World Dream Team Edges out Team USA in final race to Win Lenny Peters Cup
High Point, North Carolina - The World Dream Team of Olympic rowers edged out Team USA by just one foot in the final deciding boat race to win the Lenny Peters Cup on Saturday.
It was a dramatic conclusion to a remarkable day of racing that saw Team USA take a sizeable lead on points early in the day only to have the World Team begin a massive comeback to win in the final strokes of the last race.
Team USA got off to a commanding start winning 6 of 8 races in the singles sculls match races in Round One. Each win earned the team 1 point leading to a 6-2 margin over the world team after Round One.
In Round Two the teams moved to men's and women's quad sculls races with 4 points going to the winning crew. Team USA's Isa Darvin, Maggie Fellows, Grace Joyce, and Azja Czajkowski won the women's quads race extending the USA lead to a massive 10 - 2.
But then the World Team won the men's quads race tightening the margin to Team USA 10 - World 6.
"You could feel the momentum suddenly shifting in the World team's favor," said race director Gene Kininmonth. The foreigners won the men's quad and the final two races of Round 3 would be a power dash favoring the crews with the stronger males."
In Round 3 the teams raced in mixed quads (2 women & 2 men in each boat) over a distance of 250 meters. Team USA would need to win just one of the two races to have enough points to win the Lenny Peters Cup.
The World team won the first race to now tie the teams at 10 - 10.
Suddenly it all came down to the final Dash. The crews lined up and Team USA got off to an incredibly fast start taking almost a boat length lead. But then the World team led by Simon van Dorp fought back with an incredible final sprint to just pass Team USA on the line.
It was a remarkable end to a much anticipated match up between Team USA and the World Olympic medalists.
ROUND ONE RESULTS (USA 6 - World 2)
Isa Darvin (USA) Beat Tabea Shendekhl (Germany)
Cedar Cunningham (USA) Beat Ollie Maclean (New Zealand)
Maggie Fellows (USA) Beat Caileigh Filmer (Canada)
Grace Joyce (USA) Beat Ria Thompson (Australia)
Jacob Plihal (USA) Beat James Rudkin (Great Britain)
Magdalena Lobnig (Austria) Beat Azja Czajkowski (USA)
Sam Melvin (USA) Beat Tonu Endrekson (Estonia)
Simon van Dorp (Netherlands) Beat Chris Carlson (USA)
ROUND TWO (USA 10 - World 6)
The Elise Peters Cup for Women's Quadruple Sculls
USA Beat World
Men's Quadruple Sculls
World Beat USA
ROUND THREE (FINAL WORLD 14 - USA 10)
Mixed Quadruple Sculls Race 1
World Beats USA
Mixed Quadruple Sculls Race 2
World Beats USA
14 eights line up for the mixed eights youth Dash at the end of the day of racing for the Lenny Peters Cup & Bethany Medical North Carolina Rowing Championships