PLOVDIV, Bulgaria - Former Drake rower Chelsea Smith (Edina, Minn.) helped the United States advance in the lightweight senior quadruple sculls at the 2012 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships in Bulgaria yesterday.

Smith along with Hillary Saeger (Dedham, Mass.), Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif.) and Lindsay Hochman (Seattle, Wash.) qualified for the final on Saturday after they took second in their heat with a time of 6:49.57. They finished behind Italy (6:45.88) and in front of Sweden (6:50.68), Korea (6:57.60) and Japan (7:03.36).

Smith, who rowed for Drake from 2006-10, won a pair of bronze medals this past October at the XVI Pan American Games in Ciudad Guzman, Mexico.