Altman, Aller and Puma to Represent USA at 2004 World Rowing Championships
Republished from USRowing
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U.S. Crews Ready for Start of 2004 World Championships
Written By: Amy Uebel, USRowing Communications Department
(July 26, 2004) Racing at the 2004 FISA Senior and Junior World Championships kicks off with heats on Tuesday in Banyoles, Spain. The U.S. will field entries in 19 total events including nine senior races and 10 junior races.
At the 2003 FISA Senior World Championships, the United States brought home six medals. The women's four, men's four with coxswain, and men's pair with coxswain all won gold medals, while the men's eight and lightweight men's eight won silver medals and the lightweight men's pair won a bronze medal. At the 2003 FISA Junior World Championships, the U.S. brought home two medals – silver in both the junior men’s and junior women’s eights.
In the senior events, Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) and Mike Altman [GU 1997] (Marin County, Calif.) return to the world championships in the lightweight men's pair. Last year, they won a bronze medal in the event. The duo followed that up with a silver medal in the event at the 2004 World Cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland. In Banyoles, they hope to take that final step to the top of the medal stand. In their heat, Carcagno and Altman will face Russia, Ireland, Uruguay, and Chile. Overall, their top competition should come from Italy.
Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.), Molly Baker (Burke, Va.), Allison DePalma (Monte Sereno, Calif.), and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) begin their quest to bring home another gold medal for the U.S. in the women's four. In Tuesday’s heat, the crew will take on boats from France, Belarus, China, and Russia. Top competitors in the 11-boat field include last year's silver medalists from the Netherlands and bronze medalists from Germany, as well as Great Britain, and Canada.
In the men's four with coxswain, coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.) returns from last year's gold medal-winning boat. First-time world championships competitors Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Paul Daniels (Burlington, Wis.), and Andrew Brennan (Valley Forge, Pa.) join McElhenney in the boat. Racing in the third of three heats, the United States will be competing alongside 2003 finalist Italy, the Netherlands, and Canada. Other top competitors in the 13-boat field include Great Britain, Germany, and France.
National team rookies Vince Puma [GU 1990] (Irvington, N.Y.) and Chris DeFelice (Centereach, N.Y.) join three-time national team member Dana Schmunk (Chelsea, Mich.) in the men's pair with coxswain. The trio will face Romania, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro, and Spain in its heat.
Sarah Hirst (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) will be facing scullers from Hungary, Denmark, France, Romania, and Norway in her heat of the lightweight women’s single sculls. Hirst, who is racing at her first world championships, won two medals at last year’s Pan American Games. In total, 21 scullers are scheduled to compete in the event.
In the lightweight men's single sculls, first-time national team member Rich Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) will be facing Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Great Britain in his heat. Germany, Italy, and Great Britain are the scullers to beat in the 22-boat field.
In the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls, Mary Obidinski (Oneonta, N.Y.) and Maria Picone (Pownal, Maine) return from last year's fourth-place crew. They are joined by Julia Nichols (Livermore, Calif.), who raced in the lightweight single sculls last year, and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.), who raced in last year’s lightweight pair. The quartet will take on Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands in Tuesday’s heat.
In the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, Stephen Arthur-Wong (Orlando, Fla.), Michael Aller [GU 1999] (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Tim Larson (North Augusta, S.C.), and Shawn Stephenson (Raleigh, N.C.) return from last year’s world championships to try and improve on their sixth-place finish. They will race Spain, Great Britain, Italy, and Brazil in their heat
With only five entries, the lightweight eight will not race until the final on August 1. Four members of last year's silver medal-winning boat return to this year's team. Nick Anderson (Omaha, Neb.), Chris Greenleaf (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.), Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.), John Cashman (Sausalitio, Calif.), and Erik Miller (Renton, Wash.) join returning members Eric Feins (Rochester, N.Y.), Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Bill Fedyna (Maple Glen, Pa.), and John Wachter (Mt. Laurel, N.J.). The field includes Australia, France, Germany, and Italy.
In the junior events, the junior women's eight of Kerry Birk (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Emily Downing (Bellevue, Wash.), Nicole Falvo (Gansevoort, N.Y.), Alie Fishman (Dallas, Tex.), Annie Gayman (Seattle, Wash.), Lori Gordon (Winchester, Mass.), Lauren Hofmayer (Orinda, Calif.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and Vanessa Teff (Middleton, Wis.) are competing against eight other boats. The U.S. crew will race Poland, New Zealand, Germany, and Romania in tomorrow’s heat.
Noah Polsky (Larkspur, Calif.), Joe McMuillin (Woodbridge, Va.), Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.), Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.), Neil Stanga (Arlington, Va.), Jesse Johnson (Mercer Island, Wash.), Max Wyatt (San Francisco, Calif.), Brian Ebke (Corte Madera, Calif.), and Thad Duprey (Concord, N.H.) make up the junior men's eight. Tomorrow, the eight will race against crews from Greece, the Czech Republic, and Italy in its heat.
The remaining junior crews do not start their competition until Wednesday morning. In the junior women’s single sculls event, Michelle King (Lyme, Conn.) will face 14 other rowers, while Joseph Medioli (Teaneck, N.J.) will race against 24 other scullers in the junior men's single sculls.
In the junior women's double sculls, Cara Dermody (Oakmont, Pa.) and Emily Schofield (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who finished 12th in the event at last year’s junior world championships, will compete against 16 other countries. Pat Ryan (Malvern, Pa.) and Justin Teti (West Chester, Pa.) will compete against 19 other crews in the junior men's double sculls.
In the junior women's pair, Mindy Fiesler (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Kari Stenbakken (Sammamish, Wash.) will take on seven other pairs. Fiesler was part of last year's silver medal-winning junior eight.
The junior women’s four of Desiree Burns (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Erin Knox (Snohomish, Wash.), Emily Matykiewicz (Windermere, Fla.), and Caitlin McGrath (Westport, Conn.) will compete against seven other crews starting on Wednesday, while the junior men's four or Solon Wayne-Aposhian (Watertown, Mass.), Chris Hearne (Princeton, N.J.), Chris Carey (The Plains, Va.), Jack Vogelsang (Buffalo, N.Y.) will compete against 17 other boats.
The junior men's four with coxswain of Dave Cleveland (Devon, Pa.), Brendon Luby (Wayland, Mass.), Ryan Taney (Boca Raton, Fla.), Chris Pomer (Sacramento, Calif.), and Mark Crocker (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) also race on Wednesday. The field includes 10 other crews.
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