its repechage to advance to the final. The crew will face France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Denmark in the race for medals. France and Italy enter the race as the top two seeds, having won the heats.
In addition, four U.S. crews will race in Sunday's B finals for places 7-12. This year, the B finals for Olympic-class boats take on more significance as the regatta serves as the primary country qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games. It does not, however, qualify individual athletes for the Games. For boats that do not qualify in Munich, a final qualification regatta will be held July 15-18, 2008, in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Jana Heere (Bensalem, Pa.) and Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.) finished fifth in its semifinal on Friday. The crew will take on Canada, Italy, Poland, Japan and Great Britain in the B final. Canada and Italy enter the race as the top two seeds, having finished fourth in their semifinals. The top two crews will earn their countries a spot in next year's Olympic Games.
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 sixth in its semifinal and will now race in the B final. The crew will take on Australia, Poland, The Netherlands, Egypt and Ireland. After finishing fourth in the semifinals, Australia and Poland enter the race as the top seeds. The top five crews will earn their countries berths in the 2008 Olympics.
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) also finished sixth in its semifinal. The quartet will take on Russia, Australia, Estonia, Belarus and Cuba in the B final. Russia and Australia come into the race as the two fourth-place finishers from the semifinals. Like the lightweight four, five crews will earn their countries the right to compete in Beijing.
In the lightweight men's pair, Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) and Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.) finished fourth in their repechage and will now race in the B final. The duo will take on crews from Japan, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain and Canada in the first race of the day. The lightweight men's pair is a non-Olympic event, so there are no qualification spots up for bid in the race.
The eight-day regatta features 1,285 athletes racing in 474 crews from 68 nations.