Bentley, Schoonbee Qualify for W2- Finals at World U23 Championships
7/26/2019 2:09:00 PM | Rowing
SARASOTA-BRADENTON, Fla. -- Rising senior Tayla-May Bentley and rising sophomore Jessica Schoonbee continued their excellent week at the World U23 Championships on Friday (July 26). Racing in the women's pair (W2-) event, the duo timed 7:05.190 to win their B semifinal race to advance to Saturday's A final for their native South Africa.
Competing at Nathan Benderson Park, Bentley and Schoonbee raced in lane four against France, Russia, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Italy. With a small tailwind, times were fast all day. The top three boats automatically advanced to the final, with Greece, New Zealand, and the United States qualifying during the A final.
The South African pair led early in a controlled race, going up about a boat length on the field over the first 500 meters. Great Britain, Russia and the Netherlands bunched tightly to give chase, but Bentley and Schoonbee kept a consistent gap on the field to remain in first.
Past the halfway point near 1,250 meters, Russia began its push while the Brits and Dutch positioned themselves for a sprint. Bentley and Schoonbee had a lead of more than three seconds at 1,500 meters and the chase pack of three put its final moves into action.
The strong start and steady stroke rate from Bentley and Schoonbee put their boat in a great position over the latter half of the race. Instead of being positioned among the three boats competing for two spots, theyled the pack and cruised across the line in first place. It was too little, too late, for the Brits in a photo finish as they missed the third qualifying spot by two-hundredths of a second. Russia took second and the Dutch came in third.
Bentley and Schoonbee are being coached by U-M assistant coach Liz Tuppen. They have been training in Ann Arbor since the conclusion of the NCAA season, when both rowed in the first varsity eight to help U-M place third at the national regatta.
Now, the Johannesburg, South Africa, natives will have a chance to medal together in international competition. They'll compete for gold Saturday (July 27) at 11:15 a.m.
Wolverine Jeri Rhodes will compete for the United States in the 8+ event final on Sunday (July 28). With only five entries, the boats competed in a test race this morning to determine lanes for the final. Rhodes and the U.S. boat placed fourth in 6:11.330.
All races are streamed on ESPN3, available through the ESPN App.
Results
A Semifinal (top three advance)
1. Greece -- 6:58.680
2. USA -- 7:06.820
3. New Zealand -- 7:08.300
4. Australia -- 7:14.820
5. Japan -- 7:18.730
6. Germany -- 7:32.010
B Semifinal (top 3 advance to final)
1. South Africa -- 7:05.190
2. Russia -- 7:07.180
3. Netherlands -- 7:07.420
4. Great Britain -- 7:07.440
5. Italy -- 7:16.020
6. France -- 7:23.290
