Michigan
NCAA Heats
U-M Advances Cleanly on Day One of NCAA Championships
5/28/2021 12:02:00 PM | Rowing
» In the first day of races, U-M needed to place top-two in each of its heats to advance all three boats to A/B Semifinals on Saturday and avoid Friday afternoon repechages.
» The Wolverines accomplished that in all three events, winning their 1V8 heat and placing second in both the 2V8 and 1V4.
» U-M is seeking to advance all three boats to the grand final for the third time in four seasons (2017, '19) and will have the chance to do so during Saturday's semifinals.
Site: Sarasota, Fla. (Nathan Benderson Park)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 1 of 3)
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:23.808 (1st)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 29 -- at NCAA Championships - Day Two (Sarasota, Fla.), 8:36Â a.m.
• Photo Gallery
SARASOTA, Fla. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing program had a clean performance during heats on Friday (May 28), the first day of the NCAA Championships at Nathan Benderson Park, advancing all three boats to A/B semifinal action. The Wolverines were no worse than second place in their three morning races, setting up an excellent start to the championship event.
Temperatures in sunny Florida had already cracked 80 degrees for the first varsity eight races, and winds were minimal, making for glassy water up and down the course, and a great morning for competition overall.
In Michigan's first race of the day, the 1V8 rowed out of lane four in the fourth heat with a double-bucket lineup and earned an impressive victory. The Wolverines were lined up against Virginia in lane three with Washington State in lane five. UVA defeated U-M on three separate occasions during the regular season -- once in March and twice in April -- but U-M avenged those losses and looked by far the better crew today.
Michigan erupted out of the start and had a multi-seat lead over the Cavaliers at 250 meters. Approaching 750 meters, U-M had about a three-quarters boat length lead as Virginia began upping its stroke rate to separate from Duke in third. In the second half of the race, the Wolverines did not let up. The separation they created in the early going was too much for UVA to overcome, and U-M put water on the second-place Hoos, while UVA did the same to the third- and fourth-place boats from Duke and Washington State.
Over the final 500, U-M proved that its rapid pace early on was actually sustainable and left no room for Virginia to eat back into the lead. The Wolverines looked fit and fast and put more distance between themselves and the other crews, crossing in 6:23.808 for a 4.05-second win over UVA.
In the 2V8 race, U-M rowed from lane four between Stanford in lane three and Tennessee in lane five. The Wolverines again employed the double-bucket lineup, which drew commentary from the NCAA Championships broadcast. The tactic has been successful for U-M, and the 2V8 continued that trend with a second-place finish.
Stanford took the early lead with U-M in second and Tennessee and Duke battling for third. Stanford put about a deck length on U-M early as the positions settled into place. The Cardinal continued to separate with each stroke while U-M settled into defending second place with a full-length lead on Tennessee; Duke began to creep into U-M as it passed the Volunteers. The Wolverines responded well, keeping Duke about a boat length behind as the lead pack approached the 1,000-meter mark. The Blue Devils did not back down, but U-M kept its stroke-rate up and maintained the distance it gained in the first half of the race.
Stanford continued to separate and put more open water on the field, and it became their race to lose, but with second place avoiding Friday afternoon repechages, a runner-up finish still feel like a victory for the Wolverines. As Duke attempted another move in the final 500 meters, the Wolverines held strong and the boat's open-water lead was not compromised. The Maize and Blue corrected what might have been a bit of a nervy start with smooth operation the rest of the way. After Stanford crossed for the win in 6:23.916, the Wolverines looked fast as they timed 6:33.524 for second place, 5.844 seconds ahead of third-place Duke.
In the 1V4 event, U-M rowed from lane three between Syracuse and a familiar foe, Ohio State. A mild crosswind picked up slightly before the start of the race, but water remained smooth and racing conditions excellent. U-M and OSU wasted little time making it a two-boat race in an exciting event.
Michigan, Ohio State, and California were all within a seat of each other a few strokes out of the gates, and U-M separated into a half-length lead on second-place Ohio State as the boats worked through 250 meters. California positioned into third, but there was no overlap between OSU in second and the Bears in third. With both the Wolverines and Buckeyes putting open water on California and Syracuse by 500 meters, the battle of Big Ten boats was on.
U-M's lead was down to inches near the halfway point, and OSU pulled ahead just past the 1,000. The Buckeyes kept churning and moved up a boat length on the Wolverines with a move between 1,250 and 1,500 meters. U-M kept OSU in range but had to worry about third-place Syracuse coming up in the second lane. The Wolverines held strong and looked smooth as they remained comfortably in second place down the stretch, crossing 6.297 seconds behind OSU with a time of 7:09.623. No doubt, the two crews will meet again this weekend, if not Saturday (May 29).
For U-M, racing begins again on Saturday morning at 8:36 a.m. (Heat 1, Lane 3) with the 1V8 A/B semifinal. The 2V8 race will begin at 9:24 a.m. (Heat 1, Lane 2), and the 1V4 race begins at 10:12Â a.m. (Heat 1, Lane 2).
Results
First Varsity Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:23.808
2. Virginia -- 6:27.858
3. Washington State -- 6:31.668
4. Duke -- 6:33.056
5. Northeastern -- 6:44.348
6. Rhode Island -- 6:53.996
Second Varsity Eight
1. Stanford -- 6:23.916
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:33.524
3. Duke -- 6:39.368
4. Tennessee -- 6:44.840
5. Northeastern -- 6:54.428
6. Gonzaga -- 7:07.570
First Varsity Four
1. Ohio State -- 7:03.329
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:09.623
3. Syracuse -- 7:14.435
4. California -- 7:19.861
5. Rhode Island -- 7:44.963
6. Marist -- 7:56.899
Michigan Lineup
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)
Players Mentioned
