RACICE, CZECH REPUBLIC - The five Cornell University rowers that represented the United States the 2009 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Racice, Czech Republic fared well, highlighted by a fifth-place finish by Michael Rossidis '09, Drew Baustian '10, Christopher Frendl '10.

 

Racing in the final of the men's four with coxswain, Rossidis, Baustian, Frendl were joined by Steve Matyas (Drexel) and Evan Cassidy (Columbia). The crew was in third position 500 meters into the race, before New Zealand and Italy began to pull away from the field, leaving the remaining crews to battle it out for the bronze medal. Entering the final quarter of the race, Ukraine, Germany and the U.S. were still within one second of each other. However, Germany used a strong move over the final 500 meters to power past the Ukraine for the bronze. New Zealand captured gold in a 6:07.40, with Italy taking silver in a 6:09.59. Germany clocked a 6:11.93, while the U.S. finished with a time of 6:15.76.

 

Thomas Davidson '12 and Nick Donald (Princeton) finished second in the B final of the lightweight men's pair for an eighth-place finish overall. After getting off the line in third position, the duo grabbed the lead from Hungary going into the final 500 meters. However, the Hungarian boat was able to retake the top spot with less than 250 meters to go, winning the race in a 7:00.53. Davidson and Donald crossed the finish line in a 7:02.48.

 

The men's quadruple sculls quartet of Singen Elliott '10, Hans Struzyna (Washington), Martin Etem (Syracuse) and Sean Engel (Cal) finished fifth in the C final for a 17th-place finish overall. The crew crossed the finish line with a time of 6:05.70. Lithuania won the race in a 5:55.28. The U.S. finished second in its C/D semifinal in the morning.