Jun 13, 2025
Team USA
Plihal Soars as U.S. Competes at World Cup
The U.S. Senior and Para national team got off to a strong start in Varese, Italy, at the World Cup. Today, 13 of 14 crews competed, with multiple crews heading to the semifinals and A finals on Saturday and Sunday.
Olympian Jacob Plihal had a great start to his weekend, winning both his heat and quarterfinal. In his heat, Plihal led from the first 500 meters until Norway’s Jonas Slettemark Juel moved into first by just a few inches in the third 500 meters. They battled to the finish line with Plihal crossing the finish line first in a time of 6:48.84, Juel took second in 6:48.93. Plihal returned to the course this afternoon in his quarterfinal. Uruguay’s Bruno Cetraro Berriolo took the lead early, with Plihal sitting in third for the first half of the race. Plihal began his move in the third 500 meters, moving into second place and chipping away at Berriolo’s lead. In the last 500 meters, Plihal walked away with the win, making up 1.77 seconds to takeg an additional 3 seconds of distance between him and the second- first and addinplace finisher, Berriolo. He moves on to the semifinal tomorrow.
Maggie Fellows finished third in her heat in a time of 7:34.15. Canada’s Katie Clark took the lead early with Germany’s Juliane Faralisch and Fellows followed closely behind. Faralisch had a significant move in the third 500 meters that pushed her bow into first. Fellows and Clark traded blows in the third 500 meters with only .01 seconds separating them as they entered the last 500 meters. Juliane Faralisch took the win in a time of 7:32.33, followed by Clark and Fellows. Fellows will race tomorrow in the Semifinal.
The U.S. women’s fours fought for supremacy in their heat finishing one, two. The crew stroked by Olympian Kate Knifton dominated the course, never yielding the lead from the first 500 meters. Etta Carpender stroked the second U.S. crew battling with the first U.S. crew down the entire course. Camille VanDermeer and Olympians Kate Knifton, Teal Cohen, Azja Czajkowski won by 1.67 over Etta Carpender, Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson, and Olympians Jess Thoennes and Charlotte Buck. They will face off again on Sunday in the A final.
Holly Drapp and Kailtyn Kynast finished fourth in the women’s pair against a tight field. The Netherlands and Great Britain got off to a blistering start battling down the course. The U.S. crew settled into fifth in the first 500 meters before moving their bow ahead of Italy in the second 500 meters. Drapp and Kynast will race again tomorrow in the semifinal.
The men’s four finished third in their heat with a time of 5:57.36. The crew of Jacob Hudgins, Nathan Phelps, Alexander Hedge, and Olympian Christian Tabash settled into third in the first 500 meters. The Netherlands and Australia took first and second after leading the race throughout. They will race in the semifinal tomorrow.
Olympian Grace Joyce and Katheryn Flynn finished second in their heat in the women’s double sculls. Joyce and Flynn settled into fourth in the first 500 meters while the Netherlands took an early lead. The U.S. crew quickly got to work moving through Switzerland and New Zealand in the second 500 meters to secure second. A strong third 500 meters closed the gap to the race leaders, but they were unable to push more into the Dutch. The Netherlands won in a time of 6:47.95 with the U.S. crew finishing in 6:52.01. They will race in the A final on Sunday.
The U.S. men’s double sculls were filled with newcomers to the U.S. senior national team. Cedar Cunningham and Andrew Leroux took second in their heat. New Zealand led from the beginning, with Cunningham and Leroux battling with the Netherlands for second. They traded blows down the course with the U.S. crew pushing their bow ball ahead to take second by .15 seconds over the Dutch. Cunningham and Leroux will compete in the semifinal tomorrow. The second U.S. crew, Caleb Nollenberger and Michael Herman, finished fifth in the men’s double sculls. Switzerland took the early lead and the victory. They will race in the C final on Saturday.
Gus Rodriguez and Josh Diggons narrowly missed the semifinals in the men’s pair. Switzerland moved into first in the first 500 meters, while Rodriguez and Diggons sat in fourth. The U.S. crew was unable to close the distance on the third-place finishers from Sweden. They will race in the C final tomorrow.
The women’s eight comprised of the two women’s fours placed second in their preliminary race. Great Britain won the race, having led from stroke one with a blistering first 500 meters. The U.S. crew kept their composure, cutting into Great Britain’s lead in the second half of the race. The crew stroked by Olympian Katie Knifton crossed the finish line in 6:05.19, 1.21 seconds off Great Britain. They will race in the final on Sunday.
The PR3 mixed four with coxswain won their preliminary race by 3.36 seconds. The crew stroked by Paralympic silver medalist Ben Washburne started the race in second place behind the crew from Brazil. They stayed within striking distance and moved into first in the third 500 meters and walked away from the field in the last 500 meters finishing in 7:14.68. They will race in the final tomorrow.
Andrew Mangan took third in the PR1 single sculls. Australia and Italy took the early lead with Mangan sitting in third place throughout the course. Australia won the heat, followed by Italy. Mangan crossed the finish line in a time of 10:09.43. He will race in the A final on Sunday.
The mixed eight will compete tomorrow in a test race for the event. Semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday and Sunday. All races can be tracked live here, and video streaming will be available on Saturday, beginning with the semifinals. A detailed racing schedule can be found here.
