BELGRADE, Serbia – One day of racing remains for crews competing in the first stage of the 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup series in Belgrade, Serbia. Four U.S. crews are set to race in the A finals including the lightweight women’s double sculls, women’s quadruple sculls and both entries of the women’s pair.

Coming off of a convincing heat win yesterday, the U.S. women’s pair entry of Taylor Ritzel (Larkspur, Colo.) and Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) led the semifinal from the start, with teammates Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) and Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) in second.

The U.S. pairs were 1-2 crossing each of the 500-meter marks, staying within a few seconds of each other and gaining open water on the rest of the field. Lind and Ritzel pulled away for the win, posting a time of 6:54.80. Logan and Cafaro were second in a 6:57.88, nearly five seconds up on Romania’s second entry of Adelina Cojocariu and Irina Dorneanu (7:02.02).

The three crews will meet Great Britain, The Netherlands and Germany from the second semifinal in Sunday’s final, scheduled for 10:43 a.m. local time. As the winners of National Selection Regatta I, Logan and Cafaro are looking for a fourth-place finish or better to qualify for the 2012 Olympic team.

Also on the hunt for a top-four finish, the U.S. lightweight women’s double sculls crew of Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) finished second in its repechage to earn a spot in the A final.

The defending overall World Cup champions maintained the second-place position throughout the race, crossing in a 6:58.44 to Greece’s 6:56.89. The lightweight women’s double final is scheduled for 11:43 a.m. local time on Sunday.

The U.S. women’s quadruple sculls crew is headed to the final following its second-place finish in the rep. Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.), Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif.), Kady Glessner (Seattle, Wash.) and Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) fought back from fifth place at the 500-meter mark and pushed past China to move into third by 1,500 meters. Poland slipped back in the final stretch. Germany won the race in a 6:17.54, followed by the U.S. in a 6:19.83. Poland and China finished 3-4 to advance to the final, scheduled for Sunday at 12:19 p.m. local time.

After dominating a tight race in yesterday’s repechage, New Fairfield, Conn. native Ken Jurkowski finished sixth in his semifinal, missing a spot in the A finals of the men’s single sculls. The U.S. sculler made an honest attempt, crossing the 500-meter mark in third place, before falling back to sixth and crossing the line in 7:11.07.

Cuba’s Angel Fournier Rodriguez won the semi in 6:44.61, followed by Azerbaijan’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov in second. China’s Liang Zhang edged out reigning Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway for the third-place slot.   

Jurkowski will have another opportunity for a top-four finish and Olympic berth at the second World Rowing Cup May 25-27 in Lucerne, Switzerland. Should he not qualify, the men’s single will be included in the 2012 Olympic Trials – Rowing June 11-14 in West Windsor, N.J.

Click here for complete 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup results. For more information and a provisional timetable, visit www.worldrowing.com. During the regatta, race reports, live results and a dedicated photo gallery will be provided by World Rowing. The finals of each World Cup event will be video streamed live on Sunday, May 6 beginning at 4:43 a.m. EST at www.worldrowing.com/video.

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