SEVILLE, Spain – Eleven more U.S. crews begin their quest for world titles on Monday in the preliminary heats of the 2002 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Guadalquivir River in Seville, Spain.
The U.S. will have crews racing in the men’s four with coxswain, men’s lightweight pair, women’s lightweight quadruple sculls, men’s lightweight quadruple sculls, women’s lightweight double sculls, men’s lightweight double sculls, men’s lightweight four, women’s quadruple sculls, men’s quadruple sculls, women’s eight and men’s eight on day two of the championships.
In the men’s eight, the U.S. boat is loaded with experience. The crew of coxswain Pete Cipollone (Ardmore, Pa.), Jon Watling (Greenwich, Conn.), Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Eric Mueller (Cedarburg, Wis.), Mike Wherley (Sun Prairie, Wis.), Wolf Moser (Moultonboro, N.H.), Joseph Hansen (Bakersfield, Calif.), Garrett Klugh (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Ryan Torgerson (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) includes four Olympians and a total of 38 national team appearances. At the 2002 World Cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland, the crew brought home the gold medal, defeating Germany by 1.12 seconds. On Monday, the U.S. boat will face crews from Australia, Egypt, Great Britain, Romania and the Ukraine in the first of two heats. Germany, which won gold medals at the two other world cup stops this summer, is the top seed in the second heat. The Germans will face Italy, Poland, Canada, Croatia and Russia. The two heat winners will advance directly to Sunday’s final, with the remaining crews competing in a repechage, or second-chance race, on Wednesday.
The women’s eight of Mary Whipple (Orangevale, Calif.), Kate MacKenzie (Novi, Mich.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Ali Cox (Turlock, Calif.), Bernadette Marten (Fortville, Ind.), Maite Urtasun (Riverside, N.J.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Dana Peirce (Richmond, Va.) and Kate Johnson (Portland, Ore.) also will race in the first of two heats. The U.S. crew, which did not compete on the world cup circuit this summer, will face world cup champion Germany, Belarus and China in its heat. The second heat includes Canada, Australia, and Romania. Like the men’s eight, the two heat winners will advance directly to Sunday’s final, while the remaining crews will have to race in Wednesday’s repechage.
Racing in the first of four heats, the men’s lightweight four of Steve Warner (Livonia, Mich.), Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) and Paul Teti (Upper Darby, Pa.) drew a tough heat that includes perennial power Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and Turkey. Top seeds in the other heats include France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia and Poland. The winner of each heat advances directly to Friday’s semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in Wednesday’s repechage.
In the women’s lightweight double sculls, Mary Obidinski (Oneonta, N.Y.) and Stacey Borgman (Homer, Alaska) finished seventh at the world cup stop in Lucerne and are looking to move up in the standings in Seville. The duo will be racing in the second of three heats and will face a tough lineup that includes Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Greece and Finland. The top two seeds in the first heat are Canada and Germany, while the top two seeds in the third heat are the Netherlands and Great Britain. The three heat winners advance directly to Friday’s semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in Wednesday’s repechages.
The men’s lightweight double sculls tandem of Conal Groom (Northford, Conn.) and Stephen Arthur-Wong (Orlando, Fla.) is making its world championships’ debut after finishing 10th at the world cup race in Lucerne. The duo races in the second of four heats against Russia, Turkey, Greece, Germany and Belgium, with the top finisher advancing to Friday’s semifinals and the remaining crews going to the repechage.
The women’s quadruple sculls quartet of Danika Harris (Durham, N.H.), Hilary Gehman (Wolfeboro, N.H.), Carol Skricki (Norwood, Mass.) and Sarah Jones (Stanwood, Wash.) will try to improve on the United States’ bronze-medal performance at last year’s world championships. Skricki, Jones, and Gehman all return from that crew, while Harris returns to the national team after retiring from competition in the mid 1990s. Racing in the second of two heats, the U.S. crew drew a tough heat that includes Germany, Great Britain, Belarus and Russia. The first heat includes the Ukraine, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain. The heat winners advance directly to Sunday’s final, while the remaining crews race in the repechages.
The U.S. men’s quadruple sculls crew of Michael Callahan (Arlington, Va.), J. Sloan DuRoss (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine) and Ben Holbrook (Hartland, Wis.) will race in the first of three heats. The crew will face the Ukraine, Germany, Denmark, and France in its heat. The top two seeds in the second heat are Belarus and Italy, while the top two seeds in the third heat are Poland and Estonia. The heat winners advance to the semifinals, while the remaining crews race in the repechages.
The U.S. men’s four with coxswain will try to get back on the medal stand this year after failing to medal in 2001. This year’s crew includes coxswain Nick Anderson (Omaha, Neb.), Artour Samsonov (Stoneham, Mass.), Nicholas Tripician (Ventnor, N.J.), Michael Blomquist (Greensboro, N.C.), and Luke Walton (Poway, Calif.). Anderson, Tripician, Blomquist and Walton have all competed on past national teams, while Samsonov is a first-time national team member. Racing in the second of two heats, the crew will line up against Australia, Italy, and Slovenia. The first heat includes Croatia, Germany and Great Britain. The two heat winners advance directly to Sunday’s final, while the remaining crews will race in Wednesday’s repechage.
In the men’s lightweight pair, first-time national team member Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) joins national team veteran Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.) as the U.S. entrants. The duo will race in the second of three heats, with the winner advancing to the semifinals and the rest going on to the repechage. Altman and Carcagno will face crews from Russia, Denmark, Australia, China, and Canada in their heat. The top two seeds in the first heat are Italy and Romania, while the top two seeds in the third heat are Ireland and Great Britain.
The women’s lightweight quadruple sculls quartet of Wendy Campanella (Needham, Mass.), Abigail Cromwell (Cambridge, Mass.), Michelle Whitcomb Borkhuis (Walworth, N.Y.) and Anne Finke (North Palm Beach, Fla.) will race in the second of two heats. The crew will face boats from Great Britain, the Netherlands and El Salvador in its opening race. In the first heat, the defending world champions from Australia will take on Italy, Denmark, and Spain. The two heat winners advance directly to the finals, with the remaining crews moving on to the repechage.
The men’s lightweight quadruple sculls crew of Michael Aller (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Tim Larson (North Augusta, S.C.), John Kennel (Rochester, N.Y.) and Nick Cindrich (Tannersville, Va.) are all first time national team members. The crew faces Great Britain, Italy, Argentina and Japan in the first of two heats. Great Britain won the bronze medal in the event at this year’s world cup stop in Munich, while Italy is the defending world champion in the event. The second heat includes Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain and China. The winners of each heat advance directly to Sunday’s final, while the remaining crews head to the repechage.
A total of 328 boats and 932 rowers representing 53 nations are competing in 24 events in Seville. The U.S. has 81 rowers competing in 23 of the 24 events. The U.S. roster includes 14 Olympians and 23 first-time senior national team members. Thirty-two team members have won a total of 58 medals at past world championships. Last year, U.S. crews won four medals and had six, fourth-place finishes in the 24 events.
Racing continues on Tuesday and Wednesday with repechages, or second-chance races. Semifinals for events with enough entries will be held on Thursday and Friday (September 19-20), with the finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday, September 21-22.
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