Michigan
NCAA Semis/Repechage
Wolverines Place Two Boats in NCAA Grande Finals
6/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
INDIANAPOLIS -- The University of Michigan women's rowing team landed two of its three boats in the Grande Finals with top-two finishes in the repechage heats of the second varsity eight and first varsity four today (Saturday, June 1) at the NCAA Championships at Eagle Creek Reservoir. The first varsity eight earned a spot in the Petite Final of its event and will earn points along with the other two boats toward the team title.
The first varsity eight struggled in the early stages of its repechage heat and was unable to advance to the Grande Final by securing a spot among the top three in its heat. From the beginning the Wolverines trailed Brown and Princeton but stayed with the pack through 500 meters. The leaders started to pull away, but U-M remained with the pack until the 1,000-meter mark. From the halfway point to the end of the race, Michigan faded off the pace in an attempt to conserve energy for tomorrow's Petite Final. The boat's time of 7:12.11 was sixth.
Michigan, Southern California and Harvard advanced from the repechage heat to tomorrow's Petite Final of the first varsity eight tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. EST/CDT. The trio will join Yale, Virginia and Syracuse for places seven through 12.
Much like in yesterday's heats, the second varsity eight struggled at the start and found itself in fourth place after 250 meters. The boat remained behind Princeton, Yale and California at the 1,000-meter mark but started a move to make up ground. The move helped the Wolverines take over third from California at the 1,250-meter mark and start to battle Princeton for second. U-M had possession of second and was moving on Yale when the boats crossed the 1,500-meter mark. The challenge for first was fierce through the final 500 meters. Michigan took over the lead in the race with 250 meters to go, but Yale took first at the finish line as it was surging at the end of the drive while U-M was just starting the catch. Yale's time of 7:03.23 was only six-hundredths of a second faster than the Wolverines' 7:03.29, producing the closest finish so far at the championships.
From the heat, Yale and Michigan advanced to tomorrow's Grande Final of the second varsity eight at 11:15 a.m. EST/CDT. Michigan State and Virginia advanced to the Grande Final from the other repechage heat and join Washington and Brown, which advanced by winning heats yesterday.
The first varsity four started the day off well with a second-place finish in its repechage heat, earning a spot in tomorrow's Grande Final. Unlike yesterday, the crew started strong and held the lead at the 500-meter mark. Rowing at a rate of 36 strokes per minute, the boat extended its lead to half a boatlength 750 meters into the race. Virginia moved into second, but the Wolverines maintained their lead even after lowering their stroke rating. Michigan remained in first place until the last 20 meters when the Cavaliers' sprint pushed them over the line with a time of 7:37.30, less than one second ahead of U-M's time of 7:38.00.
Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia and Yale advanced from today's repechage heats to tomorrow's Grande Final at 10:15 a.m. EST/CDT. They join Brown and Harvard, which qualified yesterday, for a shot at the national title.
Results (Day 2)
First Varsity Eight (Semifinal 1) 1. Washington* 6:47.72 2. California* 6:52.04 3. Ohio State* 6:52.48 4. Yale 6:54.17 5. Virginia 7:02.27 6. Syracuse 7:06.91 First Varsity Eight (Semifinal 2) 1. Brown* 6:53.65 2. Princeton* 6:54.00 3. Stanford* 6:57.03 4. Southern Cal 6:59.07 5. Harvard 7:03.76 6. MICHIGAN 7:12.11 * Advance to First Varsity Eight Grande Final First Varsity Eight (Third Final) 1. Washington State 7:01.05 13th -- 2. Cornell 7:02.01 14th -- 3. Michigan State 7:03.66 15th 3 pts. 4. Notre Dame 7:04.27 16th -- Second Varsity Eight (Repechage 1) 1. Michigan State^ 6:56.90 2. Virginia^ 6:57.48 3. Ohio State 7:01.67 4. Harvard 7:03.97 5. Stanford 7:12.34 Second Varsity Eight (Repechage 2) 1. Yale^ 7:03.23 2. MICHIGAN^ 7:03.29 3. Princeton 7:06.70 4. California 7:09.75 5. Syracuse 7:16.78 ^ Advance to Second Varsity Eight Grande Final Varsity Four (Repechage 1) 1. Virginia# 7:37.30 2. MICHIGAN# 7:38.00 3. California 7:43.11 4. Ohio State 7:46.60 5. Syracuse 7:51.73 Varsity Four (Repechage 2) 1. Michigan State# 7:44.52 2. Yale# 7:46.85 3. Washington 7:51.31 4. Princeton 7:52.04 5. Stanford 7:55.18 # Advance to Varsity Four Grande Final
Michigan Lineups
First Varsity Eight
Helen Dalis (c), Kate Maxim, Tami McBratney, Leah Ketcheson, Christina Meyer, Erin Kopicki, Sophie Roberge, Katie Reynolds, Crystal Culp
Second Varsity Eight
Tara Medina (c), Brett Sickler, Heather Mandoli, Elizabeth Nelson, Elizabeth Kreger, Jenny Bryant, Cristin McCarty, Laura Drongowski, Julie Brescoll
Varsity Four
Corinn Cunningham (c), Angela Bierhuizen, Emily Goodwin, Christina Ceo, Emke Bury
Sunday's Finals
First Varsity Eight (Grande Final): Brown, California, Ohio State, Princeton, Stanford, Washington
First Varsity Eight (Petite Final): Harvard, MICHIGAN, Southern California, Syracuse, Virginia, Yale
Second Varsity Eight (Grande Final): Brown, MICHIGAN, Michigan State, Virginia, Washington, Yale
Second Varsity Eight (Petite Final): California, Harvard, Ohio State, Princeton, Stanford, Syracuse
Varsity Four (Grande Final): Brown, Harvard, MICHIGAN, Michigan State, Virginia, Yale
Varsity Four (Petite Final): California, Ohio State, Princeton, Stanford, Syracuse, Washington
N O T E S
Today's races were delayed by one hour, 30 minutes due to lightning and storms in the area.
Q U O T E S
Freshman Leah Ketcheson (IV8, Seat 6)
On the first varsity eight race ... "Last night in our boat meeting, (head coach) Mark (Rothstein) said we would need to have our best race to advance. That just didn't happen. After the race we regrouped and focused on tomorrow. We are really excited to go out and have that race Mark talked about. We are really ready to put the pieces of the puzzle together."
Senior Co-Captain Elizabeth Nelson (IIV8, Seat 6)
On the second varsity eight race ... "We had a good start. It was solid and confident. For the first 800 meters, we were just rowing along. Then (coxswain) Tara (Medina) called a lift, and we increased our stroke rating by two (strokes per minute). From that point on, we really felt confident as we walked through everyone. It was pretty amazing."
On Sunday's Grande Final ... "Today was a really important steppingstone for tomorrow. We are really pumped and ready to go. We don't think there are any crews in the race that are unbeatable based on results and times this year. Everyone felt good today, but we feel we'll have even more tomorrow with all of the excitement of the race."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
