Wolverines Take Third at NCAA Championships

Sunday, May 28

West Windsor, N.J.

8:00 AM

Michigan

NCAA Finals

5/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Rowing

By: Chad Shepard

» Michigan earned a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the team's best finish since it was runner-up in 2012 and fourth-ever top-three finish at the national regatta.
» This postseason marked the first since 2001 in which U-M saw all three of its NCAA Championship-competing boats qualify for the Grand Final.
» Two of U-M's three boats outperformed their seeds, with the 2V8 placing third (seeded fourth) and the 1V8 placing fifth (seeded seventh).
» Michigan was one of only three teams to qualify each of its three competing boats for the Grand Final, joining NCAA champion Washington and runner-up and California.

• Results | Host Site Information | Photo Gallery

Site: West Windsor, N.J. (Lake Mercer)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 3)
U-M Team Finish: 3rd Place (112 points)
First Varsity Eight Finish: Grand Final, 5th of 6 (6:44.812)
Second Varsity Eight Finish: Grand Final, 3rd of 6 (6:55.135)
First Varsity Four Finish: Grand Final, 5th of 6 (7:21.099)
Next U-M Event: Season Complete

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan rowing team ended its 2017 season in spectacular fashion on Sunday (May 28), earning a third-place team finish at the NCAA Championships on Lake Mercer.

After sending all three boats to the Grand Final during Saturday's (May 27) semis, the Wolverines knew they were poised for a strong team finish this weekend. Still, head coach Mark Rothstein stressed the importance of resiliency and responding to a source of motivation from earlier this month.

"Two weeks ago, we had a very disappointing second-place finish at Big Tens. We talked about it after and had a team meeting, talking about the grieving process," said Rothstein. "You have to move through it. We could have either had this make us stronger or have it hold us back. The team responded so well to that. They moved on, we got faster, and we had a great two weeks leading in to NCAAs. Every boat raced faster here than at Big Tens, and that's a testament to their character as a team and the leadership of the seniors."

"The message was to race with heart and to do it with love," echoed senior Kaitlin Wright. "Once you reach this point in the season, with all three boats in the final, it's just all heart and all about doing it together."

The team embraced that ideal in full this weekend, finishing as the top team from the Big Ten in the overall standings. U-M was also the lone Big Ten program to put all three boats in the Grand Final.

Today's weather was bright and sunny with low headwinds making little impact on the racing. By the end of the morning, temperatures rose to the mid-70s, helping to create beautiful conditions on the water and the shores, where a loud and energetic audience took in the action.

The 1V4 boat had the first race of the day, lining up with t-No. 4 Texas, t-No. 4 Ohio State, No. 2 California, No. 1 Washington and No. 7 Princeton out of lane five. Washington and Cal jumped out to an early lead, gaining separation on the pack by the 500-meter mark. U-M was in the front chase pack, battling with Texas and Ohio State, while the two leaders put open water on the field by the 1,000-meter mark. U-M was about a boat length back of Ohio State with 500 meters to go and ultimately placed fifth in a tight finish with Texas, the first of two on the day. It was a nice start for U-M with 18 points to the team total.

The 2V8 boat raced in lane five against No. 11 Wisconsin, California, Washington, Ohio State and No. 6 Brown. Washington came out aggressively, but U-M hung around at the start, sitting in second place as the 500-meter mark approached. Cal drew level with the Wolverines, but U-M punched back with a nice response near the halfway point of the race. Once the Buckeyes joined the chase, Cal moved into second position, but the Wolverines held off OSU for their medalist finish, taking third in 6:55.135, one of four sub-7:00 2V8 boats in this Grand Final to add 40 points to the team score.

The 1V8 boat closed the weekend out of lane two. Their competition included No. 9 Yale, California, Stanford, Washington and Texas. At the start, Washington and Cal came out fast, with Yale in hot pursuit. The Bulldogs faded though, and the U-M boat passed theirs around the 1,000-meter mark. Stanford moved into the Pac-12 fray up front, creating a tight lead pack, but U-M remained about a boat length off the leaders. Down the stretch, U-M and Texas jockeyed back and forth for fourth place, with the Longhorns edging out the Wolverines by .075 seconds.

The 1V8 punctuated the team scoring with 54 points in the final race. U-M relied on scoring from all three boats in the team standings, a testament to the staff and depth of the program in the mind of Rothstein.

"The coaching staff is so hard-working and united and professional," he said. "They're just really, really good coaches. It's a team effort, and we have the best coaching staff we've ever had, among the best in the country."

Also of note, the University of Washington completed the first-ever sweep of all three races en route to their NCAA team championship.

All teams are unique to their coaches, but Rothstein mentioned a few traits that made this team particularly special.

"This group is very hard-working and resilient," he said. "We had great senior leadership and it's just a really, really fun group to coach. I could not be more proud of our team."

"It was an incredible way to close our careers as seniors," added Tessa Yurko. "It was an amazing opportunity to compete with everyone on this team who works so hard. It was special to give this to our team and our program, and I am really proud of everyone on this team, especially the senior class."

Michigan's 2017 campaign has now come to a close, tying a bow on another special season. However, that does not mean there are not more opportunities to compete. Three Wolverines earned spots at U.S. Rowing's U-23 camp this summer: Kendall Brewer, Meghan Gutknecht and Tessa Yurko.

RESULTS

1V8
1. Washington -- 6:36.939
2. Stanford -- 6:38.520
3. California -- 6:40.069
4. Texas -- 6:44.737
5. MICHIGAN -- 6:44.812
6. Yale -- 6:48.634

2V8
1. Washington -- 6:47.268
2. California -- 6:53.313
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:55.135
4. Ohio State -- 6:58.163
5. Brown -- 7:03.155
6. Wisconsin -- 7:054.110

1V4
1. Washington -- 7:07.103
2. California -- 7:11.706
3. Ohio State -- 7:16.473
4. Texas -- 7:20.326
5. MICHIGAN -- 7:21.099
6. Princeton -- 7:25.406

Michigan Crews

1V8: Kathryn Boyle (coxswain), Meghan Gutknecht, Tayla-May Bentley, Kendall Brewer, Kaitlin Wright, Shayla Lamb, Tessa Yurko, Louisa Freeman, Kalia Krichko