Weekly Release #4

4/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Rowing

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 28 -- at Big Ten Championships (Madison, Wis.)
Sat-Sun., May 12-13 -- at Central Region Championships (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)

Michigan This Week
The No. 12-ranked Michigan rowing team begins the postseason Saturday (April 28) at the Big Ten Conference Women's Rowing Championships on Lake Wingra in Madison, Wis. The regatta will begin at 8:15 a.m. and will include No. 3-ranked Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 19 Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana. Michigan has won four of the seven Big Ten Championships. The Maize and Blue won the first two crowns in 2000 and 2001 and -- after finishing second to Ohio State in 2002 -- returned to the top of the podium again in 2003 and 2004. U-M has finished fourth in the last two seasons.

Schedule of Events

8:15 a.m.	II Novice Eight, Heat 1	U-M lane 3, no seeding
8:30 a.m.	I Novice Eight, Heat 1
8:45 a.m.	I Novice Eight, Heat 2	U-M lane 2, No. 3 seed
9:00 a.m.	II Varsity Four, Heat 1	U-M lane 3, No. 2 seed
9:15 a.m.	II Varsity Four, Heat 2
9:30 a.m.	I Varsity Four, Heat 1
9:45 a.m.	I Varsity Four, Heat 2	U-M lane 1, No. 5 seed
10:00 a.m.	II Varsity Eight, Heat 1
10:15 a.m.	II Varsity Eight, Heat 2	U-M lane 3, No. 4 seed
10:30 a.m.	I Varsity Eight, Heat 1
10:45 a.m.	I Varsity Eight, Heat 2	U-M lane 2, No. 3 seed

12:15 p.m.	II Novice Eight, Grand Final
12:30 p.m.	I Novice Eight, Petite Final
12:45 p.m.	I Novice Eight, Grand Final
1:00 p.m.	II Varsity Four, Petite Final
1:15 p.m.	II Varsity Four, Grand Final
1:30 p.m.	I Varsity Four, Petite Final
1:45 p.m.	I Varsity Four, Grand Final
2:00 p.m.	II Varsity Eight, Petite Final
2:15 p.m.	II Varsity Eight, Grand Final
2:30 p.m.	I Varsity Eight, Petite Final
2:45 p.m.	I Varsity Eight, Grand Final
4:00 p.m.	Awards Presentation

Live Results
Live updates throughout the Big Ten Championships will be available on the University of Wisconsin website www.uwbadgers.com.

Championship Format
Up to six boats race for each team at the Big Ten Championships: First varsity eight, second varsity eight, first varsity four, second varsity four, first novice eight and second novice eight. The set of boats are split into two heats in the morning session. The top four teams advance to the grand final in the afternoon while the remaining teams finish the day in the petite final. Each boat earns points for its team based on its finish (see chart below).

Place-Points

Race	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
IV8	63	54	45	36	27	18	9
IIV8	42	36	30	24	18	12	6
IV4	21	18	15	12	9	6	3
IIV4	14	12	10	8	6	4	2
IN8	14	12	10	8	6	4	2
IIN8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Weather Outlook
The forecast for Saturday in Madison, Wis., calls for a high of 66 degrees and mostly sunny skies. Precipitation is unlikely. Winds are expected from the west at eight miles per hour.

Trial by Fire
Twenty-four of the 33 Wolverines are either freshmen or sophomores. Two weeks ago the first varsity eight was composed of five sophomores, two freshmen and one senior. Besides senior Emily Shea (Ashfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy), only sophomores Ashley Jones (Oakland, Calif./Skyline) and Cate Trumble (Dalkeith, Western Australia/Presbyterian Ladies' College) had experience in U-M's top boat before this season. U-M's second varsity eight most recently featured two sophomores, four freshmen, one junior and one senior. The coxswain is sophomore Laura Dunn (Andover, Mass./Pomfret School [Conn.]). The first varsity four has the most experience with two juniors, two sophomores and freshman coxswain Margaret Deinek (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Pointe South).

Welcome Aboard
Three new assistant coaches joined the Maize and Blue late last summer. Veronika Platzer spent four previous seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia. She oversees the majority of U-M's recruiting efforts. Bernadette Teeley is a U-M alumna who helped the Wolverines capture the 2001 Big Ten championship and finish second at the NCAA Championships. Teeley earned all-Big Ten first team, all-Central Region first team and was a CRCA National Scholar Athlete. Molly Gutilla was an assistant coach at Williams College for two seasons before coming to Ann Arbor. Gutilla is in charge of directing the U-M novice program.

Head Coach Mark Rothstein
Mark Rothstein is in his 11th year as the head coach of the Michigan rowing team. Rothstein, the only head coach in the program's history, has guided the Maize and Blue to the NCAA Championships eight times. In 2003, Rothstein guided the first varsity eight to a runner-up finish, its best ever showing, at the NCAA Championships en route to a fourth-place team finish. At the 2001 NCAA Championships, U-M had a school-best second-place finish, highlighted by a national boat title by the second varsity eight. He has led the team to four of the seven Big Ten Conference championships (2000, '01, '03, '04). In 2000, '01 and '04 he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. He was the Central Region Coach of the Year in 2000 and '01. For his efforts during the 2001 season, he was selected as the National Coach of the Year.

Two Weeks Ago for the Maize and Blue
Michigan's last event was on April 14 in East Lansing, Mich., against Indiana and Ohio State. The Wolverines had a perfect morning against the Hoosiers, winning all five races. The first varsity eight won by open water in 6:57.86. The second varsity eight won by a margin of more than 11 seconds in 7:08.43. U-M's margin of victory continued to expand as the first varsity four won by 13 seconds in 8:05.11. Michigan's 'A' entry in the second varsity four won in 8:01.04. IU took second in 8:19.30 and U-M's 'B' entry in the event crossed in 8:23.50. Both of Michigan's novice boats beat out Indiana's crew in their race.

Against the higher-rated Buckeyes, Michigan won the second varsity four and novice races. Ohio State's first varsity eight (7:17.10) finished ahead of Michigan (7:21.20) by one boat length. The second varsity eight race went much the same with the Buckeyes, beating out the Wolverines by a single length (7:39.47 to 7:43.77). Michigan (8:41.78) dropped the first varsity four race by open water to OSU (8:29.38). U-M's 'A' boat in the second varsity four race won in 8:19.31. OSU (8:39.11) and U-M's 'B' boat (8:52.01) took second and third, respectively. The pair of U-M novice crews finished ahead of the Buckeye boat.

Last Year at the Big Ten Championships
The then-No. 8 Wolverines recorded their second fourth-place showing in as many years at the 2006 Big Ten Championships in St. Paul, Minn. U-M finished one point behind Michigan State for third place. Ohio State and Minnesota took first and second, respectively. In the preliminary heats, the first and second varsity eights won their races to advance to the grand finals. In addition, the first varsity four and second novice eight placed second in their heats to earn spots in the grand finals. The second varsity four and first novice eight were relegated to the petite finals.

In the finals, Michigan's first varsity eight had a solid race to finish second behind Ohio State. The only other top three finisher for the Maize and Blue was the second varsity eight, which placed third. Michigan's first varsity four and second novice eight took fourth place in the grand finals. The first novice eight and second varsity four won the petite finals.

Lineup from April 14

First Varsity Eight -- Julia Dalzell (coxswain), Adrienne Mecham, Lori Gordon, Julia Nelson, Emily Shea, Karen Colwell, Cate Trumble, Ashley Jones, Kate Strzalkowski.