Men’s Eight, Women’s Four Win Heats, Advance to Finals at 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

The U.S. women's four and men's eight won their heats to advance to the finals, highlighting Thursday's racing at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. In addition, four U.S. boats advanced to the finals out of the today's repechages.

In the women's four, Fran Raggi (Maitland, Fla./University of Texas), Alexandria Vallencey-Martinson (Corvallis, Ore./United States Naval Academy), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/University of Washington), and Kelsey McGinley (Westport, Conn./Stanford University) pulled away from Great Britain over the back half of the race to win their heat and advance directly to the final. The quartet, which is doubling up into the eight, took an early lead on the British boat and steadily increased their advantage over the course of the race.

"Our main goal today was to run down the course and see how our speed matched up with the rest of the field," McGinley said. "We were excited to see that the base rhythm and planned moves we have been practicing this summer led us to cross the finish line with our bowball ahead. Similarly in the eight, our aim was to execute a clean (2,000 meters) and have fun testing our speed against other crews, which we felt like we accomplished."

The U.S. finished in a 6:40.06, with Great Britain clocking a 6:43.50. Germany won the other heat in a 6:47.68.

"In the next two days, we will work on cleaning up some of our technical elements that we lost today due to nerves and excitement, as well as finding some final bursts of speed," McGinley said. "It is so much fun to be racing at worlds after international racing was cancelled in 2020, and we are so excited to see what we can lay down on Sunday."

The men's eight of coxswain Sydney Edwards (Sarasota, Fla./Princeton University), Gus Rodriguez (Rye, N.Y./Brown University), Rhett Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Northeastern University), Griffin Dunne (Northfield, Ill./United States Naval Academy), Peter Chatain (Winnetka, Ill./Stanford University), Kenny Coplan (Montclair, N.J./Harvard University), Jacob Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), Nick Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Yale University), and William Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College) dominated the first heat of two heats, besting Italy by nearly four seconds. With only one crew advancing to the final, the Italians set just off the pace 500 meters into the race, but the U.S. began to inch away as the boats hit the midway point. The Americans then put away the Italians in the third 500 meters before crossing the line in a 5:38.46. Great Britain won the second heat in a 5:39.40.

"We executed our race plan pretty well," Chatain said. "We focus on being in the moment during the start and not looking past any one stroke towards what lies ahead. And, we did just that. We're focusing on continuing the momentum into the final and reinforcing what works well for us, so that probably means not being afraid to touch on our speed a bit between now and the final. We've already put in a strong body of work over the course of the training camp, so there's no need for drastic changes. The next few days will be about doing the same things, except one percent better."

In the women's single sculls, Anna Matthes (Cambridge, Mass./Yale University) just missed a spot in the semifinals after finishing second in her heat. She will now race in tomorrow's repechages. South Africa's Katherine Williams dominated the race, winning by more than 13 seconds. Matthes got off the line in fifth position before moving into third place as the scullers hit the halfway point. At the line, Williams crossed in a 7:57.90, with Matthes finishing in an 8:11.25.

In the men's double sculls, Tucker Thomas (Naples, Fla./Boston University) and Simon Hatcher (Portland, Ore./Brown University) finished fourth in their heat and will head to the repechage for a second chance to reach the semifinals. With only one to advance to the semis, Spain's Daniel Panisello and Aleix Garcia Pujolar got out to the early lead, with the U.S. trailing in second position. Over the second quarter of the race, Spain continued to build its advantage to nearly four seconds and then cruised to an easy victory. Spain finished with a time of 6:34.82, with the U.S. crossing in a 6:40.98.

Five-time Under 23 National Team member Brigid Kennedy (East Greenwich, R.I./Harvard University) also finished fourth in her heat and now will race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, Kennedy, who finished fourth in the event in 2019, got off the line in fifth position and was unable to work herself back into a qualifying spot. Ireland's Cliodhna Nolan led early, but Russia's Aleksandra Fomina moved into the top position during the second 500 meters and went on to win the race by more than four seconds in a 7:57.52. The Netherlands' Femke Van De Vliet finished second. Kennedy clocked a time of 8:04.99.

The lightweight men's double sculls crew of Simon Dubiel (Seattle, Wash./University of Pennsylvania) and Eli Rabinowitz (Rye, N.Y./Georgetown University) finished fourth in the second of three heats and will race in tomorrow's repechages. With three to advance, the U.S. dropped off the pace in the opening 500 meters. Belgium won the race thanks to a strong middle 1,000 meters, finishing in a time of 6:39.57 to best the Netherlands by just under two seconds. The U.S. clocked a 6:51.77.

Owen Maier (Newtown Square, Pa/Williams College), Keelan Good (Alameda, Calif./Princeton University), Pablo Matan (San Jose, Calif./University of Washington) and Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn./Princeton University) finished fourth in the third of three heats in the men's quadruple sculls and will race in tomorrow's repechage. With three to advance to the semifinals, the Czech Republic and Poland battled it out for the top position through the halfway mark before the Czech crew pulled away for the victory. Meanwhile, the U.S. battled Argentina into the final 500 meters for the last qualification spot before Argentina moved away. The Czech Republic finished with a time of 6:04.61. The U.S. crossed in a 6:13.31.

The women's double sculls tandem of Josie Konopka (Philadelphia, Pa./University of Pennsylvania) and Kate Maeitta (Wayland, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) finished fifth in second of three heats and now will race in tomorrow's repechages. With three to advance to the final, the U.S. boat dropped off the pace in the first 500 meters and could not get back into the hunt. Germany won the race in a 7:09.27, followed by Belarus and Belgium. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:43.17.

In the lightweight women's double sculls, Elaine Tierney (West Chester, Pa./Temple University) and Emily Molins (Wilmette, Ill./Stanford University) also finished fifth in their heat and will race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the final, Italy took command of the race in the first 1,000 meters, building more than a four-second advantage on the field. Poland made a big push in the middle portion of the race to move into second position and a qualifying spot. At the line, Italy had won by a little over three seconds in a 7:21.07. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:41.37.

Four U.S. crews advanced to the finals out of the repechages.

In the repechage of the lightweight women's pair, Lindsey Rust (Roslyn, N.Y./Stanford University) and Bonnie Pushner (Fairfield, Conn./Princeton University) dominated the field, clocking a 7:43.64 to finish nearly eight seconds ahead of Peru. With the victory, Rust and Pushner advanced to the finals.

The lightweight men's pair of Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass./University of Delaware) and Nathaniel Sass (Buffalo, N.Y./Boston University) also won their repechage. With two to advance to the final, Mexico took the early lead before the U.S. crew grabbed the lead. Germany tried to close the gap in the final quarter of the race, but the Americans held on for a 1.13-second victory. Hay and Sass finished with a time of 6:59.67.

Lucy Koven (Greenwich, Conn./Princeton University) and Caitlin Esse (Fairfield, Conn./University of Michigan) easily won their repechage of the women's pair, qualifying for the final. With two to advance, the Czech Republic took the lead off the start, but Koven and Esse moved into first in the second 500 meters and took control by the midway point of the race. France cut into the Americans' lead during the third 500, but Koven and Esse pulled away over the final stretch, winning in a 7:33.24. France easily claimed the other spot in the final.

The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Jack Stone (Providence, R.I./Dartmouth College), Cooper Tuckerman (Bozeman, Mont./Dartmouth College), Christopher Stich (Old Greenwich, Conn./Dartmouth College) and Sean Ward (Downingtown, Pa./Dartmouth College) advanced to the final thanks to a second-place finish in the repechage. With two to advance, Spain and the U.S. jumped out to the lead in the first 500 meters and were never really challenged. Spain won the race in a 6:04.25, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:05.41.

The men's pair of William Purtill (Villanova, Pa./University of Pennsylvania) and Michael Wilson (Braintree, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) finished fifth in their repechage and will now race in Final C for overall places 13-17. Romania won the race in a 6:45.11. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:01.94.

Four U.S. crews hit the water for the first time on Thursday to race for lane assignments in the finals.

The men's four with coxswain of Jimmy Catalano (Greenwich, Conn./University of Wisconsin), Erik Spinka (Southport, Conn./Princeton University), Christian Tabash (Alexandria, Va./Harvard University), Will Geib (Portland, Ore./United States Naval Academy) and Liam Galloway (Ridgefield, Conn./Yale University) won their preliminary race, clocking a 6:15.12 to finish nearly three seconds ahead of Ireland. The U.S. established its lead in the first 500 meters, with Ireland sitting in second position the entire way down the course. Germany finished third. The six crews will line it up again in the final this weekend.

After getting off the line in second position, the women's eight of coxswain Izzy Aronin (Larchmont, N.Y./Brown University), Fran Raggi (Maitland, Fla./University of Texas), Alexandria Vallencey-Martinson (Corvallis, Ore./United States Naval Academy), Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/University of Washington), Kelsey McGinley (Westport, Conn./Stanford University), Sierra Bishop (Wilsonville, Ore./Oregon State University), Anna Jensen (Midland, Mich./University of Texas), Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga./Yale University), and McKenna Bryant (Kent, Wash./University of Washington) took the lead in the second 500 meters and cruised to a victory in their race for lanes. Germany took the early lead, just ahead of the American boat, but the U.S. pulled ahead before the halfway point and continued to move away from the field. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:22.52, with Germany crossing in a 6:26.74. The crews will meet again in Sunday's final.

The lightweight women's quadruple sculls crew of Ruthie Lacy (Oklahoma City, Okla./Oklahoma City University), Grace Beery (Seattle, Wash./Boston University), Grace D'Souza (Whitefish Bay, Wis./University of Wisconsin) and Isabella Begley (Moorestown, N.J./Syracuse University) finished third in their race for lanes. Italy jumped out to a two-second lead over the Americans in the first 500 meters before pulling away from its two challengers. Italy won the race in a 6:46.32. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:11.19.

The women's four with coxswain crew of coxswain Hannah Broadland (Sacramento, Calif./San Diego State University), Elena Collier-Hezel (Buffalo, N.Y./University of Michigan), Holly Drapp (Tampa, Fla./University of Washington), Anna Scott (Denver, Colo./Yale University) and Sarah Brunsberg (London, England/University of Pennsylvania) finished fifth in their race for lanes. Italy won the race in a 7:11.60, ahead of Germany in a 7:12.44. Germany led a tight field through the 1,000-meter mark before the Italians moved ahead. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:19.15.

Racing continues on Friday starting at 9:30 a.m. local time with the remaining repechages, quarterfinals and the start of semifinals. Finals will be held Saturday and Sunday. Racing is being streamed live daily at www.worldrowing.com.

Complete press coverage, athlete bios and links to event information are available here. Follow along with the U.S. Under 23 National Team as it competes at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships by using the hashtag #WRU23Champs.