Iseppi Earns A Final Berth; Kalmoe Through To A/B Semis

NOTE: Due to weather forecasts, the schedule for the Olympic regatta underwent significant changes after this story was originally posted. See schedule at bottom for the latest.
 
Four Washington Rowing alumni returned to the Olympics race course for the second time on Saturday, with one of them becoming the sixth former UW rower to book a place in an A final.
 
Italian Valentina Iseppi '20 advanced to the A final in the women's quad sculls with a second-place finish in her repechage. Additionally, American Megan Kalmoe '06 remained in the medal hunt by advancing to an A/B semifinal in the pair.
 
Here's a recap of the day's races involving UW rowers, chronologically:
 
Kalmoe '06, competing in her four Olympic Games, needed to finish in the top three of her four-boat women's pair repechage to continue on to the A/B semifinals. At 500 meters, she and her boatmate, Tracy Eisser were fourth, slightly behind the Chinese crew.
 
However, by 1,000 meters, the U.S. pair had moved comfortably into third place and in the third 500, Kalmoe and Eisser had chased down Ireland to take second. That's where they finished – enough to move through to the second of the two A/B semifinals, Monday at 7:08 p.m. PT. In that race, they'll need to finish in the top three to gain entry into the A final, where the medals will be determined.
 
An hour later, Iseppi '20 and her Italian women's quad raced in a six-boat repechage, needing to finish first or second to remain in the medal hunt. 
 
Iseppi's Italian shell jumped out to the very early lead, helped in part when the British caught a crab in the first few strokes, though they recovered quickly. At 500 meters, the Italians had dropped to fourth, but the six-boat field was tightly packed. At 1,000 meters, the Italians were third, behind Australia and Great Britain.
 
Immediately after 1,000 meters, Iseppi's crew made a move and rowed through the Aussies and Brits into first, gaining a one-seat lead over Australia and a full length over Great Britain at 1,500 meters. 
 
The Aussies fought back and managed to catch the Italians for the win, but Italy's second-place finish was enough to earn a spot in the A final, Monday at 6:10 p.m.
 
In the first of two A/B semifinals in the women's double sculls, Italian Chiara Ondoli '18 was in search of a top-three finish to advance to the medal final. She and her boatmate crossed the 500-meter mark in second place, but the field was very tightly packed.
 
At 1,000 meters, Ondoli's shell had fallen into fourth place, behind Romania, New Zealand and Lithuania, and that order remained the same the rest of the way. Ondoli's double finished in fourth place, moving it through to the B final Tuesday.
 
In the final event of day three, Will Crothers '09 and his Canadian four raced in a repechage, needing a top-two finish in the six-boat race to make the A final.
 
Crothers' four passed the 500-meter and 1,000-meter marks in fourth, but well within contention in both cases. By 1,500 meters, the Canadians had passed Poland for third and were gaining. 
 
The final 500 was a battle, with Romania trying to hold on to first and the Dutch four trying to hold off both Poland and Canada for a place in the A final. In the end, the Romanians and the Dutch managed to cross the line in first and second, respectively, while Poland's move left the Canadians in fourthl.
 
Next for Crothers and his teammates is the B final, Tuesday at 5:06 p.m.
 
Sunday (Monday in Tokyo) is an off day for the entire Olympic regatta, but the action resumes on Monday. The biggest race for Huskies that day is when Iseppi rows for a medal in the women's quad A final, with both Kalmoe and Canadian Conlin McCabe '12 vie for a spot in their pairs A finals.
 
Here is the full list of Washington rowers at the 2020 Olympics, including the day and time of their next race:
 
Washington Rowing Alumni in the 2020 Olympics & Paralympics
(schedule subject to change)
 
Women's Pair – W2-
Megan Kalmoe '06, USA
Next: A/B semifinal Tue., July 27, 8:30 p.m. PT
 
Men's Pair – M2-
Conlin McCabe '12, Canada
Next: A/B semifinal Tue., July 27, 8:30 p.m. PT
 
Women's Double – W2x
Chiara Ondoli '18, Italy
Next: B final Tue., July 27, 4:10 p.m. PT
 
Women's Quad – W4x
Valentina Iseppi '20, Italy
Next: A final Tue., July 27, 6:50 p.m. PT
 
Men's Four – M4-
Will Crothers '09, Canada
Next: B final Tue., July 27, 4:40 p.m. PT
 
Women's Eight – W8+
Fiona Gammond '15, Great Britain
Katelin Guregian '09, USA
Brooke Mooney '18, USA
Jessica Thoennes '18, USA
Next for GB: repechage Tue., July 27, 8:40 p.m. PT
Next for USA: A final Thu., July 29, 6:05 p.m. PT
 
Men's Eight – M8+
Jacob Dawson '16, Great Britain
Ben Davison '17, USA
Stuart Sim '16, Australia
Bram Schwarz '20, Netherlands
Simon van Dorp '20, Netherlands
Next for USA, GB & AUS: repechage Tue., July 27, 8:50 p.m. PT
Next for NED: A final Thu., July 29, 6:25 p.m. PT
 
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four – PR3Mix4+
Danielle Hansen '17, USA
First race: heats on Fri., Aug. 27
 
Spares
Michiel Mantel '19, Netherlands
Kirstyn Goodger '14, New Zealand
Phoebe Spoors '17, New Zealand
 
Coach
Yasmin Farooq, U.S. women's team support coach