Senior Blog: Felice Mueller, Entry 8
3/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 9, 2012
On Sunday, May 13, Michigan rowing will line up against six other Big Ten schools and race our hearts out for a Big Ten championship. That day is less than a week away, and after this past week of training I could not feel more prepared.
In the 1V, we were disappointed by our result against Virginia. We did not feel we raced our best or hardest and we know we need to work on that to get faster for Big Tens and Nationals. Even the boats that did do well in the races against Virginia, Harvard and Clemson, understand that they need to get faster and race harder to be able to do well in championship season. So, most of last week was spent racing each other to identify areas where we can make improvements.
For the remainder of the week, we worked on trying to make the changes we found helpful during racing to our respective boats for Big Tens. We finished the week with the most fun Saturday workout I have ever experienced on Belleville. The work out for the 1V and 2V was 3x2k, but we thought we were doing 4x2k (first fun event). The 2ks we did do felt amazing; we found a great rhythm, making it feel easy to go really hard (second fun event). The weather was warm and the wind wasn't that strong (third fun event). And finally, the cool down we did was the cherry on top of this glorious Saturday practice. We rowed through the Rawsonville bridge (a bridge so low, the coaches need to squat down to get underneath it in their launch) and rowed further up the Rawsonville channel than Michigan Rowing ever has before. The adventure led up a twisting channel surrounded by trees and wildlife (we saw two herons) and finished at a dam by a park, where people stood on the shore and watched us in total surprise. If we could have only portaged the boats up over the dam, we could have continued to row at Ford Lake. Alas, we had to turn our boats and row back into the boathouse, but perhaps one day Michigan rowing will make that journey.
This week, we're continuing to prepare for Big Tens, and I'm very confident that our team can continue to make good changes. As Olivia said, I don't think I've ever seen a more determined or focused Michigan rowing team than this 2012 squad and I'm excited to see what we can bring at the Big Ten Championships in less than a week.
Row Blue!
Felice Mueller
May 3, 2012
Over the past week, the Michigan women's rowing team has made great strides in both fitness and success. We have completed our exams and our regular season and it is hard to believe that we have finally entered what I find to be the most exciting yet stressful time of the year, championship season. We are preparing for Big Tens with the most vigor and restlessness that I have seen for the whole team yet this year. And there is a firm and unwavering belief among all of us that this is our year to come away from Big Tens with a victory.
On Friday, we traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in our last regular-season race against University of Virginia (No. 2), Harvard (No. 14), and Clemson (No. 19). Due to an abnormal shift in schedule, the 2V8 was the first race of the day. Our 2V lined up against Virginia with determination to set a positive tone for the day. They successfully completed their race, beating UVA by approximately eight seconds. The 2V continued their undefeated season by also grabbing a win in the afternoon against Harvard and Clemson and they were honored with Big Ten Boat of the Week for their performance this weekend! Other boats to be recognized for their performance this weekend include the 1V4, who suffered a loss against UVA in the morning but came back to have their best row of the year against Clemson and Harvard and the 1N, who beat Clemson by .8 of a second! The race in Columbus marked the end of the season for our 3V4, but they went out with a bang, beating Clemson by 30 seconds!
We are now into Camp Wolverine during which all we do is eat, sleep, and row and I am thrilled by the level of dedication and determination I have seen in every member of the team this far this week.
In addition to this past weekend marking the end of our regular season, it also marked another end for the senior class. While our classmates gathered together for graduation, in the Big House, home of football Saturdays and extremely painful stair runs, we put everything we had on the line in Columbus, Ohio. To recognize our scholastic achievements, our parents and coaches put together a small graduation ceremony, where we received unique diplomas, small gifts, and words of praise and endearment from Coach Rothstein. So while it was a little peculiar to graduate from the University of Michigan in Columbus, of all places, I would not change the experience to be alongside the girls who have seen me at my best and my worst over the past four years while celebrating this monumental event.
Forever Go Blue!!
Olivia Klipa
April 26, 2012
This last week has been a flurry of feverish studying sprinkled with early morning rows and some greatly appreciated recovery time. Yes, it is that time of year again: exams. With no race scheduled for this past weekend, the team was able to really buckle in and prepare for our biggest task at the University of Michigan -- performing to the highest standards academically. However, while we were focused on our studies during these two weeks of finals, rowing always lingered in the back of our minds as one of the biggest races of the season approaches.
This Saturday (April 28), we will be wrapping up our regular season at Ohio State, racing against Harvard, Clemson, and University of Virginia. Everyone is very excited to face off against the second-ranked team in the nation, Virginia. While thousands of my peers will file into the Big House for graduation, there is nowhere I would rather be this Saturday than the Griggs Reservoir, proudly sporting the block M for my final regular-season race against some of the fastest crews in the country. This is an amazing opportunity to see where our team stacks up and to put our hard work on the water to the test.
Despite chaotic exam schedules, we managed to put in valuable time on the water this week in preparation for Saturday. In the fours group, we have continued to seat race and change line-ups. Our theme for the week has been change. Everyone in my boat has really embraced this concept, showing a tremendous willingness to try new things and be flexible. Change has also been a theme for our team this year. From the beginning of the year, the coaches and athletes have committed to trying fresh, new approaches to training and competing in our relentless pursuit of excellence and we have seen the program make some amazing gains. I am ecstatic for what is next to come in our journey.
For some of our teammates, this past week marked the end of their season. Having the largest team in Michigan rowing history has afforded us amazing competition within our team. Every day the 4V is pushing into the 3V or the 2V is creeping up on the 1V. This insatiable hunger that manifests itself throughout the ranks has forced every girl on our team to become faster and stronger. While many of our teammates' racing seasons were cut short, they all played an enormous role in making our team fast. All of their hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed.
Row Blue,
Nicole Dressler
April 19, 2012
This weekend marked our only home race for the season as we competed against Oregon State University, Tennessee, and Oklahoma University. Ohio State was also in attendance, however, we did not directly race them with the exception of the 2v4 and second novice races. This was a particularly great weekend as all healthy rowers were able to race. This year has been quite the adventure with our largest squad in Michigan Rowing history and unlike past years not every rower has the opportunity to travel and race every weekend. For the seniors, this was our final time racing on Belleville Lake which I didn't realize until we were docking after our afternoon races. In the first varsity and second varsity eight races we continued our undefeated streak this season and couldn't ask for a better way to end on Belleville Lake.
This past week was a great week for all crews. Although the week started off slow due to weather, no one let that affect the rest of the week's practice as every crew hit the water ready to prepare for the weekend's races. Having races at home puts a bit more responsibility on the rowers and our preparation as we stay at home and the night at our own homes instead of a hotel and do not have much interaction with the team until just before the races. Nonetheless, everyone showed up to the boathouse ready to go and proved it on the water as many boats had great appearances.
In my boat, the second varsity eight, we have developed quite the pre-race tradition of having boat dance parties at the start of our warm-up. Coach Rothstein has deemed us the best (dance) crew ever and this week, Emily Idoni stole the show with her dance skills. While we have fun and get pumped up with this tradition as soon as it is over we are ready to go and determined to put all of our energy into every race. This attitude is reflected in many of the other boats and rowers across the team. In my four years, I have never seen a group of girls with more determination and relentlessness to complete every goal we set in front of us.
After a great weekend of hard racing, we are back on the grind preparing for our next race against first-ranked Virginia, Clemson, and Harvard in Columbus on April 28th. With two weeks to prepare, we have a bit more time to work on our focuses and fine-tune our rowing as we come into our last races of the regular season and move into championship season. The season is flying by so far and I cannot wait to see what the next few weeks brings. As much as I'd like to slow down my last season, I could not ask for a better group of girls to train and compete with against other crews in the nation. You can't replace or diminish the fire this team has. We will reach our goals no matter what challenges we face and we will win championships.
Row Blue,
Ariel Piotter
April 12, 2012
This past week was another great week for Michigan Rowing. With an away race for the past three weekends, the season has been flying by and it's hard to believe we only have two regattas left before Big Ten Championships. This last weekend we recorded another set of victories to our program's undefeated season in Iowa against the Iowa Hawkeyes and Louisville Cardinals!
The week leading up to the double duel was both mentally and physically demanding, much like the sport of rowing usually is. On Monday the varsity eights got a chance to row in four person boats. We used the row as an opportunity to concentrate on some areas we found in our rowing from racing MSU and Yale the week before that needed to be improved. Tuesday, the team completed our final "Michigan Day" of the year. As a senior on this team I can confidently say that this is the most challenging workout I have ever had to do while on this team (as well as in my entire life). The workout involves an erg piece, the stairs of the Big House, and concludes with a row on Lake Belleville. As difficult as this workout is, it really pushes us to make one another stronger and faster and prove how relentless Michigan Rowing really is.
After "Michigan Day" the team rowed the remaining of the week in our racing lineups and prepared for the weekend ahead. I think I can speak for the team when I say the racing wasn't the only thing we were anxious for. In order to even get to Iowa we had an 8.5-hour bus ride ahead of us and with a traveling team of about 50 athletes you can imagine things get a little crazy. On top of that, our team doesn't have the best of luck with charter buses, if it's not the engine then it's a flat tire, but luckily, the entire 17 hours there and back went extremely smooth. We were fortunate enough to have two buses between the entire team so homework, napping, and movie watching was much more enjoyable with the extra space.
When we arrived in Iowa City on Friday afternoon I was surprised how similar their campus was to Ann Arbor, with the addition of the cornfields. We were able to practice on the racecourse that afternoon on Lake Macbride, about 20 minutes from our hotel on campus. The weather was extremely windy and it was expected that conditions on Friday and Saturday would be similar so it was very beneficial for us to get some practice in the crosswind.
Saturday morning started with Michigan's only losses of the day in the first and second novice crews against Iowa. After those two races, Michigan swept the competition in all varsity boats against Iowa, and in the afternoon Michigan was undefeated against Louisville. You may know that the Michigan first varsity boat earned "Big Ten Boat of the Week" for the second week in a row, which is incredible, however, in my opinion, the crew of the weekend had to be Michigan's 4th varsity eight boat. This 4V raced in the 2nd varsity eight race and although they were not racing for points it was extremely exciting to have a Michigan 4V beat both the opposing team's 2V's. These two victories in the 4V were also our graduate assistant Nellie Reudig's first wins as a collegiate coach!
After a weekend full of hard, successful racing, we are back on the water this week to prepare for our only home race of the year. Saturday morning, April 14, we race Oregon State, Tennessee and Oklahoma, and also host Ohio State for a double duel. This is going to be a great opportunity for Michigan rowing to get in some tough competition before championship season, which is fast approaching. We are looking forward to all of our friends and family coming to support us and we hope to see you there!
Row Blue,
Paige Heil
April 4, 2012
This weekend was a great step for Michigan rowing. We came back from a successful weekend in Princeton, N.J., with our minds on another win down in Columbus, Ohio. Every practice was full of intent and relentlessness. We were completely focused on beating Michigan State and Yale. The senior class has never beaten Michigan State in the 1V, and we were ready to change that.
By Thursday evening, we had our lineups set. We headed down to Columbus on Friday afternoon, and as we pulled into Buckeye territory we could feel the natural tension between Wolverines and Buckeyes. We got on the water to have a pre-race practice, the goal of which was to flush out all the jitters and excitement about the upcoming race. After a solid practice and a narrow escape from an incoming storm, we headed back to the hotel.
The next morning was race day. We had a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call, at which time we began to prepare for the upcoming race. We fueled our bodies and prepared our minds for the double duel that was about to start in a few short hours. Our pre-race routine is simple: eat, hydrate, warm up, stretch. Then we launch the boats onto the race course.
The feeling of rowing up to the start line is unlike any other. Excitement, anxiety, rage and pride are all common emotions that athletes experience before the official waves the red flag and starts the race. But those emotions become more amplified when we line up against Michigan State. As with all Michigan sports, we have a strong rivalry with the Michigan State rowing team. In recent years, MSU has been incredibly fast, and they have consistently pushed their bow balls ahead of ours. But this year, we vowed that it would be different.
All morning, Michigan boats began finishing well ahead of MSU boats. We used our fitness and drive to start the race quickly and finish it with strength. Our team as a whole beat Michigan State, and the 1V beat them for the first time in my four years at Michigan.
In the afternoon, we lined up against Yale. Racing against teams from different regions is always a great way to compare ourselves to the rest of the country. It was exciting to see an East Coast team in the Midwest. Again, our boats started fast and the majority of them managed to beat Yale. We had a very strong showing against this competitive program, and we are very proud of what we accomplished.
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend for Michigan rowing. The boats that won are beginning to gain some confidence as well as learn where their weaknesses are, and the boats that lost are motivated to prove themselves to their teammates.
Often times a team will lose sight of their end goal when it starts to gain a lot of success. This team refuses to do so. No matter how fast we are now, we are always striving to be faster. We will display the right balance of humility, confidence, and relentlessness in order to reach our ultimate goal: to win championships.
Row Blue,
Julia Darnton
March 29, 2012
Hi fellow Wolverines,
If there is one theme from this week that I can share, it is: hard work, pays off!
This past weekend, the team had the pleasure of flying to New Jersey to race two very talented crews: Princeton and Brown. As always we had a great time traveling for our first true race of the season and getting to bond with our teammates more than we already have. There is something about traveling, staying in a hotel room with your pair partner, and having boat meetings that make racing season more than just a series of races, but a time to really bond with our rowing family.
Through out the week leading up to our race, we really focused on mastering our starting segment of the race and also the technical keys that would propel us ahead of other crews during the body of the race. This hard work and dedication landed us a victory in 3 out of our 5 crews against Princeton/Brown.
Although we were and still are very excited about our win, we know that there is a long, tough road ahead, and we are ready to work even harder to get faster for the races to come. This weekend we race another group of fast crews, including Yale and Michigan State.
In addition to our preparation for this upcoming weekend, we had an Academic Award Banquet on Monday to recognize the academic excellence expected and achieved within the University of Michigan Athletic Department. At this banquet our team was awarded the well sought after community service award. This award is called the Rachael Townsend Award, and it is awarded each year to one men's and one women's athletic team for completing the most community service hours per roster spot. The U of M Women's rowing team completed approximately 1,685 hours this year, which was almost 25% of the total hours for the entire athletic department! Earning this award, as well as extensively serving our community, was one of our first team goals for the year! I can speak for the team when I say that nothing feels better than being able to give back to our community through the platform we have as college athletes.
As the training continues through out this week, our minds are focused on executing well again this upcoming weekend. We thank you all for your love and support and would love to see you in Columbus, OH this weekend. :)
Go Blue,
April Newberry
March 21, 2012
Greetings from Belleville!
With record highs and sunshine it has been a beautiful week for rowing. We are gearing up for our first race of the season against Princeton/Brown in Princeton, NJ. The last time I traveled to Princeton to race was for my first rowing race ever. It seems fitting that we are traveling back, 3 years later, to open my final season.
We have been preparing for racing season for the last seven months. We have completed two training trips, a trip to Leelanau, and winter training on the erg. We have tackled the stairs in the Big House more than a few times, constantly reminded that it is, in fact, the largest American football stadium in the world. We have completed every weight routine designed by Lew and test weeks to evaluate our progress. The last seven months have been focused on getting better and stronger.
This week is about fine-tuning and preparing to use the strength and skills we have gained. It's exciting that it is finally racing season, I cannot wait to see what this team can do.
Yesterday we did 4 x 2000 meters on our brand new buoy-lined course.
For those of you that don't know, 2000 meters is the distance of our spring races. These races are typically 6-8 minutes long depending on the current, wind, and strength of the crew. The race is long enough to have an endurance element, but short enough to almost feel like a sprint. At the end of a good race, you feel as if you could not pull another stroke. We simulated racing today on our course, except we did our pieces at a lower rate than we would typically race at. The practice helped us to identify areas we need to improve and also helped us to create a race plan for this weekend.
The rest of the week we will work on bringing the rates up and on our starting sequence. Hope to see you in Princeton!
Go Blue,
Lindsey Healy
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