Michigan
NCAA Finals
Wolverines Take Fifth at NCAA Rowing Championships
5/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Event: #7 Michigan at NCAA Championships (Day 3)
U-M Team Finish: 5th Place (34 Points)
U-M Results: First Varsity Eight -- 5th in Grand Final (5th overall)
Second Varsity Eight -- 4th in Grand Final (4th overall)
Varsity Four -- 3rd in Petite Final (9th overall)
Next U-M Event: Season completed
CAMDEN COUNTY, N.J. -- The University of Michigan women's rowing team finished fifth in the nation for the third consecutive year at the NCAA National Championships. Rowing on the Cooper River, the Wolverines' first varsity eight placed fifth, second varsity eight finished fourth and varsity four placed ninth on Sunday (May 28) to give Michigan 34 team points, just four points behind fourth-place California.
Brown University won the team title for the second consecutive year, earning 59 of 60 possible points. The Bears won the First Varsity Eight and the Second Varsity Eight and finished second in the Varsity Four.
In the First Varsity Eight race, Michigan jumped out to an early lead with Washington in the first 100 meters, but Brown soon joined the group. By the 400-meter mark, Brown had taken a one-seat lead on Washington and U-M. With all six boats in the final still in contact with each other, the places were changing with each catch and release.
At the 1,000-meter mark, the field had spread out slightly with Brown and Cal out in front and Michigan in sixth. After charging back, Michigan regained fifth place over Princeton but was still a boat length down on the four other crews in the race. As the Wolverines passed the 1,750-meter mark, there were a couple of seats of open water between them and the first four boats. At the finish line, Brown crossed first to take both the First Varsity Eight and team championships. Michigan's time of 6:49.29 was good for fifth and earned 18 team points.
For the first 1,000 meters, the Second Varsity Eight race was one of the closest races of the day. Michigan joined Brown, Virginia and Washington in a strong pack of four. From that point, Brown pulled out to a large open-water lead. The Wolverines remained in a battle for second with Virginia through the third 500 meters. At that point, the Huskies made a huge move to take second and put the Cavaliers and U-M in a battle for third. Michigan was unable to overcome the sprints of Washington and Virginia in the final 500 meters and finished fourth overall with a time of 7:02.60, earning the team 14 points.
In the Varsity Four petite final, the Wolverines started out strong to lead the pack at the 750-meter mark, but Harvard moved ahead to take a lead at the halfway point. Michigan and Ohio State battled for second the remainder of the race, with the Buckeyes outlasting the Wolverines at the finish line. Finishing ninth overall with a time of 8:14.50, the varsity four boat earned the team two points in the team standings.
Final Team Standings
1. Brown 59 2. Virginia 55 3. Washington 48 4. California 38 5. MICHIGAN 34 6. Princeton 32 7. Boston University 22 8. Michigan State 18 9. Ohio State* 13 10. Harvard 13 * Ohio State places ninth because of higher finish in the First Varsity Eight race, the official tiebreaker
Sunday Results
First Varsity Eight
Grand Final (places 1-6) 1. Brown 6:37.20 1st 30 points 2. Washington 6:41.10 2nd 27 3. Virginia 6:42.79 3rd 24 4. California 6:46.50 4th 21 5. MICHIGAN 6:49.29 5th 18 6. Princeton 6:50.20 6th 15
U-M Lineup: Kate Johnson, Angela Bierhuizen, Melanie Duncan, Jaime Stilson, Jen Kinon, Sophie Roberge, Laurel Donnell-Fink, Alison Hickey, Belinda Koo (c)
Petite Final (places 7-12) 1. Boston University 6:49.11 7th 12 2. Michigan State 6:52.20 8th 9 3. Syracuse 6:54.90 9th - 4. Northeastern 6:57.70 10th - 5. Ohio State 6:58.10 11th 6 6. Harvard 6:58.60 12th 3
Second Varsity Eight
Grand Final (places 1-6) 1. Brown 6:48.39 1st 20 2. Washington 6:58.79 2nd 18 3. Virginia 7:00.89 3rd 16 4. MICHIGAN 7:02.60 4th 14 5. Princeton 7:06.00 5th 12 6. California 7:07.70 6th 10
U-M Lineup: Sera Coppolino, Liz Glenn, Liz Nelson, Christine Meyer, Jenny Bryant, Julie Brescoll, Kate Maxim, Tamara McBratney, Helen Dalis (c)
Petite Final (places 7-10) 1. Michigan State 7:07.70 7th 8 2. Harvard 7:12.79 8th 6 3. Ohio State 7:16.70 9th 4 4. Boston University 7:17.79 10th 2
Varsity Four
Grande Final (places 1-6) 1. Washington 7:49.00 1st 10 2. Brown 7:53.10 2nd 9 3. Virginia 7:55.10 3rd 8 4. California 7:57.39 4th 7 5. Boston University 8:02.50 5th 6 6. Princeton 8:17.60 6th 5 Petite Final (places 7-10) 1. Harvard 8:05.50 7th 4 2. Ohio State 8:12.50 8th 3 3. MICHIGAN 8:14.50 9th 2 4. Michigan State 8:18.70 10th 1U-M Lineup: Rachel Brunelle, Brooke Schulz, Justin Goble, Petra Juzwishin, Carissa Bragg (c)
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On finishing fifth at the championships for the third time ... "I think we certainly had higher expectations. I thought we performed well, but not well enough to finish among the top four, which was one of our goals. It's not a step back, though. Now we just need to find a way to step it up and do better next year."
On the weekend ... "I think it's getting tougher to even make it here, but we still have to rise to the occasion. We did a good job of carrying ourselves into two grand finals. I think we raced well, but we just didn't have what it takes to beat some of those other crews."
On the end of this season and the start of the next ... "We have all but three back from this squad. We should have more depth and more experience. I think that this year's championships have shown that you really need to have all three boats in a position to row well in the grand finals. That's next year, though. Right now, we need to take some time to appreciate what we accomplished this season before moving on."
U-M Senior Belinda Koo (IV8 Coxswain)
On the race ... "I think we did all we could with that race. It just wasn't enough. We followed our game plan and took a risk, but it didn't quite work out how we wanted it to."
On speed of the final ... "It was definitely faster than the heats. It definitely felt like this was the fastest boats in the country."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
