Sass and Hay Win Gold, U.S. Takes Home Three Medals on Friday in Varese

Nathaniel Sass (Buffalo, N.Y./University of Pennsylvania) and Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass./University of Delaware) won gold in the under 23 lightweight men's pair, while the U23 men's four with coxswain won silver and the U23 women's four with coxswain won bronze to highlight Friday's racing at the 2022 World Rowing Under 19 & Under 23 Championships on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy.

After finishing fourth in the event last year, Sass and Hay used a controlled race to win the gold medal Friday morning. The U.S. duo sat in third position off the start, just behind Chile, with Italy powering off the start line to take the early advantage. However, the U.S. was able to maintain contact in the first 500 and then used its base strength to move into first at the 1,000-meter mark.

"The thing we noticed was that we had a really good base rate. We wanted to keep that," Sass said. "The issue was off the start. Some of those other crews were really explosive off the start – Italy, Hungary – they just jump off the line. We really just wanted to reduce that sting of their initial attack by keeping a more elevated first 20 strokes. Keep that margin smaller, so when we went to base rate, it was less of a gap to make up."

The U.S. extended its advantage over the third 500 meters, taking the lead out to nearly two seconds. In the final quarter of the race, Italy tried to chase down the American crew, but Sass and Hay were able to claim the world title by just under one second.

"We did what we said we were going to do, but it's surreal when it actually happens," said Hay, who has raced the event at the last three World Rowing Under 23 Championships. "This has been something I've dreamed about for a long time. At the 1,500, I was like, 'Oh my God, this is it. We've got this.' That (race) was every ounce of everything I've got."

Hay and Sass finished with a time of 6:36.94 to earn the gold medal, with Italy's Francesco Bardelli and Stefano Pinsone taking silver in a 6:37.92. Chile's Manuel Fernandez Antri and Rodrigo Paz won bronze in a 6:41.76.

In the men's four with coxswain, the crew of coxswain William Dempsey (Ocean Township, N.J./Northeastern University), Zachary Vachal (San Francisco, Calif./Princeton University), Benjamin Dukes (Morton Grove, Ill./Syracuse University), Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn./Princeton University), and Erik Spinka (Southport, Conn./Princeton University) earned a silver medal, finishing behind Great Britain and ahead of Italy. The U.S. was fifth off the line but made its way through the field as it hit each 500-meter split. Italy led off the start before the British crew moved into first at the midway point of the race. The U.S. tracked down Australia in the second 500 and then Italy in the third 500 to move into the silver-medal position. Great Britain won the race in a 6:02.90, with the U.S. finishing 3.23 seconds behind in a 6:06.13. Italy crossed the line in third in a 6:07.92

"We executed our raceplan like we wanted. I'm really happy with the silver medal," Dempsey said. "We went out hard, and we stayed very internal for that first (1,000 meters) like our coach told us. We started moving at the (1,000-meter mark), and we were able to take a lot on Italy, so that was really satisfying. GB was just blazing. They are a great crew, and I'm just super, super excited (to win a medal)."

The U.S. women's four with coxswain opened the U23 finals with a bronze-medal performance. The crew 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) got off the line in fourth position before moving into second place as the boats hit the 1,000-meter mark. With Australia racing at the head of the field, the U.S. continued to lead Italy as the crews came into the last quarter of the race. At the line, Australia won gold in a 6:44.73 ahead of a hard-charging Italian crew, which clocked a 6:45.73. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:48.35 to claim the bronze medal.

"It was a really close one; we raced a lot harder than we did in the prelims," Ricksen said. "We actually flipped our lineup completely after the prelim. We went out really hard, and it was a really tight one, but we trusted our raceplan and to come home with a medal is really exciting. I'm really proud of how we came together. It's awesome. I won a bronze medal at U19s in the coxed four as well, so it's fun to bring it back again. Really excited to do it with this crew."

The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Troy Riesenberger (Sarasota, Fla./University of Pennsylvania), Justin Schmidt (Westport, Conn./University of Delaware), Eli Rabinowitz (Rye, N.Y./Georgetown University), and Simon Dubiel (Seattle, Wash./University of Pennsylvania) finished fourth in the final, missing a medal by 0.6 seconds. The U.S. got off the line in fifth but had moved into bronze-medal position just ahead of France at the midway point of the race. The U.S. and France were even as the crews entered the final 500 meters, but the French boat was able to solidify the bronze medal. Italy won the race in a 5:45.42, with Germany taking second in a 5:49.70. France clocked a 5:51.29, with the U.S. finishing in a 5:51.89.

The lightweight women's quadruple sculls crew of Claire Friedlander (Narberth, Pa./University of Wisconsin), Ava Gamble (Yardley, Pa./Boston University), Caroline Burchette (Wynnewood, Pa./Boston University), and Kathleen Love (Arlington, Va./Massachusetts Institute of Technology) also finished fourth in the final. Italy dominated the race, winning by nearly eight seconds with a time of 6:30.20. Germany took second, with France coming home in third. The U.S. clocked a 6:48.87, finishing 2.47 seconds behind the French crew.

The lightweight women's pair of Ava Sack (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Harvard University) and Elsa Andrews (Seattle, Wash./Harvard University) finished fifth in the final. Italy's Maria Zerboni and Samantha Premerl used a strong start to grab an early advantage. Peru's Alessia and Valeria Palacios tried to close the gap during the second 500 meters, but the Italian boat was able to respond and then pulled away from the sisters. Italy won the race in a 7:17.42, with Peru finishing in a 7:20.99. Germany's Anna Haendle and Cecilia Sommerfeld won the bronze medal. The U.S. rowed in fifth the entire way down the course, finishing just behind Turkey. Sack and Andrews finished with a time of 7:27.99

In the final of the women's quadruple sculls, the U.S. crew of Ellen Ulitsky (Sunnyvale, Calif./University of California, Los Angeles), Sophia Calabrese (Shaker Heights, Ohio/University of Texas), Lauren Benedict (Reston, Va./University of Virginia), and Katelin Gildersleeve (Dallas, Texas/Stanford University) finished sixth. The crew maintained contact with the medal positions through the halfway mark but was unable to row into contention for the hardware. Romania led through the 1,500-meter mark before The Netherlands was able to overtake them in the sprint to win gold. The Dutch boat finished with a time of 6:18.30, with Romania taking silver in a 6:18.88. Germany won bronze in a 6:20.72. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:28.60.

The U.S. also had one U23 boat racing in semifinals this morning. In the second semifinal of the U23 men's single sculls, Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) advanced to tomorrow's finals thanks to a third-place finish. Harrison settled into the third early in the race and maintained that position the length of the course. Australia's Cormac Kennedy-Leverett led the entire race, with France's Romain Harat holding second position. Kennedy-Leverett won the race in a 6:48.99, with Harat finishing less than a second back in a 6:49.94. Harrison crossed the line in a 6:53.32

Six U19 crews raced in either repechages or quarterfinals on Friday morning.

In the repechage of the U19 men's eight, the U.S. boat of coxswain Adam Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Drew Cavanaugh (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Crew), Davis Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./Burton Beach Rowing Club), Luke Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory School), Travis O'Neil (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Jordan Dykema (Seattle, Wash.), Owen Finnerty (Ardmore, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory School), Kian Aminian (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), and John Patton (Houston, Texas/Deerfield Academy) took an early lead and held off a late charge by Italy to win the race and move on to Sunday's final. With two to advance, the U.S. boat took the lead off the start ahead of Ukraine and Romania. The American crew continued to extend its advantage over the field through the middle 1,000 meters, with Romania moving into second position. Over the final 500 meters, Italy put on a furious sprint to overtake Romania for second. The U.S. held on to win by just less than a second, clocking a 5:42.78. Italy finished with a time of 5:43.73, finishing 0.35 seconds ahead of a closing Ukraine.

The U.S. crew of Davis Schroeder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Josh Yin (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Rowing Club), Oscar Patton (Lincoln, Mass./Deerfield Academy), and Jack Skinner (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club) and the Serbian crew clocked identical times of 6:13.59 in the first repechage of the U19 men's four to advance to Saturday's semifinals. With only two to advance, Serbia and the U.S. were able to edge out Croatia at the line by 0.39 seconds to move on. Croatia held a slight lead on the U.S. and Serbia through the 1,500-meter mark, but both crews were able to inch ahead in the final 200 meters. While the top two crews clocked identical times, Serbia earned the win by less than a bowball in the photo finish.

In the fourth quarterfinal of the U19 men's double sculls, the U.S. duo of Tristan Wakefield (Bettendorf, Iowa/Y Quad Cities Rowing) and Nikhil Ramaraju (Bettendorf, Iowa/Y Quad Cities Rowing) advanced to tomorrow's semifinals thanks to a second-place finish. Germany took the early lead and continued to race at the head of the field the entire way down the course. But with three to advance, the U.S., Croatia, and Ireland battled each other for the final two qualification spots. Croatia sat in second position by just over two seconds as the crews hit the final 500 meters, but the U.S. and Ireland were taking up the rate to try to secure the final qualification spot. The two crews pulled up even with the Croatians with about 100 meters to go, but the Croatians were able to hold off the Irish boat in the final few strokes. Germany won the race in a 6:22.10, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:25.52, 0.15 seconds ahead of Croatia. Ireland finished 0.24 seconds behind in fourth.

U19 men's single sculler Charles Boldt (Zionsville, Ind./Indianapolis Rowing Center) came up just short of the A/B semifinals, finishing fourth in his quarterfinal. With three to advance, Boldt sat in fourth for most of the race, just off the pace of The Netherlands' Klaas Baud in third. Italy's Marco Prati led the race from start to finish, with Bulgaria's Ivan Yordanov rowing in second position. As the scullers entered the final sprint, Baud was able to up his rate and overtake Yordanov. Boldt tried to chase down the Bulgarian but ran out of water, coming up just short of advancing. Prati won the race in a 7:06.11. Baud took second in a 7:07.94, finishing 0.66 seconds ahead of Yordanov. Boldt finished in a 7:09.11, a half-second behind Yordanov. Boldt will race in the C/D semifinals tomorrow.

In the repechage of the U19 women's pair, Rachel Lande (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Marina Aquatic Center) and Shannon Kearney (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Marina Aquatic Center) finished fifth and will now race in Sunday's B final for overall places 7-10. With two to advance to the final, Germany's Lilian Albrecht and Leni Koetitz led from start to finish, clocking a time of 7:33.48. New Zealand's Phoebe and Alice Wallis took second ahead of Romania in a 7:36.36. The U.S. was third off the line but could not stay with the lead pack through the middle of the race. Lande and Kearney finished with a time of 7:53.15.

An injury in yesterday's heat forced a lineup change in the U19 men's four with coxswain for today's repechage. With the top four to advance to the final, the new U.S. lineup of coxswain Elenna Seguin (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Crew), William Deutchman (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Andrew Wilkinson (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), William Jett (San Carlos, Calif./Norcal Crew), and Grant McCurdy (Nokomis, Fla./Sarasota Crew) dropped to fifth in the final few strokes. In what was a tight race throughout, Germany took the early lead before South Africa moved in front at the midway point, with the U.S. rowing in second. South Africa continued to row at the head of the field as the crews crossed into the final 500 meters, with a half-second separating second through fourth. However, Hungary, who was rowing in fifth, was able to surge into the mix over the final sprint. At the line, South Africa held off Italy by 0.26 seconds, finishing with a time of 6:23.90. Hungary took third, with Germany taking fourth. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:26.20, finishing fifth in the race and seventh overall.

Four U23 crews raced in placement finals Friday afternoon.

In the B final of the women's pair, Megan Lee (Natick, Mass./Duke University) and Sue Holderness (Charlotte, N.C./University of Texas) finished second to claim eighth place overall. Lee and Holderness were even with Spain at the 500-meter mark, sitting in third behind Switzerland and France. The U.S. duo closed the gap on France during the second quarter of the race before moving into second place in the third 500 meters. Lee and Holderness were less than a second back of Switzerland as the crews came into the final 500 meters, but the Swiss boat of Seraina Fuerholz and Olivia Roth was able to pull away at the line. Switzerland clocked a 7:12.25, with the U.S. finishing in a 7:14.61.

The men's pair of Floyd Benedikter (Dortmund, Germany/Princeton University) and Nick Taylor (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) finished third in the B final for a ninth-place finish overall. Greece's Dimitrios and Zisis Boukouvalas led the entire way down the course, clocking a 6:23.36 to win the race. Croatia's Patrik and Anton Loncaric finished second in a 6:24.11, with Benedikter and Taylor coming home in a 6:24.73.

In the C final of the U23 women's single sculls, Ella Barry (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Princeton University) finished fourth for a 16th-place finish overall. Barry rowed in third for most of the race before Hungary's Janka Zsiros overtook her in the sprint. Estonia's Greta Jaanson won the race in a 7:48.79, with Mexico's Mildred Belen Mercado Palacios taking second. Barry clocked a 7:54.02.

In the D final of the lightweight women's single sculls, Isabella Begley (Moorestown, N.J./University of Virginia) finished second for a 20th-place finish overall. Thailand's Nuntida Krajangjam won the D final in a 7:56.84. Begley finished with a time of 8:00.38.

Three U.S. crews will join Harrison in tomorrow's U23 medal races.

The women's four of Caitlin Esse (Fairfield, Conn./University of Texas), Anna Jensen (Midland, Mich./University of Texas), Fran Raggi (Maitland, Fla./University of Texas), and Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas) dominated the back half of their heat to advance directly to the final. The U.S. boat will take on Australia, France, Poland, Great Britain, and Romania in the final. Poland won the other heat. Esse, Raggi, and Jensen all won medals in various events at last year's under 23 championships, while Knifton is racing at her first U23 championships.

The U.S. women's eight of Hannah Heideveld (New Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers University), Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga./Yale University), Maddie Moore (Naples, Fla./Yale University), Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y./Princeton University), Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University), Lanie Nitsch (McAllen, Texas/University of Texas), Azja Czajkowski (Imperial Beach, Calif./Stanford University), Isabella Battistoni (Seattle, Wash./Stanford University), and coxswain Rachel Rane (Glencoe, Ill./University of Texas) began defense of the world title by winning its heat earlier in the week, advancing to the final. The U.S. will take on crews from Romania, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, and The Netherlands in tomorrow's race for the medals. Great Britain won the other heat.

The U23 men's eight of Kai Hoite (Berkeley, Calif./Brown University), Alexander Abuhoff (Montclair, N.J./Northeastern University), Adam Campain (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cornell University), Charles Fargo (Winnetka, Ill./Brown University), Miles Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), Jacob Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Dartmouth College), James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa./Stanford University), Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University), and coxswain Jack DiGiovanni (Pittsford, N.Y./Brown University) won their repechage to advance to tomorrow's final. The crew will take on Poland, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, and Romania in the medal race. Great Britain and Australia won the two heats.

The U.S will have five U23 crews racing in B finals Saturday for overall places 7-12.

In the U23 lightweight men's single sculls, Nicholas Aronow (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Princeton University), who finished seventh in the event last year, will race in the B final. Aronow will take on scullers from Denmark, France, Austria, Peru, and Uzbekistan.

In the U23 women's double sculls, Simone Vorperian (Madison, Wis./University of Pennsylvania) and Susan Cook (Portland, Ore./Boston University) just missed a spot in the final, finishing fourth in their semifinal. The U.S. will take on Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, and New Zealand in the B final.

In the B final of the U23 men's quadruple sculls, Cooper Tuckerman (Bozeman, Mont./Dartmouth College), Maxwell Kreutzelman (Orinda, Calif./Cornell University), Matthew Davis (Malvern, Pa./University of Pennsylvania), and Isaac Spokes (Baltimore, Md./Dartmouth College) will take on crews from Chile, Poland, Great Britain, Spain, and Argentina.

In the U23 lightweight men's double sculls B final, Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Georgetown University) will take on crews from Hungary, Brazil, Belgium, Greece, and Japan.

In the U23 lightweight women's double sculls B final, Ruthie Lacy (Edmond, Okla./Oklahoma City University) and Brooke Ruszkiewicz (Middleton, Wis./Stanford University) will race crews from Zimbabwe, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Spain, and Egypt.

Three additional U19 crews will be racing in semifinals Saturday with a chance to advance to the finals. The U19 women's quadruple sculls crew of Alice Dommer (San Carlos, Calif./Redwood Scullers/PACJC), Ava Schetlick (Charlottesville, Va./Virginia Rowing Association), Cillian Mullen (Batavia, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), and Heather Schmidt (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna Rowing) advanced to the semifinals thanks to a third-place finish in its heat. The crew will take on Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, Poland, and New Zealand in the second semifinal, with the top three advancing to the final.

The U19 men's quadruple sculls crew of Sam Dowd (Omaha, Neb/Red Dog Rowing), Walid Ghamra (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Timothy Parsons (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene Rowing Club), and Ashton Perlroth (Palo Alto, Calif./Redwood Scullers) won its repechage to move on to the semifinals. The U.S. will race against crews from Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Great Britain, and Germany in the second semifinal, with the top three moving on to the final.

In the U19 women's single sculls, 15-year-old Olivia Petri (Brisbane, Calif./Redwood Scullers) will race in the second semifinal against scullers from Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Tunisia. A top-three finish would move her on to the final.

The U19 women's double sculls crew of Hannah Peters (Newton, Mass./Noble and Greenough School/Cambridge Boat Club) and Catherine Barry (Oyster Bay Cove, N.Y./Friends Academy) will race in a C/D semifinal against boats from Thailand, Australia, South Africa, and Cypress. The top three finishers will move on to the C final.

The World Rowing Under 23 and Under 19 Championships are running simultaneously this year. 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.