U-M Finishes Second at Central Region Championships

Sunday, May 15

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

9:00 AM

Michigan

Central/South Region Finals

5/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Rowing

Site: Oak Ridge, Tenn. (Melton Hill Lake)
Event:#7 Michigan at Central/South Region Championships
U-M Team Finish:2nd Place of 11 Teams (327 Points) in Central Region (3rd Overall)
Next U-M Event: TBA

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team earned a second-place regional finish at the Central/South Region Championships on Sunday (May 15) on Melton Hill Lake. No. 9 Virginia clinched both the overall and South Region titles with 372 total points. No. 4 Ohio State won the Central Region crown with 366 points and the Maize and Blue (327 points) received the region's runner-up position. No. 14 Wisconsin (324 points) was third.

Michigan will find out if it has qualified for the 2005 NCAA Championships, which run May 27-29 in Sacramento, Calif., when the NCAA announces the official bids on Tuesday (May 17).

The Wolverines first varsity eight earned a fifth-place finish in a time of 6:36.16, 8.66 seconds off the pace of first-place Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished over half a length ahead of the runner-up, No. 11 Tennessee (6:29.61), which beat Virginia by a bow ball. There was open water between the top three crews and fourth-place Wisconsin (6:34.91). U-M lost out to the Badgers by a few seats and No. 3 Michigan State finished last. Michigan received 153 points for its finish.

U-M's second varsity eight took fourth place in its 'A' final, but it missed out on third place by just 0.21 seconds. Virginia was first in 6:33.30, followed closely by OSU in 6:34.12. Michigan State edged U-M for third place, 6:38.96 to 6:39.17. The Wolverines garnered 96 points for fourth place. Wisconsin and Notre Dame were fifth and sixth, respectively.

The first varsity four 'A' final was spread out among the top four finishing shells. Virginia ran away with the race in 7:24.40, MSU was well back in second place in 7:31.94, Wisconsin was over a boat back behind the Spartans in third (7:35.84), and the Wolverines took fourth with a time of 7:38.93 to earn 42 points. Notre Dame (fifth) and Minnesota (sixth) rounded out the race. In the Open Four final, Michigan's second varsity four took third place in 7:42.79. Ohio State (7:38.90) was first and Wisconsin was second (7:40.54).

The Maize and Blue novice eight received Michigan's lone boat championship of the day. U-M crossed the finish line in 7:04.00, a full length over second-place Virginia.

Complete results for the Central/South Region Championships are available at Tennessee's site.

Final Team Standings

 1. Virginia* 372 2. Ohio State# 366 3. MICHIGAN 327
 4. Wisconsin 324 5. Tennessee 304 6. Michigan State 294 7. Notre Dame 262 8. Minnesota 231 9. Indiana 187 10. Clemson 180 * Virginia wins South Region and overall titles # Ohio State wins Central Region title

RESULTS

First Varsity Eight (A Final) 1. Ohio State 6:27.50 2. Tennessee 6:29.61 3. Virginia 6:29.91 4. Wisconsin 6:34.91 5. MICHIGAN 6:36.16 6. Michigan State 6:42.41 Second Varsity Eight (A Final) 1. Virginia 6:33.30 2. Ohio State 6:34.12 3. Michigan State 6:38.96 4. MICHIGAN 6:39.17 5. Wisconsin 6:44.86 6. Notre Dame 6:52.75 First Varsity Four (A Final) 1. Virginia 7:24.40 2. Michigan State 7:31.94 3. Wisconsin 7:35.84 4. MICHIGAN 7:38.93 5. Notre Dame 7:40.80 6. Minnesota 7:42.80 First Novice Eight (A Final) 1. MICHIGAN 7:04.00 2. Virginia 7:08.12 3. Ohio State 7:09.38 4. Clemson 7:11.60 5. Iowa 7:12.47 6. Wisconsin 7:12.77 7. Notre Dame 7:14.56 Open Four (A Final) 1. Ohio State 7:38.90 2. Wisconsin 7:40.54 3. MICHIGAN 7:42.79 4. Virginia 7:48.23 5. Notre Dame 7:49.01 6. Texas 7:51.12 7. Iowa 7:54.33

Day 1 Results

Q U O T E S

Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On the team's overall performance today ... "I think we're not in the position we wanted to be in at this point. Some of our boats performed well, but overall at this point it's 50/50 whether we're going to get a team bid to the national championships. That's not where we hoped to be coming out of this regatta. The first varsity eight would probably get an at-large bid."

On what teams from the Central region he thinks have secured NCAA bids ... "I think Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin will all get team bids. It's a matter of will the selection committee take four teams from one region, which it may. I'd rather not have to rely on the selection committee but that's where we are."

On if U-M gets a team bid whether it can make the needed improvements to compete well at nationals ... "I don't know. I think that we're going to have to get a lot faster in the next two weeks and that's pretty hard to do at this time of the year."

Michigan Lineups

First Varsity Eight -- Tara Medina (coxswain), Sarah Trowbridge, Crystal Culp, Leah Ketcheson, Janine Hanson, Cristin McCarty, Emily Shea, Brett Sickler, Stesha Carle.

Second Varsity Eight -- Julia Dalzell (coxswain), Elizabeth Godek, Ellen Tomek, Karen Colwell, Annie Hildebrand, Liz Nelson, Chelsea MacMullan, Carla Bezold, Jourdan Lawlor.

First Varsity Four -- Louisa DiLeone (coxswain), Margot Woolley, Marin McCabe, Christin Plunkett, Amanda Martin.