Three Crews Advance on Wednesday at 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

Three U.S. crews moved on to either the semifinals or quarterfinals during Wednesday's racing at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.

The lightweight men's single sculls and women's quadruple sculls advanced directly to the semifinals, while the men's single sculls reached the quarterfinals on the first day of racing.

Nicholas Aronow (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Oak Neck Academy) finished second in his heat of the lightweight men's single sculls to advance to the semifinals. With two to advance, Aronow got off the line in fourth position before methodically moving into second place during the middle 1,000 meters of the race. Bulgaria's Lazar Penev won the race in a 7:12.76, with Aronow crossing in a 7:16.99.

In the men's single sculls, Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University) advanced to Friday's quarterfinals thanks to a second-place finish in the fifth of five heats. Legenzowski finished just two seconds behind Belarus' Yauheni Zalaty. Zalaty took the lead off the start, with Legenzowski comfortably in second position. Zalaty crossed the line in a 7:04.77, with Legenzowski finishing in a 7:06.98.

In the women's quadruple sculls, the crew of Clare Naughton (Burlington, Mass./Yale University), Susan Cook (Portland, Ore./Boston University), Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University) and Samantha Henriksen (Chicago, Ill./University of California) advanced to the semifinals off of a third-place finish in their heat. Germany walked away with the race, finishing in a 6:31.39, with Estonia taking second in a 6:46.36 and the U.S. finishing third in a 6:49.19.

The remaining six U.S. crews that raced today will have a second chance to advance in tomorrow's repechages.

In the lightweight women's pair, Lindsey Rust (Roslyn, N.Y./Stanford University) and Bonnie Pushner (Fairfield, Conn./Princeton University) finished second in their heat and now will race in tomorrow's repechage. The duo crossed the finish line in a 7:32.83, finishing more than five seconds behind Italy. The Italian crew of Samantha Premerl and Maria Zerboni took the early lead and were never really challenged, easily advancing to the final. Germany won the other heat in a 7:35.28.

With one to advance to the final, the lightweight men's pair of Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass./University of Delaware) and Nathaniel Sass (Buffalo, N.Y./Boston University) led the race through the 1,500-meter mark before Chile's Manuel Fernandez Antri and Roberto Liewald overtook the American crew in the final stretch of the race. Hay and Sass clocked a 6:40.75 to finish a little more than three seconds behind Chile. The U.S. now will race in tomorrow's repechages. Uzbekistan won the other heat to advance directly to the final.

In the women's pair, the U.S. boat of Lucy Koven (Greenwich, Conn./Princeton University) and Caitlin Esse (Fairfield, Conn./University of Michigan) battled Spain for much of the race before the Spanish crew pulled away over the final 400 meters. Koven and Esse now will race in a repechage on Thursday. Spain's Julia Ros Martinez and Nuria Puig Aguilo got off to a solid lead in the first 500 meters and continued to race at the front of the field by nearly two seconds as the crews hit the midway point. Koven and Esse made a huge push in the third 500 to pull up even as the crews hit the final 1,500-meter mark. However, Spain was able to hold off the challenge and pull away. Spain crossed in a 7:21.66, with the U.S. finishing in a 7:26.10. Croatia won the other heat, joining Spain 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) finished fourth in their heat and now will race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the final, Germany and Italy were able to take hold of the qualifying spots during the second quarter of the race. Germany won with a time of 5:50.79, with Italy crossing in a 5:54.09. The U.S. finished in a 6:04.68.

With two to advance to the semifinals, William Purtill (Villanova, Pa./University of Pennsylvania) and Michael Wilson (Braintree, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) dropped off the pace from the start and finished fifth in the second of three heats of the men's pair, clocking a 7:05.88. The duo will race in tomorrow's repechages. Great Britain won the race by two seconds over the Italian crew in a 6:36.54, with both advancing to the semifinals.

In the men's four, Andrew Michael Curry (Dallas, Texas/Dartmouth College), Jordan Backer (Sacramento, Calif.), Louis Gallia (Sacramento, Calif./University of Washington) and William Roesler (Oakland, Calif.) finished sixth in their heat and will now race in a repechage. With two to advance to the semifinals, Romania and Belarus pulled away from the rest of the field in the second quarter of the race. Romania won in a 5:59.51, with Belarus finishing a little over two seconds behind. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:33.92.

In addition to the six crews that will race in Thursday's repechages, the remaining 14 U.S. crews will hit the course tomorrow in either heats or preliminary seeding races. Thursday's racing begins at 9:30 a.m. local time. 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.