Michigan
NCAA Finals
Varsity Eight and Four Lead Rowing to Fourth at NCAAs
6/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Event: NCAA Championships
U-M Team Finish: 4th Place of 12 Teams (51 Points)
U-M Results: First Varsity Eight -- 2nd Place in Grand Final
Second Varsity Eight -- 3rd Place in Petite Final (9th Overall)
First Varsity Four -- 3rd Place in Grand Final
Next U-M Event: Season completed
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team saw its first varsity eight garner its highest finish ever with a second-place effort in its Grand Final on Sunday (June 1) at the NCAA Championships at Eagle Creek Reservoir. As a team the Wolverines posted their second highest national finish ever, taking fourth place out of 12 teams with 51 points as the second varsity eight finished in ninth place and the first varsity four placed third.
No. 2-ranked Harvard pulled off double national titles by winning the first varsity eight and the team championships and became the first crew besides Brown and Washington to win either national title in the seven years that the NCAA has sponsored women's rowing.
The first varsity eight Grand Final was intensely close, with less than one boat length separating the first boat (No. 3 Washington) from the last boat (No. 1 Stanford) at the 500-meter point. Michigan stood in fourth place after the first quarter of the race. At the midpoint, Michigan still remained in fourth, seven seats back of first-place Harvard. The Wolverines walked through Stanford and No. 5 Virginia by the 1,500-meter mark to trail Harvard by nine seats. At the finish line, U-M crossed in 6:28.58 to earn second place and 33 points while the Crimson won in 6:26.92 to clinch the team national championship.
With a third-place finish in the Petite Final by the second varsity eight, Michigan picked up eight points. The Maize and Blue trailed leader Michigan State by three quarters of a boat at the 500-meter mark to sit in fourth place. U-M was still in fourth at 1,000 meters but was within five seats of second place. Heading into the last quarter of the race only three seats separated second-place Yale, third-place MSU and fourth-place Michigan. In the sprint, Michigan finally caught the Spartans to beat them by one seat with a time of 6:40.32. Yale edged U-M for second place by a bow ball in 6:40.05. Virginia took first place in 6:38.28.
The Wolverines' first varsity four earned the first 10 points of the morning for U-M by finishing in third place behind Brown and California. Brown and Cal, which had advanced directly to the Grand Final by winning their heats on Friday, quickly pulled away in the opening 500 meters with the Wolverines just ahead of Ohio State for third. In the second part of the race the teams broke apart with Cal and Brown maintaining nearly a boat-length lead over Michigan and the rest of the field trailing the Maize and Blue by almost nine seats. Little changed in the final 1,000 meters other than Brown taking first place ahead of Brown. The Wolverines took third place in a time of 7:24.83, over a five-second cushion in front of Ohio State.
Final Team Standings
1. Harvard 59 2. Brown 57 3. Washington 55 4. MICHIGAN 51 5. California 43 6. Virginia 41 7. Princeton* 38 8. Ohio State 38 9. Stanford 33 10. Yale 27 11. Michigan State 16 12. Washington State 10 * won tiebreaker based on first varsity eight finish
Results (Day 3)
FIRST VARSITY EIGHT Grand Final 1. Harvard 6:26:92 1st 36 pts. 2. MICHIGAN 6:28:58 2nd 33 3. Stanford 6:29:54 3rd 30 4. Washington 6:30:07 4th 27 5. Virginia 6:31:49 5th 24 6. Southern Cal 6:38:33 --- -- Petite Final 1. Brown 6:20:01 6th 21 2. Princeton 6:23:48 7th 18 3. Ohio State 6:23:95 8th 15 4. California 6:24:97 9th 12 5. Yale 6:26:13 10th 9 6. Texas 6:28:65 --- -- C Final (May 31) 1. Michigan State 6:22.99 11th 6 2. Boston University 6:27.61 --- -- 3. Washington State 6:27.74 12th 3 4. Tennessee 6:32.44 --- -- SECOND VARSITY EIGHT Grand Final 1. Brown 6:35:03 1st 24 pts. 2. Washington 6:38:57 2nd 22 3. California 6:39:67 3rd 20 4. Princeton 6:41:99 4th 18 5. Harvard 6:42:43 5th 16 6. Ohio State 6:43:80 6th 14 Petite Final 1. Virginia 6:38:28 7th 12 2. Yale 6:40:05 8th 10 3. MICHIGAN 6:40:32 9th 8 4. Michigan State 6:40:92 10th 6 5. Washington State 6:43:58 11th 4 6. Stanford 6:45:60 12th 2 FIRST VARSITY FOUR Grand Final 1. Brown 7:18:83 1st 12 pts. 2. California 7:21:43 2nd 11 3. MICHIGAN 7:24:83 3rd 10 4. Ohio State 7:30:02 4th 9 5. Yale 7:32:51 5th 8 6. Harvard 7:34:79 6th 7 Petite Final 1. Washington 7:38.02 7th 6 2. Virginia 7:39.05 8th 5 3. Michigan State 7:40.01 9th 4 4. Washington State 7:43.04 10th 3 5. Princeton 7:45.09 11th 2 6. Stanford 7:56.00 12th 1
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2
Michigan Lineups
First Varsity Eight -- Helen Dalis (coxswain), Erin Kopicki, Crystal Culp, Stesha Carl, Heather Mandoli, Leah Ketcheson, Brett Sickler, Kate Maxim, Katie Reynolds.
Second Varsity Eight -- Tara Medina (coxswain), Sarah Trowbridge, Emily Goodwin, Elizabeth Godek, Heather DeHainaut, Christin Plunkett, Laura Drongowski, Christina Ceo, Emke Bury.
First Varsity Four -- Louisa DiLeone (coxswain), Stephanie Shapiro, Elizabeth Kreger, Janine Hanson, Amy Coughlin.
N O T E S
Michigan's fourth-place team finish is the second highest in the program's history. The Wolverines were second in the NCAA Championships as a team in 2001.
Michigan's first varsity eight garnered its highest finish ever with second place. U-M's first eight finished in third in 2001.
The first varsity four, with a third-place finish in the Grand Final, earned its second highest finish in school history. U-M's four grabbed second place in 2001.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On the team's performances today ... "I thought all our crews raced extremely well in the finals. I was really pleased with how we performed today."
On the first varsity eight's second-place finish being attributed to the growth of the program ... "I think it's an occasion of the nine individuals in that boat and a testament to how hard they've worked and how well they've blended together. I think it's more a tribute to them than the growth of the program. Obviously it's a great step for the program because it sets the bar higher. From that standpoint, it leaves a nice legacy for future teams to follow."
On Michigan being able to build on the returning rowers for next year ... "I think that Michigan will have a very strong team for next year and hopefully we can improve and do even better next year."
Senior Helen Dalis (Coxswain)
On how the race went from her perspective ... "For the boat, we were behind off of the start. We didn't have a bad start. We just weren't as fast as the other crews off the line. I knew that we could come from behind and walk through the crews that might have flown at the start. We were kind of banking on them flying and dying. A lot of crews did that. Coming into the 1,000 we were in a really good position. As we came to the end of the race, the last 600 or 700 meters we were in a sweet position in second place. We had a solid second place. We were ready to go. We tried to walk into first place but there was a place in there where we knew that we just had to move for the second place. We were moving together with Harvard and we weren't really walking through them. It was solid.
"We had no idea teamwise where we were going into the finish. We just knew that if we wanted to beat Harvard overall that we would have to beat them in that race because they had all three of their boats in the Grand Finals. Our race was great, though, we're holding our heads high. We're really proud of it and excited. We're pumped."
On finishing in second place in the first varsity eight ... "It feels great. It's almost like we didn't expect it. Going in there were no expectations. We just wanted to go and have fun and we did. It's awesome that we finished in second. We had an awesome race and we didn't expect to be that fast."
Senior Kate Maxim (IV8, 2-seat)
On earning the fourth-place team trophy ... "I'm almost more proud of this trophy than I was of our second-place finish for the first varsity eight because no one expected us to finish this high. I could not be prouder of this accomplishment. It just feels awesome. I can't believe I'm holding it now."
On the first varsity eight's second-place finish ... "I was in the crew that finished in third previous to this (in 2001). The thing about this race is not so much our finish but that it was the best race of my life. Everybody wants to know that after you've finished rowing for four years the most important thing is to feel really proud of what you've done no matter how you've finished. That brings more pride to me now than the second-place finish."
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
