Four medals for US crews

Credit: US Rowing

Four medals for US crews

Sunday saw the conclusion of World Rowing Cup II, as four American crews earned their spots on the medal stand at the event.

The PR3 mixed four with coxswain brought home the one gold of the day for Team USA after winning their race this morning in a time of 7:43.08. The crew of Karen Petrik (Glastonbury, Conn.), Danielle Hansen (Patterson, Calif.), Charley Nordin (Alameda, Calif.), Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y.) and Allie Reilly (North Kingstown, R.I.) came through the first 500-meter mark just fractions of a second off the Italians, who were leading the race. By the 1,000-meter mark, they had pulled themselves into first place and maintained their lead throughout the remainder of the race. The Americans were followed by Italy in 7:45.51 and France in 7:47.70.

Also making a trip to the podium were Tracy Eisser (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.), who earned bronze in the women’s pair. Maintaining third position throughout the entirety of the race, Eisser and Kalmoe trailed crews from New Zealand and Australia. Crossing the line in 7:43.73 behind New Zealand’s 7:35.55 and Australia’s 7:37.25, Eisser and Kalmoe have also earned the right to declare for the 2019 U.S. National Team because of their placement.

The women’s eight, made up of Katelin Guregian (Detroit, Mich.), Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y.), Kristine O’Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), Dana Moffat (Manlius, N.Y.), Gia Doonan (Rochester, Mass.), Felice Mueller (Cleveland, Ohio), Erin Reelick (Brookfield, Conn.), Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y.) and Brooke Mooney (Peru, Vt.), came through the first 500 meters of their final trailing Australia and Great Britain. After trading strokes and battling with Great Britain, the U.S. crew pulled into second place by the 1,000-meter mark and spent the rest of the race trying to reel in the Australians. Even though the Americans had the fastest second half of the race, they were not able to make up enough ground. Finishing in a time of 6:26.29, the Australians brought home the gold medal, in front of the U.S.’s 6:27.74 silver-medal finish. Great Britain finished third, bringing home bronze.

In a race with two American crews competing for spots on the podium, the women’s double final was nothing short of exciting. Though they came off the line in second position, Genevra Stone (Newton, Mass.) and Cicely Madden (Weston, Mass.) lead the race for the middle 1,000 meters, trying to hold off a storming Kiwi crew. At the finish line, the Kiwis had narrowly pushed their boat across the line, 0.27 seconds ahead of the Americans. Stone and Madden finished in 7:21.55, earning the silver medal. Right in that mix was Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Meghan O’Leary (Baton Rouge, La.) as well. After coming through the first 500 meters in fourth place, Tomek and O’Leary made a push to get themselves into the top three by the halfway mark, but ultimately finished fourth in 7:24.85. Australia brought home the bronze medal.

Also finishing in fourth place overall was U.S. women’s single sculler, Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif.). With the top four finishers in the women’s single finishing within 1.45 seconds of each other, boats overlapped and traded blows the entire way down the course. While sitting in second position for a majority of the race, Kohler finished in a time of 8:05.90. New Zealand won gold in 8:04.45, Austria earned silver in 8:04.57 and Canada brought home the bronze medal in 8:05.11.

Following a line-up change, the women’s four of Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio), Emily Regan (Buffalo, N.Y.), Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio) and Vicky Opitz (Middleton, Wis.) missed a spot on the medal stand by just 0.43 seconds. With Denmark, China and Australia taking gold, silver and bronze, respectively, the second U.S. four of Brooke Pierson (Alexandria, Va.), Regina Salmons (Jamestown, R.I. ), Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Elizabeth Sonshine (Short Hills, N.J.) finished just behind their teammates. The two U.S. crews finished in 6:55.90 and 6:58.83, respectively.

The men’s four entry of Austin Hack (Old Lyme, Conn.), Andrew Reed (Wayland, Mass.), Mike DiSanto (Boston, Mass.) and Alex Karwoski (Moultonborough, N.H.) finished fifth in their final with a time of 6:25.04. Australia, Italy and Poland brought home gold, silver and bronze, respectively. The Australians finished the race in 6:16.46.

Christine Cavallo (Windermere, Fla.) and Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif.) finished sixth in their final of the lightweight women’s double sculls with a time of 7:29.28. New Zealand, Italy and China won gold, silver and bronze, respectively, with New Zealand posting a winning time of 7:22.09.

In the PR1 women’s single, Hallie Smith (Washington, D.C.) raced to a sixth-place finish, clocking a 14:08.95. Bringing home gold, Norwegian sculler Birgit Skarstein crossed the line in 12:09.56. Ukraine and France won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Winning the B final to earn a seventh place overall finish in the women’s pair was the U.S. crew of Emily Huelskamp (Sainte Genevieve, Mo.) and Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio). Coming through the 1,000-meter mark, Huelskamp and Baker sat in third, but a push in the second half of the race brought the pair into first, moving through Germany and Chile. The two posted a time of 7:48.08.

Racing to a second-place finish in their B final, the men’s quadruple sculls crew of Gregory Ansolabehere (Bakersfield, Calif.), Tristan Amberger (Towson, Md.), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis.) and John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) crossed the line in 6:18.31, just 1.13 seconds behind the Lithuanian crew. The American’s finish earned them the No. 8 overall position.

Posting a time of 6:26.55 and crossing the line fifth in their B final, the second U.S. entry in the men’s four of Alexander Wallis (Cupertino, Calif.), Conor Harrity (Weston, Mass.), Tom Dethlefs (Lawrenceville, N.J.) and Alexander Richards (Watertown, Mass.) earned a No. 11 overall placement at the regatta.