World Cup 1 - Varese, Italy

Sprigs on the USRowing National Team - Jacob Plihal, Holly Drapp, Caleb Nollenberger, and Grace Joyce - competed at World Cup Varese, June 13-15.

Jacob rowed the men’s 1x, racing 4 times through the weekend. Jacob won his heat and quarterfinal, putting up the top time early in the weekend. Jacob then finished 2nd in the A-Final behind Simon van Dorp from the Netherlands (the 2024 Olympics bronze medalist). It was excellent racing from Jacob, and he’ll be bringing his hardware back to the Outdoor Center at the end of the month!

Holly rowed in the women’s pair, placing 6th in the B-Final with pair partner Kaitlyn Kynast.

Grace and her doubles partner Katy Flynn competed in the women’s double sculls placing 4th behind the Netherlands, China and New Zealand. Grace and Katy will remain in this combination to race an even more competitive field in Lucerne.

Caleb placed 3rd in the C-Final for the men’s 2x with Mike Herman. They’ll continue to train this lineup for some more racing in Lucerne.

The mixed 8+ is a new event on the World Cup circuit. This is a coxed 8+ with 4 women and 4 men. It was raced once before at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Jacob Plihal rowed in that lineup for the first time setting the world record time. This time around, Caleb, Grace and Holly won the event in a tight race with Germany.

Overall the Sprigs had a great showing at the first World Cup! They are currently training in Italy for one more week until they travel to Lucerne, Switzerland for World Cup II, June 27-29. Tune in on the Green Racing Project Instagram for the schedule and results. The team is excited to be pushing forward but also looking forward to being back in Vermont for the start of July.

Lucerne GRP lineup:
Jacob: men’s 4x; men’s 8+
Holly: women’s 4-; women’s 8+
Caleb: men’s 2x, mixed 8+
Grace: women’s 2x; mixed 8+

Varese Results
US Rowing Varese Recap
US Rowing Lucerne Roster