All U.S. Boats Advance at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poland

Three U.S. boats won their heats on Friday at World Rowing Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland, while all 16 American crews advanced to either the semifinals or finals over the first two days of racing on Lake Malta.

The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Sarasota Crew) and Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew) posted the fastest time of the day in winning the third of three heats to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With two to advance, Sechser and Reckford got off the line in second position behind Australia's Lucy Coleman and Anneka Reardon before taking a lead as the crews rowed through the 1,000-meter mark. The U.S. continued to build its advantage over the third 500 meters before cruising to a two-second victory. Sechser and Reckford clocked a 6:48.88, with Australia finishing in a 6:50.83.

Both U.S. women's double sculls crews advanced to the semifinals. The USA 1 boat of Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center) and Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) won the third heat, clocking the second fastest time across the three races. Vitas and Kohler, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian in the women's single sculls, got off the line in fourth position before moving into second place, just behind the Canadian crew, as the boats hit the midway point of the race. In what was a four-way fight for the three qualification spots at the 1,000-meter mark, Vitas and Kohler pulled away from their challengers over the third 500 and came home with a 1.76-second victory. The U.S. crew finished with a time of 6:50.64, with China finishing second in a 6:52.40.

The USA 2 double of Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club) and Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) finished second in the first heat, sandwiched between the two crews from The Netherlands. The top Dutch boat of Laila Youssifou and Roos de Jong led from start to finish, crossing the line in a 6:47.22. Kallfelz and Delleman sat in fourth place 500 meters into the race before moving into second at the halfway point. The U.S. boat finished with a time of 6:52.17.

Coming off a victory in the lightweight women's single sculls at the first World Rowing Cup of the season last month in Serbia, Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee/Cambridge Boat Club) cruised to a victory in her heat on Friday. With two to advance to Saturday's final, Jones Nabel won the second of two heats by over 11 seconds to clock the fastest time of the morning. Germany's Marie-Louise Drager held a slight advantage as the scullers hit the midway point of the race, but Jones Nabel took control in the third 500 meters before easily winning in a time of 7:29.47. Australia's Georgia Nesbitt won the other heat with a time of 7:39.85.

The women's four of Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center - Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center - Princeton), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center - Princeton), and Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION) finished second in the third of three heats to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With three to advance, the U.S. got off the line in fourth position before overtaking Canada 2 in the second quarter of the race. The American boat, which includes three Tokyo 2020 Olympians, then chased down Canada 1 in the final 500 meters to secure a spot in the semifinals. New Zealand won the race in a 6:28.10, with the U.S. finishing two seconds back in a 6:30.10. Canada 1 earned the other spot in the semifinals.

The lightweight men's double sculls duo of Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania/Texas Rowing Center) also finished second in its heat to move on to tomorrow's semifinals. With two to advance to the semifinals, Heese and Liu tracked down Denmark and Estonia in the final 500 meters to earn their spot in the semis. Denmark and Germany traded leads at the top of the field over the first 1,000 meters, with Australia in third position and the U.S. and Estonia sitting a couple of seconds back. As Denmark began to fade in the third 500 meters, Estonia and the U.S. closed the gap as they tried to chase down a qualification spot. The two hard-charging crews broke through Denmark and then battled each other in the final sprint, with the U.S. finishing 0.23 seconds in front to claim second behind Germany. The Germans won the race in a 6:17.52, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:18.55. Estonia clocked a 6:18.78.

The two U.S. men's double sculls also advanced directly to tomorrow's semifinals by virtue of finishing third in their respective heats. Racing in heat one, the USA 2 crew of Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania/Vesper Boat Club) sat in third position the entire way down the course, crossing the line in a 6:14.46 to secure its spot in the final. The Netherlands won the race in a 6:08.73, with Australia finishing second in a 6:11.45.

The USA 1 boat of Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville/Texas Rowing Center) and Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University/Texas Rowing Center) got off the line in fifth position before working its way back into a qualifying position over the middle 1,000 meters. The U.S. pulled away from Estonia over the final 500 meters to finish third with a time of 6:20.28. Croatia won the race in a 6:15.19, with Hungary taking second in a 6:18.54.

After finishing second in its morning heat, the men's four of Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington/California Rowing Club), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis./University of Wisconsin/California Rowing Club), and Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) came back to win the afternoon repechage to advance to Sunday's final. With only the winners advancing from the heat, the U.S. sat in second as the boats hit the 1,500-meter mark. The Americans tried to cut into Australia's lead in the final quarter of the race but were unable to chase them down. Australia finished with a time of 5:47.37, with the U.S. crossing in a 5:49.51. In the afternoon repechage, the U.S. sat just behind The Netherlands through the midway point of the race before overtaking the Dutch boat to win in a 5:54.31. The Netherlands took second to also advance to the final.

In the lightweight men's single sculls, James McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Delaware/Texas Rowing Center) advanced to the semifinals by finishing third in the afternoon repechage. In the morning heat, McCullough just missed a place in the semifinals, finishing 0.1 seconds out of a qualifying spot as Ireland's Gary O'Donovan was able to catch him at the line. McCullough clocked a 6:57.98 in his morning race. With three to advance in the afternoon repechage, McCullough used a strong second half of the race to move into a qualifying position, finishing with a time of 7:06.46. Poland's Artur Mikolajczewski won the repechage in a 6:58.11.

Racing in the first repechage of the men's pair, the USA 2 crew of Michael Clougher (Canton, Mass./Connecticut College/Penn AC) and Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University/California Rowing Club) finished second to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With three to advance, Clougher and LeRoux moved into third position off the line before pushing into second place as the boats entered the final 500 meters. Switzerland won the race in a 6:30.89, with the U.S. duo finishing in a 6:34.62. France took the third qualifying spot.

After finishing fifth in her heat yesterday in the women's single sculls, Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Boston Rowing Federation) came back to take second behind Bulgaria's Desislava Angelova in the repechage to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With three to advance, Angelova, France's Audrey Feutrie, and Fellows took control of the race in the first 500 meters, with Angelova and Fellows continuing to pull away from the rest of the field in the second quarter. The two scullers continued to build their advantage over the third 500 meters and challenged each other through the line. Angelova finished with a time of 7:29.96, with Fellows finishing 0.69 seconds back in a 7:30.65.

In addition to the crews who advanced today, the U.S. will have two other boats racing in semifinals tomorrow.

In the men's single sculls, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) won his heat to advance directly to the semifinals, while the men's pair of Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club) and Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club) also won its heat to advance to the semifinals. Both women's pairs won their heats on Thursday and will race in the final on Sunday.

Racing continues tomorrow with all semifinals and finals in the non-Olympic and non-Paralympic events. Finals in the Olympic and Paralympic boat classes will take place on Sunday. Click here to see the event preview for a complete U.S. world cup roster.

By virtue of winning their events at USRowing's National Selection Regattas earlier this year, seven crews have the opportunity to secure spots on the 2022 World Championships' roster in their respective events here in Poland. These boats will need to finish in the top six in Poznan to earn the right to be named to the team. This list includes Ben Davison, men's single sculls; Kevin Cardno and Jonathan Kirkegaard, men's double sculls; Kara Kohler and Sophia Vitas, women's double sculls; Zachary Heese and Jasper Liu, lightweight men's double sculls; Michelle Sechser and Molly Reckford, lightweight women's double sculls; Justin Best and Michael Grady, men's pair; and Claire Collins and Madeleine Wanamaker, women's pair.

For the remaining crews, Poznan is an opportunity to test their speed against international competition prior to the start of selection camp and national team trials later this summer.

Full event coverage, including heat sheets and results, is available on WorldRowing.com.