Brewer Receives Top Honor; U-M Puts Four on All-Big Ten Teams
5/16/2018 2:05:00 PM | Rowing
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- University of Michigan rowing co-captain starboard Kendall Brewer was named co-Athlete of the Year by the Big Ten on Wednesday (May 16). Brewer, of the No. 6-ranked Wolverines, shares the honor with Iowa sophomore Contessa Harold, marking the third time the distinction has been shared since it was first awarded in 2000 (2002, '16).
In addition to her co-Athlete of the Year honor, Brewer was one of four Wolverines to pick up All-Big Ten honors last Sunday (May 13) at the Big Ten Championships. Junior Meghan Gutknecht joins Brewer as a first-team honoree, while seniors Kalia Krichko and Flick Cain earned second-team honors.
Brewer becomes U-M's fifth overall recipient of the conference's top recognition and she is the program's first since U.S. Olympian and volunteer assistant coach Felice Mueller (2012). Canadian Olympian Heather Mandoli (2004), Erin Kopicki (2003) and U.S. Olympian Kate Johnson (2000, '01) also won the conference's top individual honor.
A native of Austin, Texas, Brewer won a bronze medal (pairs) as part of Team USA at the Under-23 World Championships last summer and she is a two-time Pocock All-American, earning first-team honors last spring after securing second-team honors the year before. She has rowed exclusively in the 1V8 boat during her career at U-M, helping the top Wolverine boat finish fifth at the NCAA Championships in 2017 with eighth- and 11th-place finishes earlier in her career (2015, '16). Brewer is now a three-time All-Big Ten first-team selection, and she recently graduated with her degree in sociology.
"I am so honored to represent Michigan Rowing as Co-Big Ten Athlete of the Year," said Brewer.
"It is humbling to see my name next to all of the hard-working athletes who have won this award before me. My team has been the most influential part of my time here at Michigan, so I want to thank them and my coaches for all their help and motivation," said Brewer.
"We are very proud of Kendall for earning this top honor from the Big Ten," said head coach Mark Rothstein.
"Since she first arrived on campus, Kendall has been an important member of our first varsity eight boat and this past year as a co-captain, she really developed into a leader for our program. Kendall is a deserving recipient of this award and a great representative of our program and we are proud to call her a Wolverine."
Gutknecht is a Guilderland, New York, native, and also has experience competing for Team USA at the Under-23 World Championships. She rowed quad sculls, finishing sixth, at last summer's championships. Gutknecht was another immediate contributor to U-M's 1V8 crew as a freshman and she has been a fixture ever since. This is her first all-conference honor.
Krichko hails from Ridgefield, Connecticut, and was a Pocock All-American in 2017, earning second-team recognition. She was also a CRCA All-Region honoree (second team) and helped U-M's 1V8 take fifth at the NCAA Championships. Krichko got her start rowing on U-M's second varsity eight and third varsity four crews, before advancing to the first varsity four and then the 1V8 as an upperclassman. This marks the first All-Big Ten accolade for the civil engineering major.
Cain also earns her first conference award with this announcement. The Darien, Connecticut, native has been a staple in the lineups of Michigan's top two eight boats throughout her career, rowing in both the 1V8 and 2V8 from the time she was a freshman. She has been part of two boats that finished top-five at the NCAA Championships (fifth in 2015, 1V8; third in 2017, 2V8). Cain recently earned her sociology degree with minors in environment and creative writing.
U-M continues to be recognized with conference accolades in the postseason. Sophomore Tayla-May Bentley was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2017 and Gutknecht was co-Freshman of the Year in 2016, marking this as the third consecutive year with at least one postseason honor going to a Wolverine.
Michigan will compete for the 11th consecutive season and 19th time overall at the NCAA Championships next weekend (May 25-27) in Sarasota, Florida, at Nathan Benderson Park. The weekend will begin with heats at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Players Mentioned
