The women’s eight won gold and the women’s pair won silver to highlight the United States’ performance in Sunday’s finals at the 2007 Rowing World Cup Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The women’s eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Portia Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) battled Germany the entire way down the course before pulling away in the final 500 meters to win the gold medal. The U.S. grabbed a slight lead in the first 500 meters and held a 0.33-second advantage at the midway point of the race. In the third 500, the American boat slowly inched away from the Germans before rowing to a 2.19-second victory. The U.S. clocked a 6:04.36 to Germany’s 6:06.55. The Netherlands finished third in a 6:09.93.

The women’s pair of Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.) and Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.) won its second silver medal on the world cup circuit this year on Sunday. The duo clocked a 7:08.00 to finish 1.33 seconds behind New Zealand’s Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles. The two crews established an early lead on the rest of the field off the start, with the U.S. leading for the first 1,000 meters. However, New Zealand made its move in the third quarter of the race, taking a 0.59-second advantage as the crews reached the 1,500-meter mark. New Zealand crossed the finish line in a 7:06.67. Romania’s Viorica Susanu and Georgeta Damian-Andrunache claimed the bronze medal in a 7:13.16.

The lightweight women’s double sculls tandem of Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.) and Jana Heere (Bensalem, Pa.) just missed a medal after finishing fourth. The duo led the race going into the final 500 meters but was unable to hold on down the stretch. Denmark won the race with a time of 7:01.31, followed by Canada in a 7:01.74. Germany edged out the U.S. for third, crossing the finish line 0.46-seconds ahead in a 7:03.78. Tripician and Heere clocked a 7:04.24.

In the final of the women’s double sculls, Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.) and Jennifer Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.) finished fifth. The crew sat in sixth position for the first 1,500 meters before passing Germany 2 in the final quarter of the race. New Zealand won the gold medal with a time of 6:58.45. Germany 1 finished second in a 7:00.56, followed by Italy in a 7:01.61 and Great Britain in a 7:01.62. The American crew clocked a 7:06.39.

The men’s double sculls duo of Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.) and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) led from start to finish in the B final to finish seventh overall. Hughes and Stitt got off to a strong start, establishing more than a two-second advantage in the first 500 meters. They continued to pull away from the rest of the field over the next 1,000 meters before holding off a late surge by Croatia. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:24.17, followed by Croatia in a 6:25.45. In the championship final, Estonia won gold in a 6:17.63, followed by Great Britain and Slovenia.

The men’s quadruple sculls crew of Mark Flickinger (Big Flats, N.Y.), Mike Perry (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Shane O’Mara (Tampa, Fla.) and J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) finished fourth in the B final for a 10th-place finish overall. The American boat clocked a 6:00.43. Great Britain edged out Canada by 0.01 seconds to win the race with a time of 5:56.37. In the race for medals, Russia won gold, finishing in a 5:47.11. France and the Czech Republic won silver and bronze, respectively.

In the men’s pair, Micah Boyd (St. Paul, Minn.) and Ted Farwell (Madison, Wis.) finished sixth in the B final for a 12th-place finish overall. The duo sat in third position through the 1,000-meter mark before dropping back. Boyd and Farwell crossed the finish line with a time of 6:46.65. Poland won the race in a 6:38.55, followed by Germany. In the race for medals, Australia won gold in a 6:27.31, followed by New Zealand and France.

Other gold medalists on Sunday included Belarus’ Ekaterina Karsten in the women’s single sculls, New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale in the men’s single sculls, The Netherlands in the men’s four, Great Britain in the lightweight men’s four, and Canada in the men’s eight.

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