Women’s Eight and Four Win Heats at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships

Two U.S. under 23 crews won their heats on Tuesday, while two others advanced directly to the finals to highlight racing at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy.

The women's eight and women's four dominated their heats to advance to the finals, while the men's and women's lightweight pairs finished second in their heats to also advance to the finals.

The U.S. women's eight of 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) began defense of the world title by winning the first of two heats, advancing to the final. The U.S. grabbed a nearly three-second lead over Canada in the first 500 meters and continued to walk away from the field through the 1,500-meter mark. Coming into the last quarter of the race, the Americans held a 7.58-second lead over The Netherlands before crossing the finish just under seven seconds ahead of the Dutch boat.

"Our job was to cross first," Rane said. "We didn't want to have an extra race tomorrow. This was actually our first full 2k together, so I thought we got out there, got into a really solid rhythm, and were able to take it down and just cruise to the line and get ourselves in a real good position for Saturday. There are some mini points in the race that we can tweak, but overall, we're all proud of the first real big effort."

The U.S. crossed the line in a 6:07.80, 6.98 seconds ahead of The Netherlands. Great Britain won the second heat in a 6:08.72 to also advance to the final.

"Just staying really internal," said Rane about the focus heading into the final. "It's all about us. If we do that and focus on us, it's going to be really good."

Racing in the second heat of the women's four, the U.S. crew 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 the race to earn a victory over Great Britain to advance directly to the final.

"When we saw the draw, we were really excited because it was a good chance to see right away what was out there," Knifton said. "We had a lot of really good crews in our race. It was great to get some experience racing them before the final. It was our first real race together, so getting the nerves out and learning how we race. Since we've raced with each other in college, we knew how to bring out the best in each other. It was a good start."

The U.S. boat, made up entirely of athletes from the University of Texas, sat just off Great Britain's pace through the halfway point. But the American crew used its base speed to overtake the British boat in the third 500 and pulled away for a nearly five-second victory. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:31.99, with GB earning the other spot in the final in a 6:36.95.

"It's so special," Knifton said about racing with her Texas teammates. "There's nothing better. They are like my family. I've raced with Fran for many years. I've never had a collegiate race without her. Raced with Anna a few years, raced with Caitlin at the junior level on the same team and then she's been a part of our Texas team for a year now. It's so special just getting to race with them even more and learning more about each other. We've gotten even closer this summer, and I think going back into the school year, it will make our team at Texas even better."

While Raggi, Jensen, and Esse all won medals last year, Knifton is racing at her first U23 championships after competing on two under 19 teams.

"I feel a lot more experienced than I was in juniors," Knifton said. "In juniors, it was a really fun experience, but when I was training for the summer, I didn't know what I was training for exactly. Having that experience and the experience training at the collegiate level, I kind of knew what to expect, and going through the training, I had more of a goal and a purpose this summer."

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 the second heat. With two to advance, Sack and Andrews sat in third position behind Peru and Turkey going into the final quarter of the race but were able to put down the fastest final 500 meters to pass the Turkish crew and move directly to the final. Peru's Alessia and Valeria Palacios held off the late charge from the Americans to win the race in a 7:29.85, with the U.S. clocking a 7:30.49. Turkey's Ebru Akinal and Eda Erkan finished third in a 7:31.26.

"We had a really solid first race," Andrews said. "We're really excited and grateful to be here. Great push to the line with the other competitors in the field, and we're really excited to have another go at them Friday and keep finding more speed."

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.

"We've been here before. We have a little bit of experience at worlds" said Sass, who finished fourth last year in the event with Hay. "We went out thinking, 'Hey, you don't win in the heats. Let's just keep it calm and collected.' We just followed the race plan that we've been following all summer."

With two to advance, the U.S. rowed in third position through the halfway point of the race before overtaking Hungary for second. Italy won the race in a 6:40.08, with the Americans finishing second in a 6:44.64.

"This year was top two to the A final, while last year it was (the winner)," said Hay. "We got jumped off the start, which we even talked about beforehand. We knew people were going to go crazy. Once I knew we were going to cut through second place, about 500 (to go) we got contact with first place, but no one is writing articles about first place in the heat, so we just took it down and got that comfortable second place to move on to the final."

"Just keep it calm," said Hay about their focus coming into this week. "Last year, we did go crazy in the heat. We put down the second fastest time in the heat to move on, but we were gassed for the final. So, now we're joking, Italy was the one that kind of did it to us last year – they rowed smart in the heat and then rowed crazy in the final and got us, so we're saying we're going to do that this time."

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) led through the 1,500-meter mark before Great Britain was able to win the sprint to the finish line. With only the winner advancing directly to the final, the U.S. got off the line quickly, building nearly a 1.5-second lead in the first 500 meters. The U.S. continued to lead by over a second at the halfway point, but the British boat was able to eat into the lead coming into the final 500 meters. At the line, Great Britain had won the race in a 6:07.53, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:07.98. The Americans now will race in the repechages.

With only one to advance to 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) led through the 1,500-meter mark before Italy was able to take the victory. The American boat got off the line quickly, taking the lead over Poland and Italy in the first 500. The U.S. had extended its advantage to 1.8 seconds at the midway point and still led by a little less than a half-second as the crews entered the final 500 meters. However, Italy was able to power through the Americans in the final 500, winning in a 6:24.92. The U.S. crossed second in a 6:27.36 and will now race in the repechages.

In the second heat of the men's eight, coxswain Jack DiGiovanni (Pittsford, N.Y./Brown University), 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), and Will Legenzowski (Vista, N.Y./Brown University) finished second and will race in the repechages. Great Britain took the lead as the crews hit the 500-meter mark and continued to build on its advantage the entire way down the course. Great Britain finished with a time of 5:25.06, with the U.S. clocking a 5:30.99.

In the women's double sculls, Simone Vorperian (Madison, Wis./University of Pennsylvania) and Susan Cook (Portland, Ore./Boston University) finished third in their heat and now will race in tomorrow's repechages. With the top two to advance to the semifinals, France's Gala Chiavini and Jeanne Roche won the race in a 7:11.13, with The Netherlands' Claire de Kok and Marg van Der Wal taking second in a 7:12.85. The U.S. duo finished in a 7:18.01. France took the early lead, with the U.S. crew getting off the line in second position. However, the Dutch boat was able to move into second as the crews approached the midway point of the race. The Netherlands pulled away from the U.S. in the final 1,000 meters, cutting into the French lead, but Chiavini and Roche were still able to win by a comfortable margin.

In the lightweight men's double sculls, Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Georgetown University) finished third in their heat and will race in the repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, the twins got off the line in fourth position before moving into third during the third 500 meters. Turkey's Enes Gok and Sefik Cakmak led from the start, building nearly a five-second lead at the midway point and cruising to the victory. Turkey finished with a time of 6:33.57, with Hungary claiming to other qualification spot in a 6:35.85. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:40.14.

In the first heat of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, 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 third and will now race in the repechage. With one boat moving on to the final, Italy took control of the race early, leaving the U.S. to battle France and Germany for second place. The three crews were basically even for second heading into the final stretch before France was able to edge the U.S. at the line. Italy won the race in a 5:51.67, with the U.S. finishing in a 5:57.55.

In the 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) finished fourth in the first of three heats. With two to advance, the U.S. sat in third position at the 500-meter mark, but the top two crews from Italy and Germany took control in the second 500 and then pulled away from the rest of the field in the third quarter of the race. Italy finished with a time of 5:47.25, with Germany crossing in a 5:48.67. The U.S. finished in a 5:58.49 and will race in the repechages.

In the women's pair, Megan Lee (Natick, Mass./Duke University) and Sue Holderness (Charlotte, N.C./University of Texas) finished fourth in the first of two heats and will race in the repechages. With only one to advance, Greece's Evangelina Fragkou and Christina Ioanna Bourmpou took control in the first 500 meters and were never really challenged for the top spot. The U.S. sat in fourth through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into third with just 500 meters to go. However, the crew from Denmark was able to move back into third during the final stretch of the race. Greece won with a time of 7:08.28. The U.S. finished in a 7:20.23.

The men's pair of Floyd Benedikter (Dortmund, Germany/Princeton University) and Nick Taylor (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) also finished fourth in their heat and will now race in the repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, Greece led through the halfway point before giving way to South Africa and then Romania. South Africa's Damien Bonhage-Koen and Christopher Baxter won the race in a 6:26.13, with Romania's Andrei Mandrila and Claudiu Neamtu taking the other qualifying spot in a 6:27.59. The U.S. finished in a 6:42.39.

Racing in the first heat of the men's double sculls, Thomas Foltz (Richmond, Va./Virginia Tech) and Tucker Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Princeton University) finished fifth and will race in tomorrow's repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, Moldova's Alexandr Bulat and Ivan Corsunov held the top position through the 1,000-meter mark before Belgium's Tristan Vandenbussche and Aaron Andries grabbed the lead in the third 500 meters. The two crews were never challenged for the qualification spots, with Belgium winning in a 6:26.51 and Moldova finishing in a 6:29.35. The U.S. boat got off the line in fourth place and sat in fifth for much of the race. Foltz and Thomas clocked a 6:48.42.

In the lightweight women's double sculls, Ruthie Lacy (Edmond, Okla./Oklahoma City University) and Brooke Ruszkiewicz (Middleton, Wis./Stanford University) finished fifth in the first of two heats and now will race in tomorrow's repechages. With just one to advance to the final, Switzerland's Margaux Oural and Marion Heiniger got off the line in first position before Great Britain's Avery Louis and Lauren Maddison moved into first as the crews reached the halfway mark. The British crew widened its lead over the third 500 meters before pulling away for the victory. Louis and Maddison crossed the line in a 7:12.58, with the Swiss boat finishing in a 6:16.73. Lacy and Ruszkiewicz rowed in fourth position for much of the race before dropping to fifth. The U.S. clocked a 7:28.90.

With only six entries, the women's four with coxswain had a preliminary race for lanes on Tuesday. 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) rowed in third position the entire way down the course. Australia won the race in a 6:52.19, with Italy crossing in a 6:54.00. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:58.08.

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 raced in a preliminary race for lanes, finishing fourth. Italy won the race in a 6:31.72. The U.S. clocked a 6:55.20. The four crews will face off again in the final.

Nicholas Aronow (Laurel Hollow, N.Y./Princeton University), who finished seventh in the lightweight men's single sculls at last year's championships, advanced to the A/B semifinals thanks to a second-place finish in his repechage. Spain's Gerrard Sune Tanco led through the 1,000-meter mark before Uzbekistan's Sobirjon Safaroliyev moved into the top position. Aronow sat in third until the third quarter of the race before passing the Spanish sculler. Aronow crossed the line with a time of 7:03.01, 1.23 seconds in back of Safaroliyev.

In the second repechage of lightweight women's single sculls, Isabella Begley (Moorestown, N.J./University of Virginia) finished third and will be racing in the C/D semifinals. Begley was fourth off the line and could never challenge for a top two position and a spot in the A/B semifinals. Germany's Cosima Clotten took the top spot in a 7:54.44, with Algeria's Nihed Benchadli taking second in a 7:59.14. Begley finished third in an 8:09.81.

Ella Barry (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Princeton University) also will be heading to the C/D semifinals after finishing third in the second repechage of the women's single sculls. With two to advance to the semifinals, Ireland's Alison Bergin got out quickly and locked down the first qualification spot early. That left the rest of the field fighting for one spot in the semifinals. The scullers from Peru and Estonia battled each other for most of the middle 1,000 meters with Barry sitting in fourth. The American tried to chase down the Peruvian sculler in the final 500 meters but came up just short. Barry finished with a time of 8:13.19, with Peru's Adriana Maria Sanguineti Velasco taking second in an 8:11.70. Bergin clocked a 7:53.23.

Six under 19 crews will get their regatta started Wednesday, as racing in the World Rowing Under 19 Championships gets underway.

The U19 men's pair of Alberto Lasso (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club) and Jonas Thieme (San Jose, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club) will take on crews from Germany, South Africa, Greece, and Slovenia in the third of three heats. The top three crews will advance directly to the semifinals. Lasso and Thieme are making their national team debuts.

Racing in the first of three heats of the U19 men's quadruple sculls, Ashton Perlroth (Palo Alto, Calif./Redwood Scullers), Walid Ghamra (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Sam Dowd (Omaha, Neb/Red Dog Rowing), and Timothy Parsons (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene Rowing Club) will take on Great Britain, Romania, Poland, Greece, and The Netherlands, with the top two moving on to the semifinals. Parsons raced in the quad at last year's junior championships.

The U19 men's double sculls crew of Nikhil Ramaraju (Bettendorf, Iowa/Y Quad Cities Rowing) and Tristan Wakefield (Bettendorf, Iowa/Y Quad Cities Rowing) will row in the third of five heats against crews from Greece, The Netherlands, Romania, and Thailand. The top four finishers will advance to the quarterfinals. Wakefield served as an alternate on last year's U19 team, while Ramaraju is competing on his first national team.

The U19 women's double sculls crew of Catherine Barry (Oyster Bay Cove, N.Y./Friends Academy) and Hannah Peters (Newton, Mass./Noble and Greenough School/Cambridge Boat Club) will take on Romania, Ireland, Canada, Spain, and Greece in the first of three heats. Only the winner will advance directly to the semifinals, with the remaining boats heading to the repechages. Barry and Peters are making their national team debuts.

In the U19 men's single sculls, Charles Boldt (Zionsville, Ind./Indianapolis Rowing Center) will be racing in the fifth of five heats against scullers from Uruguay, China, Egypt, and Puerto Rico, with the top four moving on to the quarterfinals. Boldt is making his national team debut. The U.S. won bronze in the event last year with Isaiah Harrison, who is racing in the U23 single this year.

The youngest member of the U.S. squad, Olivia Petri (Brisbane, Calif./Redwood Scullers), will make her national team debut in the women's single sculls. Racing in the first of three heats, Petri will take on scullers from Germany, Moldova, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland. The top two move on to the semifinals.

In addition to the U23 reps and U19 heats, Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) will race in the quarterfinals of the U23 men's single sculls against scullers from Finland, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, and Egypt, with the top three advancing to the semifinals.

The World Rowing Under 23 and Under 19 Championships will be running simultaneously this year. Racing continues on Thursday with 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.