PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Wisconsin had a healthy seven alumni and one former coach racing at the 2022 World Rowing Championships that wrapped up on Sunday.

Leading the way and finishing up her double duty at the world championships, 2020 Olympian Maddie Wanamaker rowed with the women's eight to fourth place on Sunday after capturing a bronze medal on Saturday in the women's pair.

In the pair, Wanamaker and her boatmate Claire Collins, both of whom doubled up in the pair and the eight, captured bronze, giving Team USA its first medal in the event since 2017.

The Americans got out with the lead group and sat third early, but then passed early leader Great Britain into second, while Olympic-champion New Zealand took over first. The Netherlands crawled past the Americans over the final quarter of the race and USA held off Romania for the bronze medal.

"We got off the line pretty well," Wanamaker said to USRowing. "We had GB pushing out to a fast start, and we just pushed off them the whole time. (We) took a move around the 1,000, which was our plan, and I think we had our best sprint of the regatta and came away with a medal, which is incredible.

"It was great to just make this final to begin with and to come away with a medal is just icing on the cake. To be up here with Olympic medalists is great."

The American eight finished behind world champion Romania, with The Netherlands taking second and Canada winning bronze. Romania finished in 6:01.14, with Canada third in 6:07.51 and USA in 6:09.80.

The men's eight, which included Badgers Michael Knippen and coxswain James Catalano, took fourth place in Sunday's final. Great Britain won the gold, with the Netherlands second and Australia winning the bronze. Australia's time of 5:27.72 edged out the Americans, who clocked 5:29.20 over 2000 meters.

Sophia Vitas, racing in the women's double sculls, ended up fifth with Romania, The Netherlands and Ireland winning the medals. The Americans finished just over eight seconds off medal pace.

Former Badger openweight rower, two-time Olympic alternate, USRowing Female Athlete of the Year and current UW women's lightweight assistant Vicky Opitz rowed with the women's four to sixth place in the B final and 12th place in the world.

Racing in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls, Grace D'Souza and her crew placed second behind Italy in the two-boat final.

Grace Joyce, who raced for both the lightweight and openweight crews at Wisconsin, helped her women's quadruple sculls crew to third place in the B Final. Lithuania and Italy got to the finish line ahead of Joyce and the Americans.  

Finally, former UW lightweight women's assistant Todd Vogt rowed in the PR3 mixed double sculls and took fifth in the final.