Season Review: 2017-18 Michigan Rowing
8/1/2018 3:05:00 PM | Rowing
Team Captains: Tayla-May Bentley, Kendall Brewer, Meghan Gutknecht, Rae Oleshansky
Big Ten Championships: 2nd (163 points)
NCAA Championships: 7th (95 points)
For the fifth time in as many seasons, the University of Michigan rowing program earned a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships. For a team which has perennially high expectations, it was an unsatisfying way to end the year, but there were plenty of memorable moments along the way, and even more reasons to be optimistic about the future.
Team Highlights
• A New Home: For the first time in program history, the U-M rowing program has its own home on campus. The South Campus Performance Center opened on Nov. 28, 2017, and the Wolverines wasted little time in going to work. An indoor rowing tank, erg room, team meeting rooms and locker rooms are just some of the numerous amenities that are now available to the program, and the student-athlete reaction was one to remember.
• Proving the Pollsters Right: U-M earned its fifth consecutive top-six projection in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Poll, ranking fifth in the preseason edition. U-M rewarded the faith of the pollsters by finishing seventh in the NCAA and remaining a top-10 team in the polls for the entirety of the 2018 season.
• Senior Day Sweep: Continuing with annual tradition, the Wolverines hosted Louisville in the team's final event of the regular season, and also took the opportunity to honor the team's nine-member senior class. U-M won all five races on the day, and Kendall Brewer, Flick Cain, Mollie Fox, Alexis Jones, Kalia Krichko, Rae Oleshansky, Kathleen Peng, Haley Zapolski and Abby Vare each was recognized in a post-race ceremony at the Belleville Boat House.
• Rowing in Las Vegas: U-M trekked west earlier this year, rowing in Las Vegas for the first time. It was a good test for the Wolverines too, with No. 1 Washington and No. 3 Texas also in competition. Michigan's 2V8 took second place in its race, the best finish of the morning, and U-M got an important opportunity to measure itself against some of the top programs in the country.
Individual Highlights
• Honored by Pocock: Michigan's All-American streak continued this year, as four honors were collected by Wolverine rowers. This makes it 11 years running that U-M has had at least one All-America selection. This year, Kendall Brewer earned her second career first-team honor (and third honor overall), while Meghan Gutknecht and Kalia Krichko picked up second-team recognition, and Flick Cain was given honorable mention.
• Brewer Shares Big Ten's Top Award: For the first time since Felice Mueller was the outright winner in 2012, Michigan boasts the Big Ten Athlete of the Year. Kendall Brewer shared the 2018 distinction with Iowa's Contessa Harold, becoming one of four All-Big Ten honorees for U-M.
• Jones Awarded Prestigious Bonderman Fellowship: Senior coxswain Alexis Jones earned one of the most esteemed honors available at the University of Michigan when she was named one of four recipients of the 2018 Bonderman Fellowship. The Bonderman, as it is known, is among the most coveted honors a U-M student can receive. Recipients are awarded a $20,000 stipend with which they are to travel the world during an eight-month excursion. Jones sets off on her journey in the fall.
• World Championship Opportunities: Rising senior Meghan Gutknecht and sophomore Megan Hinkle each earned the chance to represent Team U.S.A. at the Under-23 World Championships in Poznaz Poland in July. Both attended the U.S. Selection camp at Princeton in early summer and made the cut to be part of Team U.S.A. Gutknecht (4-) helped the straight four finish 10th while Hinkle (4x) and the quad sculls took sixth overall. It was Gutknecht's second year as part of the Under-23 program and her third year of representing Team U.S.A. overall, while Hinkle made her international debut.
Honors and Awards
Kendall
Brewer
Meghan
Gutknecht
Kalia
Krichko
Flick
Cain
All-America (4)
Kendall Brewer (first team)
Meghan Gutknecht (second team)
Kalia Krichko (second team)
Flick Cain (honorable mention)
All-Big Ten Conference (4)
Kendall Brewer (first team)
Meghan Gutknecht (first team)
Kalia Krichko (second team)
Flick Cain (second team)
Other Individual Big Ten Awards
Co-Big Ten Athlete of the Year - Kendall Brewer
U.S. Under-23 Selections
Meghan Gutknecht
Megan Hinkle
Big Ten Boat of the Week
First Varsity Eight (Twice; March 20 and April 3, 2018)
CRCA Scholar Athletes (9)
Perry Bower, Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience (BCN)
Kendall Brewer, Sociology
Flick Cain, Sociology
Victoria Glunt, Industrial and Operations Engineering
Alexis Jones, Biochemistry
Rae Oleshansky, Sociology
Kathleen Peng, Nursing
Erika Yasuda, Movement Science
Academic All-Big Ten (29)
Tayla-May Bentley, undeclared
Perry Bower, Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience (BCN)
Kendall Brewer, Sociology
Flick Cain, Sociology
Emma Dietz, International Studies
Rachel Fanning, Business Administration
Mollie Fox, History of Art
Grace Gagliardi, English
Victoria Glunt, Industrial and Operations Engineering
Kathryn Grotto, Psychology
Meghan Gutknecht, Environment
Caroline Hendershot, Communication
Alexis Jones, Biochemistry
Rebecca Joyce, Environment
Emily Krebs, Biomedical Engineering
Kalia Krichko, Civil Engineering
Shayla Lamb, Sport Management
Maurgan Lee, undeclared
Lily Miller, undeclared
Rae Oleshansky, Sociology
Catherine Olson, Information
Kathleen Peng, Nursing
Madeleine Schneider, Comparative Literature and International Studies
Sadie Staudacher, Information
Allie Stellon, Movement Science
Olivia Wagner, Statistics
Erika Yasuda, Movement Science
Haley Zapolski, Economics
Amy Zhang, undeclared
Players Mentioned
