Michigan
Big Ten Invitational (Morning)
Wolverines Show Speed on Day One in Sarasota
4/15/2022 6:07:00 PM | Rowing
Site: Sarasota, Fla. (Nathan Benderson Park)
Event: Big Ten Invitational (Day 1 of 2) Â
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:27.901 (1st of 4), Session 1; 6:26.148 (2nd of 4), Session 2
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 16 -- at Big Ten Invitational (Day 2), 8:30 a.m.
• Full Results
SARASOTA, Fla. Â -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan rowing program got off to a fast start on Friday (April 15) at the first day of competition of the Big Ten Invitational at Nathan Benderson Park, site of the 2022 NCAA Championships. The Wolverines showed their speed against some of the nation's top programs, collecting six of a possible seven race wins in the morning and followed up with victories in five afternoon events.
Racing conditions on Florida's east coast were hot -- a departure from the Midwest-based races teams have been used to. It was something to adjust to for virtually all the programs present, though, and will prove useful when teams return for the postseason. Temperatures reached the high 80s by noon, with slight cloud cover and variable crosswinds all day.
The varsity eights' highlights included a clean victory over three ranked programs for the 1V8 in the morning and tight second-place finishes in both sessions (1V8, morning; 2V8, afternoon). The day also produced a six-race sweep from the varsity fours and a clean four-race sweep from the novice eight boats. Overall, head coach Mark Rothstein praised it as the team's best collective performance so far this spring.
"I was pleased across the board today," said Rothstein. "I think we are on a good path with both of our varsity eight boats. We are an unfinished product and we will get faster, but today it was clear we are taking steps."
Rothstein also praised the rest of the competition lineup.
"Both novice boats raced really well, and our varsity fours were excellent. In particular, the 1V4 had a very composed race in the afternoon."
Racing primarily against No. 12 Virginia, No. 17 Rutgers, and No. 19 Washington State in the morning, the Wolverines collected six open-water victories in seven races, with one second-place finish by less than a half-second.
The 1V8 had a win of 6.188 seconds over Rutgers, with Virginia another three seconds behind. The Wolverines battled morning humidity to leave the other three programs in a tight race for places two through four. The 2V8 was the second-place finisher from the morning, coming in 0.456 seconds behind first-place Virginia. It was a two-boat race, as third-place Rutgers was a full +10.46 seconds behind the Wolverines.
U-M's fours swept in the morning set of races. The 3V4 dominated its heat in 7:42.7, a win of more than 18 seconds ahead of Iowa while the 2V4 and 1V4 each had victories of about nine seconds with Virginia as runner-up in both races.
The second novice eight was U-M's first race of the morning, and won its heat by several lengths in 7:07.2 (+11.13) with Wisconsin as its closest runner-up. The 1N8 followed up half an hour later and about four seconds faster, but with the same result: a win of more than three boat lengths (+16.16) in 7:04.8.
In the afternoon, U-M matched up with No. 7 Brown, No. 20 Indiana, and Notre Dame. Across tighter racing overall, the Wolverines collected fewer victories but improved their times from the morning in several races.
Both varsity eight boats placed second to Brown in their afternoon heats. The 1V8 race was much tighter, with U-M coming in at 6:26.148, faster than its morning time but 0.703 seconds behind the Bears in a photo finish. In the 2V8 event, the Ivy League program won with open water behind it, timing 6:36.746 to U-M's 6:46.249 (+9.503).
The varsity fours completed a six-race sweep, winning all three afternoon events. The 2V4 began the session coming in +5.424 seconds ahead of Brown in 7:19.141. The 3V4 and 1V4 both improved on their morning times, with the former, coming in at 7:27.306 and the latter at 7:19.151. Brown finished second in both events, five seconds behind in each case.
The second novice boat timed 7:14.311 to win its heat, coming in ahead of Rutgers in a tighter finish than their morning contest. Rutgers was -3.93 seconds behind U-M. The 1N8 boat timed 6:52.225 to come in +9.033 seconds ahead of Rutgers. That proved to be among the fastest times by any novice eight boats in either session, and completed a perfect day for Michigan's novice eights.
The Wolverines will be back for a second day of racing (single session) tomorrow (Saturday, April 16). The first race featuring a Maize and Blue boat is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. U-M will square off with No. 2 Stanford, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 12 Virginia on the final day of action.
Results
First Varsity Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:27.901
2. Rutgers -- 6:34.098
3. Virginia -- 6:37.528
4. Washington State -- 6:39.398
Second Varsity Eight
1. Virginia -- 6:37.501
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:37.957
3. Rutgers -- 6:48.417
4. Washington State -- 6:56.957
First Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:28.381
2. Virginia -- 7:38.044
3. Rutgers -- 7:42.091
4. Washington State -- 7:50.174
Second Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:16.387
2. Virginia -- 7:25.344
3. Rutgers -- 7:30.297
4. Washington State -- 7:32.204
Third Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:42.7
2. Iowa -- 8:01.096
3. Wisconsin -- 8:10.763
4. Tennessee -- 8:39.81
First Novice Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:04.8
2. Rutgers -- 7:21.960
3. Minnesota -- 7:24.323
4. Tennessee -- 7:47.057
Second Novice Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:07.2
2. Wisconsin -- 7:18.330
3. Indiana -- 7:22.943
4. Iowa -- 7:30.32
FRIDAY P.M. SESSION
First Varsity Eight
1. Brown -- 6:25.351
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:26.148
3. Indiana -- 6:41.238
4. Notre Dame -- 6:46.311
Second Varsity Eight
1. Brown -- 6:36.746
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:46.249
3. Indiana -- 6:54.309
4. Notre Dame -- 7:03.339
First Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:19.151
2. Brown -- 7:24.251
3. Indiana -- 7:41.254
4. Notre Dame -- 7:52.797
Second Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:19.141
2. Brown -- 7:24.565
3. Notre Dame -- 7:46.655
4. Indiana -- 7:54.851
Third Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:27.306
2. Rutgers -- 7:37.266
3. Minnesota -- 7:57.426
4. Michigan State -- 8:06.076
5. Tennessee -- 8:13.740
First Novice Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:52.225
2. Ohio State -- 7:01.228
3. Wisconsin -- 7:06.471
4. Michigan State -- 7:24.258
Second Novice Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:14.311
2. Rutgers -- 7:18.204
3. Michigan State -- 7:23.668
4. Indiana -- 7:33.358
Varsity Lineup
1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Jessica Schoonbee, Kate Burns, Grace Collins, Gabrielle Graves, Abigail Dent, Zara Collisson, Ariana Shokoohi, Elena Collier-Hezel
2V8: Ainslie Evans (coxswain), Cecilia Spesia, Brooke Gietzen, Sarah McKay, Carla Russell, Katie Easton, Noa Sreden, Emma Luniewicz, Jeri Rhodes
1V4: Annaka Draaisma, Gracie Landefeld, Kathryn Ward, Olivia McMullen, Kayla Ehrlich (coxswain)
2V4: Lauren Sickmiller, Madelyn Ball, Elle Caton, Aubrey Fitts, Kaitlin Nemeh (coxswain)
3V4: Delaney Evans, Kate Lucken, Lauren Benitez, Julia Casey, Rocky Morabito (coxswain)
1N8: Sophie McSpedon (coxswain), Abby Hathaway, Erin Benitez, Anna Muench, Emily Nelson, Allison Hall, Lauren Boydston, Megan Kleiner, Emma Pettigrew
2N8: Gabby Franco-Borges (coxswain), Caroline Kevnick, Ellen Koselka, Lauren Lier, Madeline Lohse, Alana Maffesoli, Madeline Carr, Charlotte Trunsky, Evyn Johnson
Players Mentioned
