Michigan
Big Ten Heats
Wolverines Finish Second at Big Ten Championships
5/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The third-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team captured second place at the Big Ten Conference Championships today (Saturday, May 4) on Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park. The outcome was decided in the final race of the day when U-M finished second to Ohio State in the first varsity eight Grande Final after a second-place finish by the second varsity eight set up a winner-take-all showdown between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes. The Wolverines finished the day with 124 points, just behind OSU (138 points) and ahead of third-place Michigan State (109).
The first varsity eight Grande Final was one of the most exciting and competitive races of the championships. Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State each had a chance at the team title depending on the result of the race. The event was close throughout, with Ohio State taking an early lead on U-M and MSU. The Buckeyes had a two-seat advantage on the Spartans at the 1,000-meter mark, but Michigan was just four seats behind Michigan State.
The Wolverines made a strong move at the 1,250-meter mark and walked through the Spartans to take over second place. The Wolverines and Spartans battled for second and both caught up with OSU with 500 meters to go. The race stayed tight through the next 400 meters until Ohio State jumped out ahead in the final sprint. Michigan's sprint kept it close, but the boat finished in 6:31.2, just three seats behind Ohio State (6:29.5). Michigan State was third with a time of 6:32.0, just eight-tenths of a second behind the Wolverines.
The second-place finish of the first varsity eight placed four U-M rowers on the All-Big Ten team, which is determined by the first varsity eight standings. Tamara McBratney (Brockville, Ontario/Brockville Collegiate) and Christina Meyer (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) were both named to the All-Big Ten first team, while Sophie Roberge (Mallorytown, Ontario/Thousand Islands) and Heather Mandoli (Kelowna, British Columbia/KLO Secondary School) were named to the All-Big Ten second team.
Michigan's second varsity eight fell to Ohio State for the second time this season in the Grande Final of the event. The Wolverines, who lost to the Buckeyes by less than a second at the Buckeye Invitational (April 13), spent most of the race chasing OSU. U-M was able to get back a few seats as the race progressed, but Ohio State was strong in the sprint and maintained its lead for a six-seat victory (6:34.7). U-M turned in a time of 6:37.0.
The Wolverines also posted a third-place finish in the first varsity four Grande Final. Ohio State won the Petite Final, earning nine points, but U-M was able to close the gap on the Buckeyes in the team standings with the 15 points it earned in the race. Michigan's boat crossed the finish line in 7:37.4, finishing open water behind Michigan State and Wisconsin, which finished first and second, respectively.
Also adding to Michigan's total points were the second varsity four, first novice eight and second novice eight. The four finished third in its five-boat final and contributed five points to the team total. The two novice boats combined to score 14 points. The first novice eight scored 12 points for finishing second, and the second novice eight scored two points for its sixth-place finish.
Michigan's top three varsity boats all advanced to the afternoon's Grande Finals by winning their respective race in the morning heats. The first varsity four and the second varsity eight each won their races by open water, while the first varsity eight captured its heat by about four seats but did not sprint at the end of the heat.
Michigan takes a week off before it looks to solidify a bid to the national championships at the Central Region Championships -- also known as the Lexus Sprints -- on May 18-19 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The University of Tennessee is the host of the regatta which takes place on Lake Melton.
Final Team Standings
1. Ohio State 138 2. MICHIGAN 124 3. Michigan State 109 4. Wisconsin 80 5. Minnesota 78 6. Iowa 60 7. Indiana 23
RESULTS
Morning Heats
| Afternoon Finals
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All-Conference Teams
| FIRST TEAM Line Espedal, Indiana Melissa Schink, Iowa Tamara McBratney, Michigan Christina Meyer, Michigan Krista Buzzell, Michigan State Melissa Roche, Minnesota Conny Kirsch, Ohio State Kaja Fiserova, Ohio State Tanya Grigorieva, Ohio State Marianna Waters, Wisconsin | SECOND TEAM Amy Roble, Indiana Sarah Zulewski, Iowa Sophie Roberge, Michigan Heather Mandoli, Michigan Rachel Miller, Michigan State Kate Gay, Michigan State Erin Streff, Minnesota Franziska Schubert, Ohio State Maxi Meissner, Ohio State Bridgid Myers, Wisconsin |
Michigan Lineups
First Varsity Eight -- Helen Dalis (c), Leah Ketcheson, Tamara McBratney, Kate Maxim, Heather Mandoli, Erin Kopicki, Sophie Roberge, Katie Reynolds, Christina Meyer.
Second Varsity Eight -- Tara Medina (c), Brett Sickler, Julie Brescoll, Elizabeth Nelson, Elizabeth Kreger, Jenny Bryant, Cristin McCarty, Laura Drongowski, Crystal Culp.
First Varsity Four -- Corinn Cunningham (c), Angela Bierhuizen, Emily Goodwin, Christina Ceo, Emoke Bury.
Second Varsity Four -- Mary-Catherine Steer (c), Kristin Rosella, Stephanie Shapiro, Pamela Woll, Amy Coughlin.
N O T E S
Michigan won the first two conference titles in the three-year history of the Big Ten women's rowing. The Wolverines won six of nine possible boat titles in those two years. Wisconsin won the other three.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On the regatta ... "We raced well today, but we have a couple of weeks to figure out how to get faster. Ohio State did a great job today, and they deserved to win. My hat's off to them."
On the first varsity eight Grande Final ... "It was a great race. Michigan's boat rowed well, but they were just beaten by a better crew today."
On the Big Ten Conference ... "The Big Ten is a very fast conference, and there will probably be several teams from the conference at the NCAA Championships. We are racing against some of the fastest crews in the country, and that is a very good thing for us in the long run."
Senior Co-Captain Christina Meyer
On the championships ... "Everyone had good races today. The results were disappointing, but we see most of the same crews in two weeks (Central Region Championships) and probably again in four weeks (NCAA Championships)."
On the first varsity eight Grande Final ... "It was a great race. We had our best start of the year. We normally start out a little behind, but we weren't as far behind as usual. We were rowing a little bit higher than normal, but everything was very smooth since we had cleaned up some things from earlier (in the season). It was just a fight the whole way. It was very exciting. Ohio State would move up, then we would come back and then we would do the same thing again. Neither boat let up; they just finished before us."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
