Five U.S. National Boats Advance on Friday at 2022 Henley Royal Regatta

Five U.S. national boats advanced to the semifinals on Friday at the 2022 Henley Royal Regatta. Crews advanced in The Princess Grace Challenge Cup, The Stonor Challenge Trophy, The Double Sculls Challenge Cup, The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, and The Remenham Challenge Cup.

Despite a late lineup change due to illness, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin/Texas Rowing Center), Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University/Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University/ARION), and Margaret Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University/Cambridge Boat Club) had no problems advancing to the semifinals in The Princess Grace Challenge Cup. With Wagner replacing Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University/Cambridge Boat Club) in today's race, the crew defeated the Australian National University and Huon Rowing Club entry by five lengths, winning with a time of 7:55. The U.S. crew will race Rowing Australia in tomorrow's semifinals.

Fellows came back later in the day to race with Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa/Cambridge Boat Club) in the heats of The Stoner Challenge Trophy for women's double sculls crews. Sechser and Fellows, who replaced an ill Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/Sarasota Crew) in today's race, easily defeated Peterborough City Rowing Club's Ellie Cooke and Harriet Drake-Lee, finishing the course in a time of 8:59. The U.S. boat will take on France's Elodie Ravera Scaramozzino and Helene Lefebvre in tomorrow's semifinals.

Wagner also pulled double duty on Friday, racing with her women's eight boatmates in The Remenham Challenge Cup. The crew of Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University/USRowing Training Center – Princeton), Wagner, and coxswain Coral Kasden (San Diego, Calif./ University of California, Santa Barbara/USRowing Training Center – Princeton) defeated Leander Club by 4.5 lengths to win the race in 7:00. The U.S. will take on the Imperial College, London & Leander Club crew in Saturday's semifinals.

In The Double Sculls Challenge Cup, Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia/Texas Rowing Center) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania/Texas Rowing Center) won their opening round race by one length over Leander Club's Victor Kleshnev and James Cartwright. Heese and Liu, who will be representing the U.S. in the lightweight men's double sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, finished the course in 7:30 to advance to the semifinals. The Americans will take on Matt Haywood and George Bourne from Nottingham Rowing Club and The Tideway Scullers' School in the semifinals.

Two-time Olympian Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley/Texas Rowing Center) once again dominated her race in The Princess Royal Challenge Cup. After winning her opening round race by 4.5 lengths, Kohler defeated Leicester Rowing Club's Lauren Henry, last year's runner-up in the event, by 3.75 lengths to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Kohler, a 2019 World Championships bronze medalist in the single, finished with a time of 9:13 and will race against Ukraine's Diana Dymchenko in tomorrow's semifinals. Kohler recently earned her spot on this year's national team and will be racing in the women's double sculls at the world championships with Sophia Vitas.

In The Diamond Sculls Challenge, Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington/California Rowing Club) was knocked out of the competition on Friday by Rowing Australia's David Bartholot. Davison, who will represent the U.S. in the men's single at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, trailed off the line but challenged the Australian through the middle portion of the race. However, Bartholot was able to pull away to win by 3.75 lengths with a time of 8:05.

In addition to the five crews that advanced today, the U.S. also will have national boats racing in the semifinals of The Queen Mother Challenge Cup (men's quadruple sculls) and The Grand Challenge Cup (men's eight) on Saturday.

In total, USRowing has eight national boats racing this week. In addition to the national boats, many other crews based in the United States from junior, collegiate, and club programs also are racing at Henley this week. Racing continues Saturday with semifinals. Finals take place on Sunday. The regatta features more than 300 head-to-head races in categories ranging from junior to open.

Event coverage is available on the Henley Royal Regatta website and on USRowing.org. Results will be available on the Henley website and live streaming will be available on the Henley Royal Regatta YouTube Channel.

As the Official USRowing Partner: U.S. National Team – 2022 Henley Royal Regatta, the Head Of The Charles Regatta (HOCR) is providing substantial financial support for the U.S. National Team trip. Fred Schoch, Executive Director of the Head Of The Charles, is joining the U.S. National Team in the UK and is serving as an honorary U.S. coach during Henley.