Michigan
NCAA Semis/Repechage
First, Second Varsity Eights Reach NCAA Grand Finals
5/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Site: Sacramento, Calif. (Lake Natoma)
Event: #8 Michigan at NCAA Championships (Semifinals/Repechages)
U-M Results: First Varsity Eight -- Advanced to Grand Final
Second Varsity Eight -- Advanced to Grand Final
First Varsity Four -- Advanced to Petite Final
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 30 -- Finals at NCAA Championships (Sacramento, Calif.), 10:30 a.m. PDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team performed admirably on Day 2 of the NCAA Championships on Saturday (May 29) as it qualified both its first and second varsity eights for Sunday's grand finals. The first varsity eight finished a close second to No. 7 Yale in its semifinal, while the second varsity eight was the runner-up to California in its repechage race. The first varsity four will compete in the petite final after taking third behind Washington and California in its repechage.
No. 1 California, No. 9 Brown and Yale are the only teams that have all three of their boats competing in the grand finals. The Wolverines (first and second varsity eight), No. 3 Ohio State (first varsity eight and first varsity four) and No. 6 Washington (second varsity eight and first varsity four) all have two crews in the grand finals.
Michigan's first varsity eight race featured the Virginia Cavaliers jumping out to an early lead at the 500-meter mark. U-M, OSU and Yale were in a fight for second position, all less than a seat apart. Through the second 500 meters the Elis asserted themselves and overtook UVA for first, and the Maize and Blue had fallen back to fourth, slightly behind the Buckeyes. At the midpoint of the race, Michigan found its stride and walked through both OSU and Virginia to take over second with just 500 meters to go. U-M continued to push Yale in the sprint, but the Elis were just too far ahead at that point and won in 6:36.6. The Wolverines quickly followed in 6:37.8 with Ohio State (6:39.4) finishing about four seats back to earn the last spot for the grand final. Virginia (6:40.1) finished fourth after its early advantage.
The second varsity eight had a great start to its race and was bowball to bowball with Wisconsin in the first few hundred meters. After the first quarter of the race, the teams had settled in and Cal had a seat over U-M for first with Princeton a half second back of the Maize and Blue. The Golden Bears kicked things up a notch near the 1,000-meter point, but Michigan did not falter as it stayed with Cal and moved away from the rest of the field. Michigan (6:53.7) would not catch Cal (6:52.0) for first, but it did manage to easily hold off third-place Princeton (6:56.9) to qualify for the grand final.
In the first varsity four race, California flew out to a big lead lead in the first 500 meters over Princeton, followed by Washington, Michigan and Harvard. During the second leg of the race the second-place Huskies began to chase Cal for first and Michigan attempted to work its way out of fourth and pass Princeton. Nearing 500 meters remaining in the race, Michigan moved into third, although it was well back of new leader Washington and Cal. With too much water to make up in the end the Wolverines finished third in 7:43.3 behind first-place UW (7:35.6) and second-place Cal (7:39.7).
The Wolverines will look to earn a national championship tomorrow morning (May 30) when finals racing begins at 10:30 a.m. To follow the races live, visit hornetsports.com.
RESULTS (Day 2)
First Varsity Eight Semifinal 1 1. Yale* 6:36.6 2. MICHIGAN* 6:37.8 3. Ohio State* 6:38.9 4. Virginia 6:40.1 5. Notre Dame 6:51.3 6. Southern California 6:51.31 Heat 2 1. Brown* 6:33.0 2. California* 6:36.4 3. Princeton* 6:36.41 4. Washington 6:37.1 5. Harvard 6:41.8 6. Tennessee 6:48.5 * Advanced to First Varsity Eight Grand Final First Varsity Eight (C Final) 1. Michigan State 6:47.0 -- 9 points 2. Washington State 6:50.5 -- 6 points 3. Texas 6:51.2 4. Wisconsin 6:52.8 -- 3 points Second Varsity Eight Semifinal 1 1. Washington State* 6:48.4 2. Yale* 6:48.8 3. Virginia 6:49.3 4. Michigan State 6:58.9 5. Ohio State 7:00.9 Heat 2 1. California* 6:52.0 2. MICHIGAN* 6:53.7 3. Princeton 6:56.9 4. Harvard 7:00.2 5. Wisconsin 7:01.3 * Advanced to Second Varsity Eight Grand Final First Varsity Four Semifinal 1 1. Brown* 7:33.0 2. Yale* 7:34.0 3. Michigan State 7:36.2 4. Wisconsin 7:36.8 5. Washington State 7:47.5 Semifinal 2 1. Washington* 7:35.6 2. California* 7:39.7 3. MICHIGAN 7:43.3 4. Princeton 7:44.5 5. Harvard 7:49.4 * Advanced to First Varsity Four Grand Final
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On the difficulty of getting two boats into the grand finals ... "I felt like all of the crews raced really well today. Two of them made it into the final. I thought our four had a great race but came up short. Certainly we have a big challenge in the petite final with our four because the depth of that event is really impressive this year. For the second varsity eight, I thought we raced a very solid race in getting to the final. I'm pleased with that. The first varsity eight had a very fast semifinal and we were able to get out of it, so I'm happy with that."
On Brown, California and Yale having all three boats in the grand finals ... "Clearly, Brown, Cal and Yale are the teams to beat for the team title. I think those three have a big advantage going into tomorrow in terms of the team championship. We're really pleased to have two crews in the final. We're just looking forward to good racing. We just want to do our best."
On if the first or second varsity eight can win a national championship ... "I don't know. I'm incredibly impressed with the speed of the crews here. We're just going to see what we can do."
On the first varsity eight grand final ... "The five crews that we'll be racing tomorrow in that event are all capable of winning the event. I think it's going to be a very difficult final for us but we're going to do our best and bring our best race."
Michigan Lineups
First Varsity Eight: Tara Medina (coxswain), Stesha Carle, Crystal Culp, Katie Reynolds, Heather Mandoli, Leah Ketcheson, Brett Sickler, Janine Hanson, Emily Goodwin.
Second Varsity Eight: Julia Dalzell (coxswain), Jourdan Lawlor, Sarah Trowbridge, Emily Shea, Elizabeth Godek, Ellen Tomek, Cristin McCarty, Tara Kass, Carla Bezold.
First Varsity Four: Louisa DiLeone (coxswain), Amy Coughlin, Margot Woolley, Christin Plunkett, Chelsea MacMullan.
N O T E S
Michigan has advanced at least two boats to the grand finals in each of its seven years at the NCAA Championships.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
