Michigan
NCAA Repechage
Second in Repechage Advances First Varsity Eight to NCAA Semis
5/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Site: Cherry Hill, N.J. (Cooper River)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 1 - Repechage)
U-M Heat Results: First Varsity Eight -- 2nd place - advance to semifinals
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 30 -- Semifinals at NCAA Championships (Cherry Hill, N.J.), 9 a.m.
Results | Photo Gallery
CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan first varsity eight took second place in Friday afternoon's (May 29) repechage at the NCAA Championships in Cooper River. The runner-up showing was enough to boost the top Wolverine boat into Saturday morning's (May 30) semifinals.
In the opening sprint, No. 16 Southern California and No. 6 Harvard edged a few seats ahead of the second level of boats, which included Michigan, No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 15 Dartmouth. No. 14 Ohio State and No. 11 Oregon State were in the rear.Southern Californiaand Harvard traded first and second place throughout the first 1,000 meters. Michigan dropped to sixth briefly at the 500-meter mark before moving up to fourth at 1,000 meters -- half a second behind the all-important third-place position needed to advance to the semifinals.
The race changed drastically during the third leg as U-M's stroke rating climbed to 38 to surge past Ohio State, then Harvard and finallySouthern Calto take over first place with 500 meters left. The Buckeyes and Women of Troy responded, however, making it a three-boat race to the finish line. Ohio State ended up hitting the finish line first in 6:21.00, with Michigan (6:21.27) about a seat back in second and USC another seat back in third (6:21.42). There was open water between the three crews advancing to the semifinals and the four shells heading to the third-level final. Fourth-place through seventh-place finishers were Dartmouth, Harvard, Oregon State and Wisconsin, respectively.
Michigan is one of 10 teams to have all three of its boats in the semifinals. The other teams are Stanford, California, Virginia, Yale, Clemson, Washington, Ohio State, USC and Brown.
Michigan's first varsity eight will be back on the water at 9 a.m. on Saturday (May 30). U-M's semifinal includes No. 13 Washington, No. 12 Clemson, No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Virginia and No. 10 Brown. The U-M second varsity has its semifinal at 9:30 a.m. Its competitors include USC, Yale, Virginia, Brown and Ohio State. Lastly, the varsity four's semifinal is slated for 10:15 a.m. Its opponents will be USC, Wisconsin, Ohio State, California and Stanford. The top three finishers in each heat move on to the grand finals, while the bottom three finishers are relegated to the petite final.
RESULTS
(Day 1, Morning Heats)
First Varsity Eight
Repechage 1. Ohio State 6:21.00 C advance to semifinals 2. MICHIGAN 6:21.27 C advance to semifinals 3. Southern California 6:21.42 C advance to semifinals 4. Dartmouth 6:25.51 C advance to third level final 5. Harvard 6:27.10 C advance to third level final 6. Oregon State 6:28.43 C advance to third level final 7. Wisconsin 6:28.66 C advance to third level final Second Varsity Eight
Repechage 1. Princeton 6:35.35 C advance to semifinals 2. Southern California 6:36.03 C advance to semifinals 3. Clemson 6:37.50 C advance to semifinals 4. Oregon State 6:39.37 C advance to third level final 5. Dartmouth 6:39.61 C advance to third level final 6. Wisconsin 6:40.64 C advance to third level final 7. Harvard 6:42.45 C advance to third level final First Varsity Four
Repechage 1. Stanford 6:21.00 C advance to semifinals 2. Brown 6:21.27 C advance to semifinals 3. Southern California 6:21.42 C advance to semifinals 4. Princeton 6:25.51 C advance to third level final 5. Oregon State 6:27.10 C advance to third level final 6. Dartmouth 6:28.43 C advance to third level final 7. Michigan State 6:28.66 C advance to third level final
Preliminary Results
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On the team's performance today... "First of all we achieved our first goal, which was to get all three boats into the semifinals and we did that today. We feel good about that. Our first varsity eight had an adventurous day, but they ended up getting the job done, so that's what matters. I thought our four raced really well this morning, as did our second varsity eight. I think we're in a good position. It's going to be a very fast semi. It's clear that each boat will have to have its best race of the year to get into the final."
On the team's mindset and level of confidence moving forward to the semifinals... "I think that we'll learn more tomorrow. We have a challenge ahead, but I think our team likes challenges, so I think they'll rise to the occasion."
LINEUP
First Varsity Eight -- Laura Dunn (coxswain), Melisa Ongun, Ashley Kroll, Adrienne Mecham, Karen Colwell, Sarah Gribler, Emily Eiffert, Cristina Felix, Cate Trumble.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
