Michigan
NCAA Heats
U-M Advances All Boats to A/B Semis During Shortened Day at NCAA Championships
5/31/2019 7:28:00 PM | Rowing
» Storms late Thursday (May 30) forced course operators to spend the morning and early afternoon clearing the water of debris, pushing races originally scheduled to the afternoon.
» Division I eliminated their repechages, advancing automatically the top three boats to A/B Semifinals.
» U-M advanced all three of its boats to Saturday's (June 1) A/B semifinals, meaning all are still in the running for the national title race on Sunday (June 2).
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Eagle Creek Park)
Event: NCAA Championships Heat Races
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:15.235 (2nd of 6); advances to A/B semifinals
Next U-M Event: Saturday, June 1 -- NCAA Championships Semifinals (Indianapolis, Ind.), 10Â a.m.
• Results | Photo Gallery | NCAA Championships Site
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Fresh off the program's sixth Big Ten Championship, the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing program got off to a fast start during the first day of competition on Friday (May 31) at the NCAA Championships. U-M advanced all three boats to A/B semifinal races highlighted by a heat win from the second varsity eight boat.
The day's start was delayed substantially by stormy weather late on Thursday. The course, originally scheduled to open at 7 a.m. for warmups to begin prior to 8:12 a.m. races, did not open until after 3 p.m., with the first races beginning around 4 p.m. Michigan's races were moved from 9:24 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:12 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The decision also was made to forego repechages at the Division I level, meaning the top three boats from each heat advanced to A/B semifinals, while the remaining boats headed to C/D semifinals.
Despite the prolonged nerves and many changes, the Wolverines performed well. U-M had not seen the course at Eagle Creek Park all season, but its veterans remember it as the site of the Big Ten Championships throughout their careers. That sense of familiarity was intensified by each boat finding at least one Big Ten opponent in its opening heat, including four Big Ten boats out of six in the 1V4 race.
Once racing began, weather was sunny and warm, with temperatures into the high 70s. Winds were minimal, creating an ideal afternoon for racing.
U-M's first varsity eight began the action in the third heat, racing with No. 2 Stanford, No. 13 Rutgers, No. 16 Harvard, Marist and Rhode Island. U-M lined up next to the Cardinal, and the top-seeded boats met expectations with a one-two finish led by Stanford.
Stanford got out to an early lead which it did not relinquish, and U-M maintained its closest competitor throughout the race. By the halfway point, Stanford had improved its advantage and U-M had built a four-seat lead over Rutgers while the Scarlet Knights tried to hold off Harvard-Radcliffe for third place, the final placing that would earn an A/B semifinal spot. Stanford earned the win in 6:09.583, and U-M finished second (+5.652), with Rutgers holding onto third place to advance two Big Ten boats to Saturday's (June 1) A/B semifinal.
The Maize and Blue second varsity eight raced in heat two with No. 7 Ohio State, No. 9 Yale, No. 13 Rutgers and Northeastern. Seeded No. 2 in the nation, Michigan's boat did not disappoint and won its race in 6:24.640. Lined up outside, U-M pushed itself into the lead not long after the flag dropped, asserting its presence as the top boat in the water. The early lead was over Ohio State and Yale, upped to about a half-boat length by the 500-meter mark.
The Buckeyes and Bulldogs continued battling for second as U-M increased its lead to open water by 1,000 meters. Rutgers pushed back against OSU, but it was short-lived and the Ohio State move in the latter half of the race pushed them ahead of Yale. U-M could not be caught as it carried an expanding open-water lead across the finish line and repeated its Big Ten Championship performance with a win of more than four seconds ahead of the Buckeyes. Yale held off Rutgers for third place.
U-M's first varsity four raced in heat four, the final race of the day. The fifth-seeded Wolverines boat lined up against No. 7 Ohio State, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 15 Indiana, Gonzaga and Northeastern. It was a display of Big Ten dominance, as the top four-finishing boats were all from the conference which placed a record six programs into the field this year.
Michigan built a small lead in the early going, up to three seats or so, when Indiana began to make its first move. Ohio State was in hot pursuit and all three boats began to separate from the pack just 500 meters into the race. IU took the lead briefly before the 1,000-meter mark, but U-M took it right back and turned that momentum into a full-deck lead. But Ohio State made its move in the third 500, and crept into the lead, whittling it down to two seats. OSU took the lead near the 1,500-meter mark, and held onto it for the remainder of the race. U-M still had a deck up on the Hoosiers and took second place comfortably, finishing +1.466 behind Ohio State.
U-M will return to action on Saturday (June 1) with all three boats in A/B semifinal races. The top three finishers in each heat will advance to Sunday's (June 2) Grand Final with a national title on the line. The remaining boats will race in Petite Finals on Sunday. Fans can catch all the action streaming on ncaa.com.
Results
* = advance to A/B semi-final
First Varsity Eight
1. Stanford -- 6:09.53*
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:15.235*
3. Rutgers -- 6:16.728*
4. Harvard -- 6:20.011
5. Rhode Island -- 6:38.980
6. Marist -- 6:42.157
Second Varsity Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:24.640*
2. Ohio State -- 6:28.934*
3. Yale -- 6:30.210*
4. Rutgers -- 6:32.583
5. Northeastern -- 6:51.703
First Varsity Four
1. Ohio State -- 7:05.275*
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:06.741*
3. Indiana -- 7:09.447*
4. Wisconsin -- 7:14.518
5. Northeastern -- 7:31.777
6. Gonzaga -- 7:43.125
Varsity Lineup
1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Jessica Schoonbee, Caroline Hendershot, Madison Byrd, Victoria Glunt, Grace Collins, Tayla-May Bentley, Kathryn Grotto, Annika Hoffmann
2V8: Erika Yasuda (coxswain), Grace Gagliardi, Meghan Gutknecht, Emma Luniewicz, Jeri Rhodes, Kate Burns, Megan Hinkle, Rachel Fanning, Shayla Lamb
1V4: Emily Krebs, Madeleine Schneider, Perry Bower, Lilia Duncan, Sujin Kim (coxswain)
Saturday Schedule
1V8 -- 10:00Â a.m. (A/B semifinal)
2V8 -- 10:30Â a.m. (A/B semifinal)
1V4 -- 10:40Â a.m. (A/B semifinal)
Tweet of the Day
Congrats to @umichrowing's Annika Hoffmann on winning the Elite 90 Award given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the NCAA Championships!
— Michigan Athletics (@UMichAthletics) May 31, 2019
Hoffmann has a 4.0 in Political Science and Comparative Literature. pic.twitter.com/ZMRnXa4OJy
Players Mentioned
