Michigan
Big Ten Heats
Wolverines Win Inaugural Big Ten Rowing Championship
4/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Site: Madison, Wis. (Lake Wingra)
Event: #11 Michigan at Big Ten Conference Championships
U-M Team Finish:Â 1st Place of 6 Teams (41 Points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 13 -- at Central Region Championship (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
MADISON, Wis. -- A wire-to-wire victory by the first varsity eight in the final race of the day led the 11th-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team to the inaugural Big Ten Conference Women's Rowing Championship today (Saturday, April 29) at Lake Wingra. Combined with a second-place finish in the Varsity Four race and a win in the Second Varsity Eight race, Michigan finished the day with 41 points, six better than No. 8 Michigan State.
The Wolverines needed a strong performance in the final race of the day to capture the Big Ten championship, and the first varsity eight boat responded with a victory by nearly three seconds over Michigan State to earn the team 24 points. Two weeks ago, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines in a dual meet by 0.51 seconds, but Michigan came out firing today. After a small lead in the first 500 meters, Michigan used a strong move to take command of the race. The lead grew up to a boat length throughout the race, and the Wolverines held off Michigan State's sprint to win by nearly seven seats.
Going out first in the afternoon's scoring races, the varsity four boat fell behind to third after the first 1,000 meters. After making a move, the boat shifted into second at the 1,250-meter mark. With just 350 meters remaining, Michigan's and Wisconsin's boats were trading the lead. However, the Badgers moved ahead in the sprint to take the win with a time of 7:15.92. Michigan's boat finished second with a time of 7:17.94 to earn the team five points.
Michigan's second varsity eight, which has been strong all season, was tied through the first 400 meters, but made a move to take a three-seat lead by the 500-meter mark. By the 1,250-meter mark, the Wolverines held a boat-length lead over second-place Michigan State. Michigan held on for the win with a time of 6:24.88, over two seconds faster than the Spartans, to earn 12 team points.
Michigan advanced all three point-scoring boats to the grand finals of their respective events in the morning heats. The first varsity eight and second varsity eight won their heats, while the varsity four was second to Wisconsin in its heat.
Following the races, Kate Johnson (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS), Belinda Koo (Grosse Point, Mich./White Station [Tenn.] HS) and Jaime Stilson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) were named to the All-Big Ten first team. Rowers Laurel Donnell-Fink (Lansing, Mich./Okemos HS) and Sophie Roberge (Mallorytown, Ontario/Thousand Island HS) were named the All-Big Ten second team.
The Wolverines return to the water in two weeks at the Central Region Championship on Saturday, May 13, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Following that race, Michigan will await a bid to the NCAA Championship, which will be held on May 26-28 in Camden, N.J.
Final Standings
1. MICHIGAN 41 points 2. Michigan State 35 3. Ohio State 28 4. Wisconsin 25 5. Iowa 21 6. Indiana 12
Final Results
First Varsity Eight (Grande Final)
1. MICHIGAN 6:15.59 2. Michigan State 6:18.27 3. Ohio State 6:23.07 4. Wisconsin 6:25.33
Second Varsity Eight (Grande Final)
1. MICHIGAN 6:24.88 2. Michigan State 6:27.01 3. Ohio State 6:30.43 4. Iowa 6:30.71
First Varsity Four (Grande Final)
1. Wisconsin 7:15.92 2. MICHIGAN 7:17.94 3. Michigan State 7:24.18 4. Iowa 7:24.66
All-Big Ten Conference Honors
FIRST TEAM
Kate Johnson, Michigan
Belinda Koo, Michigan
Jaime Stilson, Michigan
Renee Olin, Michigan State
Liz Shuster, Michigan State
Connie Kirsch, Ohio State
Katie Hammes, Wisconsin
Meghan Martin, Iowa
Beth Lund, Indiana
SECOND TEAM
Laurel Donnell-Fink, Michigan
Sophie Roberge, Michigan
Angela Lound, Michigan State
Nicole DeMott, Michigan State
Megan Hura, Ohio State
Phaedra Giblin, Ohio State
Jyll Rademacher, Wisconsin
Angela Leone, Iowa
Katy Ostertag, Indiana
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On winning the inaugural Big Ten Championship ... "It's a great honor to win the Big Ten Championship. We are very pleased with our performance. We talked about needing to get our best performances in every event to win this thing, and I feel like we did. It's a great thing to build on heading in to the [Central Regional Championship], and hopefully we'll get a bid to the [NCAA Tournament]."
On the first varsity eight ... "I thought in the first varsity eight we got a bigger lead then I expected. For some reason, we just really got out to a great start. After that, we were able to hold on from there."
On the second varsity eight ... "I thought the second varsity eight continued to be a dominant crew. With the exception of a bad race at the San Diego Crew Classic, they have raced extremely well all year and won every race. They are one of the fastest second boats in the country, and I think they showed that today."
On the varsity four ... "The (varsity) four is a boat that has come a long way in a short time. Two weeks ago, they would not have made the final here today. They have worked extremely hard, and Karen Smyte has coached them well. The attitude has been great in that boat, and they came away and took second place in the Big Ten Championship."
On Michigan's position on the national scene ... "We will see all of these boats again except Wisconsin in two weeks (at the Central Regional Championship). One of the keys was that we beat Wisconsin because we don't see them again. We should be ranked ahead of Michigan State and Ohio State, but they get another shot at us. We know we need to improve, and that we need to be ready in two weeks if we are going to get to the [NCAA Championship]."
Players Mentioned
