Racing Underway at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

Racing at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships got underway Monday afternoon on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy, with heats in the men's and women's single sculls and lightweight single sculls.

Racing in the fourth heat of the men's single, Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho), who won the bronze medal in the event at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, crossed the line in third to move on to the quarterfinals. With four to advance, the top four scullers established an early margin in the first 500 meters and were able to lock down the qualifying spots in the first half of the race. Australia's Cormac Kennedy-Leverett won the race in a 6:53.80, with Brazil's Tomas Levy holding off Harrison for second by 1.16 seconds. Levy finished with a time of 7:01.26, with Harrison crossing in a 7:02.42. Italy's Gennaro Di Mauro took the final qualifying spot.

Nicholas Aronow (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Princeton University), who finished seventh in the lightweight men's single sculls at last year's championships, finished third in this afternoon's second heat and will now race in tomorrow's repechages. With only one to advance, Aronow got off the line in fifth position before moving into the third spot midway through the race. Switzerland's Gian Struzina held the early lead before Belgium's Tibo Vyvey took over the top position and pulled away for the victory. Vyvey won the race in a 6:57.58, with Struzina finishing second in a 7:01.33. Aronow finished in a 7:18.06.

Racing in the first heat of the lightweight women's single sculls, Isabella Begley (Moorestown, N.J./University of Virginia) finished fifth and will now race in tomorrow's repechage. With only the winner advancing to the semifinals, Greece's Evangelia Anastasiadou dominated the race, leading from start to finish and winning by more than 11 seconds. Anastasiadou clocked a 7:24.59, a new World Rowing Under 23 Championships' best time by nearly four seconds, with Turkey's Elis Ozbay finishing second. Begley finished fifth in an 8:09.73.

In the women's single sculls, Ella Barry (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Princeton University) also finished fifth and will now race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance, Germany's Alexandra Foester led from start to finish, with Greece's Dimitra Eleni Kontou finishing second. Foester crossed the line in a time of 7:27.01, breaking the World Rowing Under 23 Championships' best time in the process. Barry rowed in fifth position the entire way down the course, finishing with a time of 8:06.33

Eighteen additional under 23 crews will hit the water for the first time on Tuesday starting at 9:00 a.m. local time.

In the women's double sculls, Susan Cook (Portland, Ore./Boston University) and Simone Vorperian (Madison, Wis./University of Pennsylvania) will race in the third of three heats, with the top two moving on to the semifinals. Cook, who finished ninth in the quadruple sculls at last year's U23 championships, and Vorperian will take on crews from The Netherlands, France, Egypt, and Lithuania.

In the men's double sculls, Tucker Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) returns to the boat with a new partner in Thomas Foltz (Richmond, Va./Virginia Tech). Thomas finished 14th in the event last year. Thomas and Foltz will be racing Belgium, Uruguay, Moldova, Australia, and Chinese Taipei in the first of three heats, with the top two finishers moving on to the semifinals.

In the women's four, Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas), Caitlin Esse (Fairfield, Conn./University of Texas), Anna Jensen (Midland, Mich./University of Texas), and Fran Raggi (Maitland, Fla./University of Texas) will take on Australia, Romania, Great Britain, and Germany in the second of two heats. Raggi won gold in the eight and silver in the four at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, while Jensen won gold in the eight. Esse won silver in the U23 pair last year, while Knifton is a two-time under 19 team member. A top-two finish would advance the crew to the final.

In the lightweight women's double sculls, Brooke Ruszkiewicz (Middleton, Wis./Stanford University) and Ruthie Lacy (Edmond, Okla./Oklahoma City University) will race against Great Britain, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Egypt in the first of two heats, with the winner moving on to the final. Lacy raced in the U23 lightweight quad last year, while Ruszkiewicz is racing on her first national team.

In the men's quadruple sculls, Isaac Spokes (Baltimore, Md./Dartmouth College), Matthew Davis (Malvern, Pa./University of Pennsylvania), Maxwell Kreutzelman (Orinda, Calif./Cornell University), and Cooper Tuckerman (Bozeman, Mont./Dartmouth College) will take on Italy, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Spain, and Germany in the first of three heats, with the top two finishers moving on to the semifinals. Tuckerman has raced on two U23 teams, both in the lightweight quad, while the remaining members of the crew are first-time national team members.

In the lightweight men's double sculls, Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Georgetown University) will race in the third of three heats against crews from New Zealand, Hungary, Germany, and Turkey. The Rybus twins raced the open weight double at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships.

In the men's four with coxswain, William Dempsey (Ocean Township, N.J./Northeastern University), Benjamin Dukes (Morton Grove, Ill./Syracuse University), Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn./Princeton University), Zachary Vachal (San Francisco, Calif./Princeton University), and Erik Spinka (Southport, Conn./Princeton University) will race against Great Britain and New Zealand in the second of two heats, with the winner moving on to the final. Phelps raced in the men's quad at last year's U23 championships, while Spinka was in the four with coxswain.

In the lightweight women's pair, Ava Sack (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Harvard University) and Elsa Andrews (Seattle, Wash./Harvard University) will take on Turkey, Uruguay, and Peru in the second of two heats, with the top two moving on to the final.

In the lightweight men's pair, Nathaniel Sass (Buffalo, N.Y./University of Pennsylvania) and Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass./University of Delaware) will race against Austria, Hungary, Mexico, and Italy in the first of two heats, with the top two heading directly to the final. Hay and Sass finished fourth in the event at last year's U23 championships.

In the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, Simon Dubiel (Seattle, Wash./University of Pennsylvania), Eli Rabinowitz (Rye, N.Y./Georgetown University), Justin Schmidt (Westport, Conn./University of Delaware), and Troy Riesenberger (Sarasota, Fla./University of Pennsylvania) will race against Germany, Italy, and France in the first of two heats, with the winner advancing directly to the final. Dubiel and Rabinowitz raced in the lightweight double at last year's U23 championships, finishing 11th.

In the women's pair, Sue Holderness (Charlotte, N.C./University of Texas) and Megan Lee (Natick, Mass./Duke University) will race against pairs from New Zealand, Italy, and Denmark in the third of three heats, with the top three moving on to the semifinals.

The men's pair of Floyd Benedikter (Dortmund, Germany/Princeton University) and Nick Taylor (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) also will race in the third of three heats. The duo will take on crews from Japan, Greece, South Africa, and Romania, with the top two moving on to the semifinals.

In the women's quadruple sculls, Katelin Gildersleeve (Dallas, Texas/Stanford University), Lauren Benedict (Reston, Va./University of Virginia), Sophia Calabrese (Shaker Heights, Ohio/University of Texas), and Ellen Ulitsky (Sunnyvale, Calif./University of California, Los Angeles) will race Poland, Italy, and New Zealand in the second of two heats, with the winner moving on to the final.

In the women's eight, coxswain Rachel Rane (Glencoe, Ill./University of Texas), Isabella Battistoni (Seattle, Wash./Stanford University), Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University), Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y./Princeton University), Hannah Heideveld (New Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers University), Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga./Yale University), Maddie Moore (Naples, Fla./Yale University), Lanie Nitsch (McAllen, Texas/University of Texas), and Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University) will race Italy, The Netherlands, and Canada in the first of two heats, with the winner advancing directly to the final. Hahn was part of the gold medal eight at last year's U23 championships, while Hedeman was part of the women's quad.

In the men's eight, coxswain Jack DiGiovanni (Pittsford, N.Y./Brown University), Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University), Adam Campain (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cornell University), Charles Fargo (Winnetka, Ill./Brown University), James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa./Stanford University), Jacob Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), Miles Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), Alexander Abuhoff (Montclair, N.J./Northeastern University), and Kai Hoite (Berkeley, Calif./Brown University) will take on Estonia, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Great Britain in the second of two heats, with the winner moving on to the final. Jacob Hudgins is back from last year's silver-medal eight, while Legenzowski raced in the single.

With only six entries, the women's four with coxswain of Caroline Ricksen (Orinda, Calif./Stanford University), Katherine Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./University of Virginia), Elena Collier-Hezel (Buffalo, N.Y.), Greta Filor (Rye, N.Y./Brown University), and Angela Szabo (Sarasota, Fla./University of California) will race for lanes on Tuesday against Romania, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, and Australia. Collier-Hezel returns from the boat that finished fifth last year.

With only four entries, the lightweight women's quadruple sculls crew of Claire Friedlander (Narberth, Pa./University of Wisconsin), Caroline Burchette (Wynnewood, Pa./Boston University), Kathleen Love (Arlington, Va./Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Ava Gamble (Yardley, Pa./Boston University) will take on Italy, France, and Germany in the race for lanes.

The World Rowing Under 23 and Under 19 Championships will be running simultaneously this year, with the U19 events getting underway on Wednesday. Additionally, the remaining repechages and quarterfinals in the U23 events will take place Wednesday. Thursday's schedule includes semifinals in the U23 events, as well as the remaining U19 heats and repechages. Finals in the U23 events get underway on Friday. Saturday's racing includes the remaining U23 finals, as well as semifinals in the U19 events. Racing concludes Sunday with finals in the U19 events.

Complete press coverage, athlete bios, and links to event information are available at www.usrowing.org and www.worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. U19 and U23 national teams as they prepare for the championships by using the hashtags #WRU23Champs and #WRU19Champs.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para-Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center.

USRowing also would like to thank HUDSON, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Under 19 National Team. Through the partnership, HUDSON supplies racing shells for selection and training domestically, with matched shells provided internationally for racing.