Four more US crews advance on Day Two

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Team USA’s lightweight women’s double sculls and men’s eight directly advanced to the A finals through their respective heats on the second day of racing at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Additionally, the men’s four with coxswain and lightweight men’s pair advanced to the A finals from their respective repechages.

After 12 crews started their championship racing on Wednesday, eight more crews saw their first action today. One of those crews was the lightweight women’s double sculls, which placed second in its heat with a 7:09.52, seeding them in Sunday’s A final.

“Either way, if we were going to the repechages or just going to the final, we would give it our all, but now we have another day to rest and recover to get ready for the final on Sunday,” said Grace Joyce, who rows in the double with Liza Ray.

Having a race-free Wednesday before today had a motivational impact on the crew.

“Everyone’s been so supportive this summer,” said Ray. “[There are] just so much good vibes.”

Ray understands the magnitude of racing for Team USA.

“It means showing the world all the work we’ve been doing the past eight years training,” said Ray. “Everything has lead up to it. This is it.”

Denmark won the lightweight women’s double sculls heat that included the U.S. with a time of 7:07.82.

Right before racing was suspended due to severe storms in the area, the men’s eight of Woods Connell (Bethesda, Md.), Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis.), Andrew Knoll (Greenback, Tenn.), Sam Halbert (Redmond, Wash.), Alex Miklasevich (Pittsburgh, Pa.), William Creedon (Denver, Colo.), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H.),Justin Best (Kennett Square Pa.) and Madison Molitor (Moses Lake, Wash.) also qualified for the A final by winning its heat. Crossing with a 5:44.4, the U.S. was followed by the other automatic qualifier, the Netherlands, which crossed in 5:48.97.

In the women’s double sculls, the U.S. crew of Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa) and Elizabeth Sharis(Bettendorf, Iowa) came in second with a 7:13.22, just 0.59 seconds ahead of the Canadians. The Americans were beat out by Germany, which rowed a 7:10.22. The U.S. will race in the repechages tomorrow, as only the winner of that heat automatically advanced to the final.

The men’s double sculls of Cole Dorsey (Rowayton, Conn.) and Mark Couwenhoven (Parkton, Md.) finished fourth in its race with a time of 6:38.57 and will race in the repechages. Russia won the heat in 6:28.26, followed by Great Britain and the Netherlands, which finished in 6:31.51 and 6:34.87, respectively.

The lightweight men’s double sculls of Luke Smith (Tampa, Fla.) and Alexandar Damjanovic (Alexandria, Va.) came in fourth and will advance to the repechages. The two finished in 6:43.53 behind the first-place German crew, which finished in 6:24.36. Australia finished second in 6:30.65 and Portugal crossed the line third in 6:33.28.

Repechages were held in seven race categories to determine which crews would be moving on in the competition for medals.

The men’s four with coxswain finished its repechage fourth in a time of 6:15.07, earning a spot in the A final. The other crews from its repechage moving on to the A final are Great Britain, New Zealand and South Africa, which finished in 6:12.79, 6:13.53 and 6:14.32, respectively. Adam Gold (Seattle, Wash.) coxes the boat rowed by Eli Maesner (Redmond, Wash.), Peter Chatain (Winnetka, Ill.), Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash.) and Nikita Lilichenko (Orinda, Calif.).

The lightweight men’s pair of Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Matthew Marchiony (Weston, Mass.) saw a second-place finish in a time of 6:53.46 and earned a spot in the A final. Germany took first in 6:49.92.

Earning a spot in the A/B semifinal, Sam Melvin (Costa Mesa, Calif.) won his respective lightweight men’s single sculls repechage in 7:11.32. China followed in 7:14.79.

The men’s four of Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn.), George Esau (Long Lake, Minn.), David Bridges (Portland, Ore.), and Thomas Beck (Sandy, Utah) finished third in a time of 6:03.02, earning a spot in the B final. The other crews from its repechage moving onto the A final are Germany and Romania, which finished in 5:59.04 and 6:00.13, respectively.

In the men’s pair, Mark Levinson (San Francisco, Calif.) and Daniel Perez (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) finished in fourth with a 6:51.21, earning themselves a spot in the B final. The crews moving onto the A final from that repechage are South Africa and Great Britain, which finished in 6:34.66 and 6:36.11, respectively.

The women’s quadruple sculls of Hannah Paynter (Lyme, Conn.), Arianna Lee (Folsom, Calif.), Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y.), and Katy Flynn (Churchville, N.Y.) finished fourth in a time of 6:45.44, earning a spot in the B final. The other crews from its repechage moving onto the A final are Romania and New Zealand, which finished in 6:30.93 and 6:36.48, respectively.

The men’s quadruple sculls of Thomas Johnson (Centreville, Va.), Samuel Gatsos (New York, N.Y.), Jack Reid(Deerfield, N.H.), and Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn.) finished in a time of 6:03.41, which landed the crew in fourth place, wrapping up its racing at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. The crews moving on to the A/B semifinal from that repechage are Hungary, New Zealand and Poland, which finished in 5:55.31, 5.56.28 and 6:00.37, respectively.

Four exhibition races were held today to determine lane assignments for the finals in those events.

In the lightweight women’s pair, the U.S. crew of Emily Molins (Wilmette, Ill.) and Sarah Maietta (Wayland, Mass.), finished in first place with a time of 7:31.71, earning the most favorable lane placement in the finals. Germany finished behind the two in 7:34.82, then Australia in 7:37.77.

The lightweight women’s quadruple sculls of Sarah McErlean (Vevey, Switzerland), Caroline O’Brien (Darien, Conn.), Olivia Farrar (Pittsford, N.Y.), and Emma Starr (Walnut Creek, Calif.) finished in third with a time of 6:45.69. The fastest time in the exhibition race came from Germany, which rowed a 6:28.36.

The women’s four with coxswain of Megan Varcoe (Porter Corners, N.Y.), Molly Gallaher (Snoqualmie, Wash.), Margaret Saunders (Arlington, Va.), and Kadee Sylla (San Francisco, Calif.), coxed by Aparajita Chauhan (Seattle, Wash.), finished in fifth place with a time of 7:14.58. The fastest time in the exhibition race came from Italy, which rowed a 7:04.31.

The U.S. crew of Michael Wilson (Braintree, Mass.), Kieran Edwards (Arcata, Calif.), Jarrett Heflin (Wayzata, Minn.), and Edward “Cooper” Tuckerman (Bozeman, Mont.) finished in fifth with a time of 6:10.08 in the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls. The fastest time in the exhibition race came from Ireland, which rowed a 6:02.20.