Weekly Release #7
5/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Thu-Sat., May 24-26 -- at NCAA Championships (Gainesville, Ga.)
Michigan This Week
The second-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team takes a season-long undefeated streak to the NCAA Championships in search of its first national title and the first by a women's team at U-M. This is the fourth trip to the national championships in the five-year history of the program and the second consecutive automatic bid as the top team in the Central Region. The NCAA Championships are slated for May 24-26 on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga.
The Format
The championship is comprised of 10 teams of three boats each (first varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four). In addition, there are nine first varsity eight boats from institutions not represented in the team competition. At least four of these must be from Division II or III schools.
The Schedule
Michigan will be practicing in Gainesville, Ga., beginning Saturday (May 19). The NCAA course is available for practice on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 22-23). The championship begins Thursday (May 24) at 8 a.m. and concludes with the awards ceremony at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Saturday (May 26).
The Forecast
The forecast calls for a sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s for the each day of the competition.
The Streak
The Wolverines' three boats have finished first in every race in which they have participated this season, a combined 27 races in five regattas. Michigan is the only team at the national championships to have each of its three boats go without a loss so far this season.
Where We've Been
For each of the last three seasons, Michigan has finished fifth at the NCAA Championships. The best finish by an individual boat was a third-place effort by the second varsity eight at the 1999 national championships at Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Last season, the first varsity eight and second varsity eight each qualified for the Grande Final of their events and finished fifth and fourth, respectively.
Where We're Headed
Michigan enters the national championships with a chance at becoming the first women's team at the University of Michigan to capture an NCAA championship. The Wolverines have won 50 national championships in men's sports, the last won by the men's gymnastics team in 1999. The school has been on the awards stand for 247 individual NCAA titles, 16 of which have been won by women. Should any of Michigan's three boats win its race, the title would count as an individual title, just as it does for swimming and track relay teams.
Conference Honors
For the second consecutive season, senior co-captain Kate Johnson (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS) and head coach Mark Rothstein have been honored as the Big Ten Conference women's rowing Athlete and Coach of the Year, respectively. Both awards were selected by a vote of the conferences' head coaches.
For their efforts at the Big Ten Conference Championships, five rowers were named to the All-Big Ten team. Seniors Laurel Donnell-Fink (Lansing, Mich./Okemos HS), Bernadette Marten (Fortville, Ind./Cathedral HS) and Alison Hickey (Scituate, Mass./Noble and Greenough) were named to the first team, while juniors Jenny Bryant (Wainfleet, Ontario/Lakeshore Catholic) and Tami McBratney (Brockville, Ontario/Brockville Collegiate) were named to the second team.
Academic Honors
In addition to being the No. 2 team in the nation, the Wolverines are hard at work in the classroom. Overall, 41 of 60 Michigan rowers received the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award, including 17 of the 23 athletes in the three NCAA boats (first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four).
In the Polls
Michigan remained in the No. 2 spot, the highest ranking in the program's history, and garnered two first-place votes in the latest USRowing/CRCA poll (May 16). Brown, the defending national champion, continues to hold the No. 1 spot and received 15 of 19 first-place votes this week.
Head Coach Mark Rothstein
Head coach Mark Rothstein is in his fifth year as the head of the Michigan rowing team. Rothstein led the transition from club team to varsity in 1996 and has been the only head coach in the program's history. He has lead the program to three consecutive fifth-place finishes at the NCAA Rowing Championship. In the summer of 1999, he was chosen to coach the U.S. Under-23 team at the Nations Cup in Hamburg, Germany. After guiding the team to the inaugural Big Ten championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship last spring, Rothstein was selected as the Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year and the Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
Schedule of Events Friday, May 25 Saturday, May 26
Thursday, May 24
8-10 a.m. - Heats for all boats
4-4:20 p.m. - First varsity eight repechage heats
10 a.m. - Varsity four repechage heat
10:20 a.m. - Second varsity eight repechage heat
10:40 a.m. - First varsity eight (places 13-19)
11-11:20 a.m. - First varsity Eight semifinals
10 a.m. - Varsity four Petite Final (places 7-10)
10:20 a.m. - Varsity four Grande Final (places 1-6)
10:40 a.m. - Second varsity eight Petite Final
11 a.m. - Second varsity eight Grande Final
11:20 a.m. - First varsity eight Petite Final
11:40 a.m. - First varsity eight Grande Final
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
