Michigan
NCAA Heats
Wolverines to Head to Florida for NCAA Championships
5/26/2021 11:29:00 AM | Rowing
» The Wolverines enter the NCAA Championships ranked No. 5 nationally following the team's Big Ten Championship earlier this month (May 16).
» U-M is seeded fifth in the 1V8, fifth in the 2V8 and third in the 1V4.
» COVID-19 protocols for athletes and any attendees are available from Nathan Benderson Park in the Host Site Information linked below; no capacity restrictions apply for fans who wish to attend.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., May 28-30 -- at NCAA Championships (Sarasota, Fla.)
Site Information | NCAA Championships Information
Friday, May 28 -- NCAA Championships - Day 1, 9:36 a.m.
TV: NCAA.com | Live Results | Live Video
Saturday, May 29 -- NCAA Championships - Day 2, 8:36 a.m.
TV: NCAA.com | Live Results | Live Video
Sunday, May 30 -- NCAA Championships - Day 3, TBD
TV: NCAA.com | Live Results | Live Video
• Watch: Hoffmann Talks About B1G Rowing Athlete of the Year Honor
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter| Instagram
SARASOTA, Fla. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing team will continue its postseason pursuit with the 2021 NCAA Championships from Friday through Sunday (May 28-30) at Nathan Benderson Park. The Wolverines return to the site of the 2018 Championships with the program's seventh Big Ten Championship in tow.
U-M returns to the NCAA Championship event for the 13th consecutive season and the 21st overall, by virtue of automatic qualification from winning the Big Ten Conference. The site of the championship regatta, Nathan Benderson Park (NBP), served as the host of the 2018 NCAA Championships and will host the event again in 2022.
NBP is a unique 600-acre community park that has proven itself to be an excellent venue for top-level racing. The Park and Regatta Center holds a 2,000-meter sprint rowing course and has been hosting organized competitions since 2009.
The weekend will begin with Friday's 9:36 a.m. start, marking the fourth heat of the 1V8 races. U-M's No. 5-seeded 1V8 will line up in lane four, racing against No. 4 Virginia, No. 10 Duke, No. 16 Washington State, Rhode Island and Northeastern.
The 2V8 will race is scheduled for 10:24 a.m., with Michigan again in the fourth lane of the fourth heat. This heat includes No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 Duke, No. 14 Tennessee, Gonzaga and Northeastern.
U-M's 1V4 is set for an 11 a.m. start, rowing from lane three in the third heat. U-M will line up with No. 6 Ohio State, No. 8 California, No. 9 Syracuse, Marist and Rhode Island.
Should any boats fail to advance from heats, they will race in Friday afternoon repechages. Friday results will yield seeding for Saturday's A/B or C/D semifinals, which grant berths to the Grand Final (national placings 1-6), Petite Final (7-12), C Final (13-18) or D Final (19-22), depending on results.
Michigan Lineups
1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Annika Hoffmann, Tayla-May Bentley, Lilia Duncan, Madison Byrd, Kate Burns, Grace Collins, Ariana Shokoohi, Julia Gehlert
2V8: Alexandra Gabel (coxswain), Emma Luniewicz, Noa Sreden, Paige Badenhorst, Elena Collier-Hezel, Abigail Dent, Zara Collisson, Ember Larson, Jeri Rhodes
1V4: Lillian Mei, Victoria Cooke, Kathryn Ward, Sarah McKay, Ainslie Evans (coxswain)
Things to Know
• As Michigan begins the postseason of the 2021 campaign, it begins pursuit of its sixth consecutive top-10 NCAA finish after winning the program's seventh Big Ten Title under five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year Mark Rothstein.
• Rothstein joined Jon Jansen on the Conqu'ring Heroes Podcast earlier this month, discussing his own background, putting together a lineup in this challenging season, and the progress of this year's team as the Wolverines approached the stretch run.
• U-M sits at No. 5 in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches' Poll, and is the top team in the Big Ten.
• Overall, the Big Ten has an impressive six teams ranked in the top 20 nationally, including No. 5 U-M, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Rutgers at these NCAA Championships.
• U-M nearly swept the field at the Big Ten Championships, and did so in the championship events. The Wolverines collected six gold medals (1V8, 2V8, 1V4, 2V4, 3V4, 1N8) and one silver (2N8) to score 191 of a possible 192 points, a program-best and the second-highest total in Big Ten history.
• The program garnered conference awards as well, with Big Ten Athlete of the Year Annika Hoffmann and Big Ten Coach of the Year Mark Rothstein.
• Outside the conference, U-M has a strong record. The Wolverines' top boat has picked up victories over No. 9 Tennessee, No. 16 SMU, No. 18 Washington State, No. 20 Syracuse, Iowa, Notre Dame, and Louisville this spring.
• U-M's last postseason ended in a podium finish (third place, 2019), the program's second in three years (2017). That 2019 NCAA Championship event also came off the heels of a Big Ten Championship for the Wolverines.
• In 2019, U-M put all three boats in the Grand Final. The Wolverines are poised to keep their presence known on the national stage with their seventh consecutive top-10 NCAA finish this spring.
• U-M earned top-four finishes in all three NCAA events in 2019. Two years later, the 2021 roster returns 11 athletes -- including six varsity eight athletes -- from that championship roster. Pocock All-Americans Charlotte Powers (first team) and Madison Byrd (second team) return, along with 2021 All-Big Ten athletes Hoffmann, Tayla-May Bentley (first team), Lilia Duncan (second team) and Grace Collins (second team).
• Michigan is set to have 10 seniors in the lineup this weekend: Kate Burns, Grace Collins, Julia Gehlert, Annika Hoffmann, Emma Luniewicz, Charlotte Powers, and Noa Sreden, including fifth-years Tayla-May Bentley, Madison Byrd and Lilia Duncan.
• Freshmen or sophomores competing for the first time at the NCAA Championships include Ariana Shokoohi, the lone non-senior in the 1V8, Alexandra Gabel, Elena Collier-Hezel, Abigail Dent, Zara Collisson, Ember Larson, all members of the 2V8, and 1V4 members Sarah McKay and Ainslie Evans.
• Collier-Hezel was recently named to the U-23 Selection Camp Roster by USRowing on Wednesday (May 26). She will attend the camp at Iowa from June 1-20 with the opportunity to represent Team USA at the U23 World Rowing Championships in the Czech Republic from July 7-11.
• U-M assistant coach Liz Tuppen is an assistant on the Team USA U-23 Women's coaching staff, and will be part of the group guiding Collier-Hezel and her teammates later this summer.
• This is a group that is just as impressive in the classroom as they are on the water. Last year, U-M boasted 44 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, an improvement from 33 the year before. This season in 2021, the Wolverines are set to improve on that number again.
• Annika Hoffmann, a dual-major in political science and comparative literature, was the Elite 90 Award Winner for all of NCAA Division I rowing at the 2019 championships and is poised to repeat the honor with a perfect 4.0 upon her graduation this spring.
Players Mentioned
