Michigan
NCAA Finals
U-M Captures Two Bronze Medals, Finishes Third at NCAA Championships
6/2/2019 12:35:00 PM | Rowing
» The Wolverines endured a third straight day of schedule adjustments, as Division I Grand Final races were bumped up due to concerns about impending weather.
» U-M outperformed its seed in the 1V8 (from sixth to third) and 1V4 (from fifth to fourth) races, and also medaled in the 2V8 (bronze) to earn the team's second trip to the podium in the last three years.
» Michigan's placing marks its sixth straight top-10 finish as a program and its third time ever with multiple medalist boats (2001, '12). Its 119 points are a program record at the NCAA Championship.
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Eagle Creek Park)
Event: NCAA Championships Finals
U-M Team Finish: 3rd overall (119 points)
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:08.659 (3rd of 6) Grand Final (3rd overall)
Second Varsity Eight Finish: 6:15.063 (3rd of 6) Grand Final (3rd overall)
First Varsity Four Finish: 6:57.915 (4th of 6) Grand Final (4th overall)
Next U-M Event: Season completed
• Results | Photo Gallery | NCAA Championships Site
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing program wrapped one of the best seasons in program history in style on Sunday (June 2) during the final day of NCAA Championship racing at Eagle Creek Park. In a morning filled with tight races and fast times, the first varsity eight and second varsity eight boats each finished third overall and the first varsity four finished fourth to earn a third-place team finish for the Maize and Blue with a program-record 119 points.
After two days of substantial schedule changes triggered by stormy weather, precautionary measures were taken in the evening on Saturday (June 1) to adjust the race schedule. Michigan's races were moved up earlier in the day. Weather was sunny and bright with thin, wispy clouds and temperatures steadied in the 70s. Mild tailwinds came forth, leaving teams with the best weather day of the weekend on the most important day of the championships. Races were wire-to-wire all morning in one of the most closely-contested championship Sundays in recent history.
Michigan head coach Mark Rothstein expressed pride in this team's ability to remain internal in its focus and block out all distractions. He was especially complimentary of the Class of 2019 seniors and the way they influenced U-M rowing.
"I'm really, really proud of this team, and really proud of these seniors," said Rothstein. "They've been as good a senior class as we've ever had. Their leadership and hard work -- they've definitely left the program better than they've found it. As a team, we need to honor that and make sure our program will continue to build on the legacy they've left."
"There's so much love in this class, and we're very much a family," said senior Meghan Gutknecht.
"We've been fearless all year long and never held back, and that's led to a lot of our success," senior Caroline Hendershot said.
Both athletes said Rothstein's final message to the team was simple: just race your race.
"He reminded us that we've been doing this all year and it's no different this weekend," said Gutknecht.
"We knew our rankings didn't matter going in," added Hendershot. "Our focus was just on rowing our race, doing our thing and setting the course on fire."
Michigan's first varsity eight raced first, at 9:10 a.m. in the Grand Final. U-M earned 60 points towards the team total with a third-place finish. The Wolverines' bronze medal is the second in program history, the third NCAA medal overall for the 1V8 and the boat's best finish since 2012 when it was the national runner-up.
Racing with No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 California, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Ohio State, U-M lined up in lane two with the Buckeyes inside. The early pace was quick, aided by a small tailwind and every boat kept contact throughout the race. The Wolverines jumped out with the early leaders and actually built about a four-seat lead near the 500-meter mark with Ohio State and Stanford chasing.
Texas made a move near the 1,000-meter mark and moved into second, while Stanford and Cal began to pass the Buckeyes and push the pace. Texas took the lead in the third 500 and the Wolverines battled with Washington and the Longhorns for 1-2-3 down the stretch. Washington's power pushed it across the line first in an incredibly close finish with Texas next and Michigan in third place.
U-M's second varsity eight raced next in their Grand Final, rowing out of the third lane between Texas and Ohio State and competed against the same five schools as the 1V8. The Wolverines entered the weekend seeded No. 2 in their event, the highest-seeded boat for U-M, and lived up to expectations with another outstanding performance. The boat finished third overall and earned 40 points towards the team total, which marked its third consecutive top-four NCAA showing, its second bronze medal in the past three seasons and the fourth NCAA medal for the boat in program history.
The teams got off the line at a barn-burner pace, and no real leader emerged until Texas took that mantle near the 500-meter mark. Up four seats on the Huskies, Texas continued to speed ahead while Michigan and Stanford led the chase group. The Wolverines positioned themselves in third place near the halfway point, a half-length behind the two leaders as Stanford attempted to track down the Wolverines. U-M held off the Cardinal successfully, as Michigan kicked it into another gear over the final 500 meters and the 2V8 finish mimicked that of the 1V8: Washington first, Texas second and Michigan third.
The Wolverine first varsity four wrapped up the day and the weekend and rowed out of the second lane with California on the inside. Competing with No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 10 Virginia, U-M finished fourth overall and outperformed its No. 5 seed and captured a crucial 19 points in the team standings to secure U-M's third-place team finish.
Like the previous races, this one got off to a fast start with Texas and Stanford pushing the pace early. Stanford led at 500 meters, but Washington began to push ahead and soon caught up with Texas. Stanford was up two seats on the Wolverines, and the Huskies began to pass U-M near the halfway point of the race with Texas closest behind and Ohio State trailing them.
Washington emerged as the race leader in the third 500 and did not relinquish the lead, which marked the second time ever that the Huskies, or any program, have swept all three events (2017).
Behind the Huskies, Stanford gave chase with Texas a half-deck up on the Wolverines. The two-point swing between third and fourth place in this race was not enough to flip the Longhorns and Wolverines in the team standings, but the boats fought every stroke for every seat down the stretch. In the end, the Cardinal held onto second place while Texas took bronze and U-M was fourth.
Michigan's season ends with its sixth straight top-10 finish. By all measures, the 2019 season ranks with the 2001, 2012, and 2017 seasons as the most accomplished in program history.
Results
Team Standings
1. Washington -- 132
2. Texas -- 125
3. MICHIGAN -- 119*
4. Stanford -- 116
5. Ohio State -- 105
6. California -- 103
* = Michigan record at the NCAA Championships
First Varsity Eight
1. Washington -- 6:07.284
2. Texas -- 6:07.971
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:08.659
4. Stanford -- 6:09.344
5. California -- 6:10.515
6. Ohio State -- 6:11.042
Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington -- 6:11.262
2. Texas -- 6:12.328
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:15.063
4. Stanford -- 6:16.937
5. Ohio State -- 6:20.449
6. Virginia -- 6:26.567
First Varsity Four
1. Washington -- 6:52.451
2. Stanford -- 6:55.642
3. Texas -- 6:56.987
4. MICHIGAN -- 6:57.915
5. Ohio State -- 6:59.256
6. California -- 7:00.072
Varsity Lineups
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)
Tweet of the Day
Congratulations Wolverines!!...Very proud of you...Deep respect for what you do ...That has to be very grueling
— 740_Wolverine (@jd_ansberry) June 2, 2019
Players Mentioned
