New Zealand rowing crews have won four gold medals at the second World Cup event for 2015 at Varese, in Italy.
Zoe Stevenson and Eve Macfarlane. World Rowing Cup II 2015 Varese, Italy. Photo: Photosport
The women's lightweight single, men's lightweight four, women's double and men's single scull all won gold, while the women's lightweight double took out a silver and the women's pair collected bronze.
The six-medal haul came from 10 crews who made 'A' finals, and New Zealand finished second on the medal tally behind Great Britain, who won five golds, a silver and four bronze.
New Zealand entered 15 boat classes, and 42 countries were represented.
Women's lightweight single sculler Zoe McBride was favoured to take out the international non-Olympic event, after smashing the 1994 world best time record in the semi-finals and she duly charged through the final quarter to win in 7:31.15.
Curtis Rapley, James Lassche, Alistair Bond and James Hunter were patient in their final, ousting the French men's lightweight four at the halfway marker to win.
The tightly contested women's double scull was won in an upset by the New Zealand pairing of Zoe Stevenson and Eve MacFarlane in a photo finish from the USA.
Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale bided his time in the men's single scull to overhaul the fast-starting Belarussian Stanislau Shcharbachenia, who ended with bronze as Angel Rodriguez Fournier from Cuba lifted his boat speed to claim silver from Shcharbachenia.
The British European champions Katherine Copeland and Charlotte Taylor snatched the lightweight women's double sculls gold from New Zealand's Julia Edward and Sophie MacKenzie, with the bronze going to Germany.
The women's pair 2014 under-23 world champions Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast finished with the bronze behind the winners and current senior world and Olympic champion combination of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning from Great Britain.
The full New Zealand rowing squad will now focus their attention on preparing for the third and final world cup of 2015 to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland from the 10th to the 12th of July.
