U19 Women’s Four, Women’s Eight Win Heats at World Rowing Under 19 & Under 23 Championships

The Under 19 women's four and women's eight won their heats, while the U19 women's four with coxswain set a new World Rowing Under 23 Championships' best time in their preliminary race for lanes, to highlight Thursday's racing at the 2022 World Rowing Under 19 & Under 23 Championships on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy.

The U19 women's four of Samantha Smart (Mill Valley, Calif./Marin Rowing Association), Elsa Hartman (Roseville, Calif./Capital Crew), Imogen Cabot (Cambridge, Mass./The Winsor School), and Kennedy Housley (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew) easily won the second of two heats to move directly to Sunday's final. With two to advance, the U.S. jumped out to an early lead, with France slotting into second place. The U.S. continued to pull away from the field over the middle 1,000 meters, while France solidified the second qualification spot. The American crew entered the final 500 meters with a four-second lead and cruised to the victory, finishing with a time of 6:41.99. France claimed second in a 6:44.52.

"This was our first heat, so obviously the goal was to make the A final and not go to reps, so we're really happy checking off the box," Cabot said. "We got up off the start. We rated pretty low. We didn't sprint. We were just trying to hold off the other crews without expending too much energy, and we did that well. We got into a really good rhythm, and it was just a really fun race."

In the first heat, Romania won the race in a 6:39.52, with Italy taking second in a 6:43.55.

"Romania and Italy set down some really fast times, and we know France is going to be really hungry as well, so I think we're just really going to focus on getting into a rhythm at a high rating and really focus on getting out, and if we're down, just pushing through," said Cabot about the focus for Sunday's final. "We have a lot of trust in our boat knowing that we can come through later in the race, so I think we're just going to solidify our trust."

The U19 women's eight began defense of its world title in dominant fashion Thursday, winning the first of two heats by over five seconds. With only the winner advancing, the U.S. crew of coxswain Frances McKenzie (Cos Cob, Ct./Greenwich Crew), Eugenia Rodríguez-Vázquez (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain/Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer), Lily Pember (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), Sarah Bradford (Oconomowoc, Wis./Milwaukee Rowing Club), Quincy Stone (San Francisco, Calif./Marin Rowing Association), Ellie Bijeau (Washington, D.C./Wilson Crew), Phoebe Wise (Greenwich, Ct./Greenwich Crew), Sofia Simone (Miami, Fla./Sarasota Crew), and Nora Goodwillie (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation) held a slight advantage 500 meters into the race before using its base speed to methodically pull away from Germany. A two-second lead at the midway point turned into a four-second advantage as the crews entered the final 500 meters. The U.S. won the race in 6:23.54, with Germany finishing in a 6:28.90. Great Britain won the second heat in a 6:21.93.

"We came into it not really expecting anything," Goodwillie said. "Obviously, we wanted to get first to go on to that A final; I think that's what everyone came out to do. We were just looking to stay in our rhythm, stay in our boat – have a clean start and kind of pick it off and then make our raceplan from there. We executed what we wanted to very well, and we really surprised ourselves with how fast we went. It was good to have our first real race in this crew, and I'm really proud of everyone."

With only five crews entered in the U19 women's four with coxswain, the U.S. crew of coxswain Ella Casano (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Ella Wheeler (South Orange, N.J./Northfield Mount Hermon School), Annika Jeffery (Portland, Ore./Rose City Rowing Club), Lindsey Brail (New York, N.Y./ Pelham Community Rowing Association), and Sophia Greco (Norwalk, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) won the preliminary race for lanes in a 6:54.50 to earn the top seed in the final. The U.S. finished nearly six seconds ahead of Romania. The American crew built a 1.39-second lead in the first 500 meters over Germany and cruised to the easy victory. The five crews will race again in the final. The U.S. set a U23 championships' best time by more than three seconds,

Racing in the first of three heats in the U19 women's quadruple sculls, the 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) finished third to move directly to the semifinals. With the top three advancing, the U.S. sat in fourth off the line but moved into a qualifying spot as the boats hit the halfway point. Great Britain took the early lead and continued to race at the head of the field through the 1,500-meter mark, but Germany was charging hard and overtook the British crew during the last quarter of the race. Germany won in a 6:38.82, with GB finishing in a 6:41.06. The U.S. clocked a 6:43.76.

Racing in the third heat of the U19 men's four, Davis Schroeder (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Jack Skinner (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club), Oscar Patton (Lincoln, Mass./Deerfield Academy), and Josh Yin (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Rowing Club) finished third and will now race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, Australia got off the line in first position, with the U.S. in second, just ahead of the Czech Republic. Australia continued to hold a slight lead on the Czech crew at the midway point of the race, with the U.S. in third. During the third quarter of the race, the Czech Republic took over the top position, while Romania began its charge. At the line, it was the Czech boat crossing in a 6:10.75, just 0.70 seconds ahead of Romania in second. The U.S. finished third in a 6:16.00.

In the U19 men's eight, the U.S. boat of coxswain Adam Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Davis Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./Burton Beach Rowing Club), Drew Cavanaugh (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Crew), 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) also finished third and will now race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the final, Germany grabbed the early lead, with Great Britain in second. The U.S. sat in third the entire way down the course and could never really get on terms with the top two crews. Germany won the race in a 5:37.91, with the British boat finishing in a 5:39.60. The U.S. clocked a 5:43.92.

The U19 men's four with coxswain of Elenna Seguin (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Crew), Andrew Wilkinson (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), Charles Richards (Winston Salem, N.C./Deerfield Academy Crew), William Jett (San Carlos, Calif./Norcal Crew), and William Deutchman (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center) finished fourth in their heat and will now race in a repechage tomorrow. The U.S. sat in fourth the entire way down the course. With only one to advance to the final, Australia got off the line in third before moving into the top position as the crews hit the 1,000-meter mark. Australia pulled away from South Africa in the final 500 meters to win by three seconds in a 6:19.09. The U.S. clocked a 6:31.13.

Racing in the second heat 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 head to tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the final, Lande and Kearney got off the line in fourth but dropped back to fifth during the second quarter of the race. Greece's Ioanna Asvesta and Elisavet Ira Argyraki grabbed the lead in the first 500 meters and held off Italy's Sofia Naselli and Martina Scarpello to earn the win in a 7:21.53. Italy took the second qualifying spot. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:53.61.

The U.S. had five U23 boats racing in the A/B semifinals with the chance to move on to the finals. Unfortunately, none of the crews were able to finish in the top three to advance.

In the 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 the first of two semifinals. The U.S. crew took the lead off the start before Romania took over the top spot during the second 500 meters. Vorperian and Cook were still in contact for a top-three spot as the crews hit the midway point but dropped off the lead pack in the third 500. The U.S. tried to get back into contention in the last quarter of the race but couldn't chase down Switzerland. Romania won the race in a 6:55.74, with Great Britain taking second and Switzerland holding on to third. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:06.64.

The men's pair of Floyd Benedikter (Dortmund, Germany/Princeton University) and Nick Taylor (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) finished fifth in the second of two semifinals and will now race in tomorrow's B final for overall places 7-12. With South Africa ahead of the field, the U.S. was in contention for a spot in the final into the final sprint but couldn't chase down Uruguay or Great Britain. South Africa won the race in a 6:28.02. The U.S. finished in a 6:34.53.

In the first semifinal of the lightweight men's single sculls, Nicholas Aronow (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Princeton University) finished sixth and will now race in the B final for places 7-12. While Belgium's Tibo Vyvey and Canada's Stephen Harris battled it out for the top two positions, the remaining four scullers were fighting for the last qualifying spot in the final. Aronow was still in contention for third with just 200 meters to go, but Argentina's Pedro Jose Kirk Dickson won the sprint for the last spot in the final. Vyvey won the race in a 6:55.35, with Harris finishing a half-second back. Dickson was third in a 6:58.02. Aronow dropped to sixth in the final few strokes, finishing in a 7:00.13.

The men's quadruple sculls crew of 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) finished sixth in the second of two semifinals and will now race in the B final for places 7-12. With three to advance, the U.S. sat in fourth position 500 meters into the race but was unable to keep pace with the top three crews. Great Britain led through the 1,000-meter mark before Germany moved into the lead as the boats approached 500 meters to go. Germany continued to race at the head of the field as the Czech Republic and The Netherlands chased down the British boat in the final sprint to claim the other two spots in the final. Germany won the race in a 5:45.80, with the Czech crew finishing 1.17 seconds back. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:57.16.

In the lightweight men's double sculls, Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Georgetown University) finished sixth in their semifinal and will now race in the B final for overall places 7-12. With the top three advancing to the medal race, the U.S. dropped to sixth off the line and was unable to get back into contention for a spot in the final. Italy won the race in a 6:20.44, with The Netherlands and Spain also advancing. The U.S. clocked a 6:42.03.

The U.S. had four U19 crews racing in repechages Thursday morning, with two advancing to the semifinals.

With three to advance, 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 the first of two repechages to move on to the semifinals. The U.S. crew trailed Switzerland during the first half of the race before inching its bowball in front as the boats entered the second 1,000 meters. The U.S. and Switzerland continued to battle it out at the front of the field during the back half of the race, with the U.S. winning in a time of 5:58.66. Switzerland crossed in a 5:59.81, with The Netherlands earning the other spot in the semis.

Racing in the second repechage of the U19 women's single sculls, 15-year-old Olivia Petri (Brisbane, Calif./Redwood Scullers) finished second to advance to the semifinals. With the top three scullers moving on, Petri rowed in third position through the 1,500-meter mark before overtaking Moldova's Ecaterina Fedorenco in the final sprint. The Czech Republic's Veronika Zamostna won the race in a 7:53.65, with Petri closing fast in a 7:54.75. Fedorenco held on for third, clocking a 7:56.62.

"I'm excited, and I can't wait for the experience and see how I compare against the other competitors," said Petri of her feelings moving on to the semifinals. "I think (my race) was a lot cleaner today, and I was able to keep a more steady split. The tailwind helped a lot. This race today was a little closer, which motivated me to go harder. I had people on the side of me that were nearby and that really helps to motivate me to sprint and to stay steady."

The U19 men's pair of Jonas Thieme (San Jose, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club) and Alberto Lasso (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club) finished fifth in the repechage and will now race in Sunday's C final for overall places 13-18. With three to advance to the semifinals, Thieme and Lasso sat in fourth position through the 1,000-meter mark before falling back to fifth. The Netherlands won the race in a 6:49.54, with France and South Africa also moving on to the semis. The U.S. finished with a time of 7:00.02.

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) finished third in its repechage and will now row in the C/D semifinals on Saturday. With only the top two advancing to the semifinals, Ireland and Switzerland took control of the top two spots early in the race. Peters and Barry sat in fourth off the line before moving into third in the second 500 meters. And while the U.S. duo tried to close the gap on second place, they were never able to challenge for a qualifying spot. Ireland won the race in a 7:06.81, with Switzerland finishing in a 7:13.10. The U.S. clocked a 7:16.85.

Three other U23 boats raced in placement level finals and semifinals on Thursday.

In the men's double sculls, Thomas Foltz (Richmond, Va./Virginia Tech) and Tucker Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) finished fourth in the C final for a 16th-place overall finish. In what was a close race throughout between the top four boats, Foltz and Thomas sat in second position through the first half of the race before dropping to third as the crews hit 500 meters to go. Canada led throughout, winning in a 6:30.65. Greece finished second, with Norway edging out the U.S. for third. Foltz and Thomas clocked a 6:34.18.

Ella Barry (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Princeton University) won her C/D semifinal of the U23 women's single sculls and will now race in Friday's C final. Barry trailed Estonia's Greta Jaanson through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into the lead as the scullers reached the final quarter of the race. Barry clocked a 7:58.13, with Jaanson finishing in an 8:02.58.

In the second C/D semifinal of the lightweight women's single sculls, Isabella Begley (Moorestown, N.J./University of Virginia) finished fourth. Begley will now race in tomorrow's D final for overall places 19-22. Begley dropped to fourth off the line and was unable to challenge for a top three spot and a place in the C final. Uruguay's Nicole Yarzan won the race in a 7:55.09, with Japan's Marin Kawamura finishing second and Tunisia's Sara Zammali finishing third. Begley clocked an 8:06.18.

The U.S. will have seven U23 crews racing for medals on Friday.

With only six entries, the women's four with coxswain had a preliminary race for lanes on Tuesday, finishing third behind Australia and Italy. The U.S. crew of Caroline Ricksen (Orinda, Calif./Stanford University), Angela Szabo (Sarasota, Fla./University of California), Greta Filor (Rye, N.Y./Brown University), Elena Collier-Hezel (Buffalo, N.Y.), and Katherine Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./University of Virginia) will race for the medals tomorrow against Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Germany, and Romania.

In the men's four with 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) finished second in their heat to move on to the final. The U.S. will take on crews from Italy, Great Britain, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia. Great Britain and Germany are the top seeds in the final, having won the heats.

The lightweight women's pair of Ava Sack (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Harvard University) and Elsa Andrews (Seattle, Wash./Harvard University) advanced to the final off a second-place finish in its heat. Sack and Andrews will take on crews from Uruguay, Germany, Italy, Peru, and Turkey. Italy and Peru won their heats and are the top seeds in the final.

In the lightweight men's pair, Nathaniel Sass (Buffalo, N.Y./University of Pennsylvania) and Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass./University of Delaware) also advanced to the final thanks to a second-place finish in their heat. Sass and Hay will take on crews from Hungary, Chile, Italy, Moldova, and Brazil. Chile and Italy are the top seeds in the final.

With only four entries, 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) raced in a preliminary race for lanes, finishing fourth. The crew will have a second chance – this time with medals on the line – to race Italy, Germany, and France. Italy won the race for lanes.

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) advanced to the final thanks to a third-place finish in the repechage. The U.S. will race Denmark, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany in the final. Italy and Switzerland won the two heats, earning the top seeds in the final.

The U.S. women's quadruple sculls 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) came from behind to claim the fourth and final qualification spot in their repechage. The U.S. will take on boats from The Netherlands, Romania, Czech Republic, Italy, and Germany in the final.

In the women's pair, Megan Lee (Natick, Mass./Duke University) and Sue Holderness (Charlotte, N.C./University of Texas) finished third in their repechage and will race in the B final for overall places 7-12. Lee and Holderness will take on crews from Egypt, France, Switzerland, Spain, and New Zealand.

U23 men's single sculler Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) finished second in his quarterfinal to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Racing in the second of two semis, Harrison will take on scullers from Portugal, Brazil, Australia, France, and Switzerland, with the top three finishers moving on to the final.

Tomorrow's schedule has been revised due to the weather forecast. Please go to www.worldrowing.com for the most up-to-date schedule.

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