U-M Finishes Seventh at Central/South Championships

Sunday, May 13

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Michigan

Central/South Region Finals

5/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Rowing

Site: Oak Ridge, Tenn. (Melton Hill Lake)
Event: #6 Michigan at Central/South Region Championships
U-M Team Finish: 5th Place of 13 Teams (306 Points) in Central Region (7th Overall)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team earned a seventh place overall finish on Sunday (May 13) at the Central/South Region Championships. Among its Central Region counterparts, the Maize and Blue placed fifth (306 points). No. 12 Ohio State won the Central Region crown with 366 points, while No. 5 Virginia captured both the overall and South Region championship by winning all five grand final races for a perfect score of 440.

The first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four crews each earned second place (8th overall) in their respective petite finals. The first novice eight earned a bronze medal by taking third in its grand final. The second varsity four was sixth in its grand final.

U-M's first varsity had a good start and was in first place through 250 meters, just in front of Michigan State. At 500 meters, U-M was still up four seats on MSU, followed closely by Clemson and Louisville. Michigan's lead remained consistent through the second leg, but Louisville surged back to become a threat. Louisville continued to walk through Michigan and won the petite final in 6:36.40. Michigan was three-quarters of a length back in second (6:39.18). Wisconsin was five seats back in third.

In the second varsity eight petite final, Ohio State had an early five-seat lead on the other five teams in the field. Michigan was in a pack with Notre Dame, Duke and Clemson. U-M bettered Clemson and Duke in the second quarter of the race to take over second place, seven seats behind OSU. Michigan had a great final 1,000 meters and nearly caught the Buckeyes, who beat out U-M by just 0.42 second (6:51.40 to 6:51.82).

Michigan was down three seats to Michigan State in the early stage of the first varsity four petite final. Kansas and Central Florida were hanging with U-M for second place at 500 meters. At 1,000 meters, the Spartans had a full lenth on Michigan and Central Florida, which had a slight advantage over the Wolverines. U-M closed on MSU in the final sprint, but earned a runner-up showing in a time of 7:46.12, 1.52 seconds behind the Spartans. The Wolverines held off UCF by open water.

The first novice eight sat in sixth place at the start of its grand final. Virginia and Kansas State were easily out in front with an open water lead over the other four boats. U-M began to move near the middle of the course, overtaking MSU for fifth at 1,000 meters. The Maize and Blue continued its march through the field and wound up taking third in 7:02.31. Virginia won easily in 6:51.90. Kansas State was second in 7:00.30.

The open four grand final was dominated by Virginia's 'A' and 'B' entries, which had open water on the field less than third of the way through. Michigan was down a few seats to Louisville and Tennessee going into the final 500 meters, but it could not make up the difference and placed sixth in 7:50.95, 3.04 behind fifth-place Tennesee and 20.95 seconds behind the winning Virginia crew.

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

Final Team Standings

 1. Virgina* 440 2. Ohio State# 366 3. Tennessee 352 4. Wisconsin 346 5. Notre Dame 341 6. Minnesota 339 7. MICHIGAN 306 8. Michigan State 301 9. Central Florida 294 10. Louisville 285 * Virginia wins South Region and overall titles # Minnesota wins Central Region title

RESULTS

First Varsity Eight (Petite Final) 1. Notre Dame 6:26.00 - 153 points 2. Ohio State 6:26.82 - 144 3. Tennessee 6:27.34 - 135 4. Wisconsin 6:28.79 - 126 5. Minnesota 6:29.07 - 117 6. MICHIGAN 6:31.85 - 108 Second Varsity Eight (Petite Final) 1. Ohio State 6:34.20 - 90 2. Wisconsin 6:36.17 - 84 3. Michigan State 6:37.85 - 78 4. MICHIGAN 6:39.04 - 72 5. Notre Dame 6:42.21 - 66 6. Virginia 6:44.35 - 60 First Varsity Four (Petite Final) 1. Virginia 7:22.00 - 39 2. Ohio State 7:26.95 - 36 3. Wisconsin 7:29.60 - 33 4. Michigan State 7:31.18 - 30 5. Minnesota 7:34.35 - 27 6. MICHIGAN 7:39.99 - 24 First Novice Eight (Grand Final) 1. Wisconsin 6:50.60 - 36 2. MICHIGAN 6:52.44 - 34 3. Michigan State 6:55.28 - 32 4. Virginia 6:58.84 - 30 5. Clemson 7:01.18 - 28 6. Indiana 7:02.49 - 26 Open Four (Grand Final) 1. Miami 7:52.60 - 14 2. MICHIGAN 7:54.49 - 3. Louisville 7:56.64 - 13 4. Texas 8:00.07 - 12 5. Cincinnati 8:10.61 - 11 6. Duke 8:19.71 - 10

Day 1 Results

Michigan Lineups

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