Michigan
Virginia
Top Boats Perform Best as Wolverines Deliver Mixed Day Against ACC Foes
4/2/2022 4:58:00 PM | Rowing
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Griggs Reservoir)
Event: Big Ten-ACC Challenge
First Varsity Eight Finish: 1st (6:49.4) vs. #11 Virginia; 1st (6:56.5) vs. #12 Duke
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 9 -- vs. Texas (Belleville Lake), 9 a.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan rowing program had an up-and-down day of racing competing in the B1G-ACC Challenge on Saturday (April 2) at Ohio State's Griggs Reservoir. U-M's top boats provided the most encouraging results. Matching up with some of the nation's top programs, the Wolverines' 1V8, 1V4 and 2V4 secured wins in both sessions, besting No. 11 Virginia and No. 12 Duke.
Skies were partly cloudy, but sun shone through on a nice morning for racing. Winds were relatively calm in the early session and picked up in the afternoon as skies grew cloudier. Temperatures were in the low-30s early on and rose into the 40s for the afternoon session. Winds changed up and down the course.
With its championship boats rowing against a pair of top-12 Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, the Wolverines sought to take advantage of a weekend with top-tier competition. It was a mixed day of results, but some of the team's top boats performed best, leaving the team with plenty of reasons for to feel it is headed in the right direction. The 1V8 and 3V4 boats had especially solid showings, with the former taking a step forward in its performance and the latter displaying serious toughness.
The Wolverines started slowly in the morning against UVA but began picking up head-to-head wins as the morning went on. U-M was the winner by more than 10 seconds in both the 2V4 and 1V4 events and won the latter race with its largest margin of victory all morning (+11.3 seconds).
U-M's 1V8 boat was also victorious, and decisively so. The Wolverines put open water on Virginia and kept their pace and stroke rate up through the latter parts of the race. U-M timed 6:49.4 ahead of Virginia's 6:58.7 for a 9.3-second win. The morning finished with U-M capturing wins in three races.
In the afternoon, U-M's championship boats took a step forward and won four races. The third varsity four began the trend with a win of more than 50 seconds over Duke, taking control early on and not allowing the Blue Devils any room to regain seats.
Similar to their morning race, the 2V4 got out to an early lead. This time, they held off their ACC opponents and won by a comfortable margin of 15.5 seconds. The 1V4 also took care of business, timing 7:52.9 to cross about two boat lengths (5.9 seconds) ahead of Duke.
The 1V8 closed both sessions the same way: with a win. The boat timed 6:56.5 across the line, besting the Blue Devils by 8.5 seconds for its second win of the day against a top-12 opponent.
U-M's 2V8 had solid races but came in second on both occasions. The crew put themselves into a good position in the morning race, gaining an early lead, but Virginia pushed back, fought for each seat, and crossed the line +3.1 seconds ahead of U-M. In the afternoon, Duke won by a wider margin.
The Wolverine 1N8 boat had two heartbreaking results. In the morning, the unit came in just -0.86 behind UVA, and in the afternoon, Duke was victorious by 2.9 seconds.
U-M will travel back home and prepare for its next race on Saturday (April 9) against the University of Texas. Action is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Belleville Lake.
Results
Morning Session
First Varsity Eight1. MICHIGAN -- 6:49.4
2. Virginia -- 6:58.7
Second Varsity Eight
1. Virginia -- 7:04.1
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:07.2
First Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:57.2
2. Virginia -- 8:08.4
Second Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:45.3
2. Virginia -- 7:55.9
Third Varsity Four
1. Virginia -- 7:53.9
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:58.1
First Novice Eight
1. Virginia -- 7:00.8
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:01.66
Second Novice Eight
1. Virginia -- 7:15.3
2. OSU -- 7:18.7
3. MICHIGAN -- 7:20.6
Afternoon Session
First Varsity Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:56.5
2. Duke -- 7:05.0
Second Varsity Eight
1. Duke -- 7:06.8
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:14.7
First Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:52.9
2. Duke -- 7:58.8
Second Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:54.7
2. Duke -- 8:10.2
Third Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 8:24.9
2. Duke -- 9:15.3
First Novice Eight
1. Duke -- 7:22.1
2. MICHIGAN --7:25.0
Second Novice Eight
1. Virginia -- 7:33.1
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:39.0
3. Ohio State -- 7:44.0
Lineups
1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Jessica Schoonbee, Gabrielle Graves, Grace Collins, Kate Burns, Abigail Dent, Zara Collisson, Ariana Shokoohi, Elena Collier-Hezel
2V8: Ainslie Evans (coxswain), Carla Russell, Noa Sreden, Emma Luniewicz, Sarah McKay, Kathryn Ward, Jeri Rhodes, Katie Easton, Cecilia Spesia
1V4: Annaka Draaisma, Victoria Cooke, Brooke Gietzen, Gracie Landefeld, Kayla Ehrlich (coxswain)
2V4: Lauren Sickmiller, Kate Lucken, Delaney Evans, Olivia McMullen , Kaitlin Nemeh (coxswain)
3V4: Lauren Benitez, Julia Casey, Lauren Langley, Hadley Camp, Rocky Morabito (coxswain)
1N8 (morning): Sophie McSpedon (coxswain), Anna Muench, Abby Hathaway, Erin Benitez, Emily Nelson, Megan Kleiner, Lauren Boydston, Allison Hall, Lauren Lier
1N8 (afternoon): Sophie McSpedon (coxswain), Anna Muench, Abby Hathaway, Erin Benitez, Emily Nelson, Megan Kleiner, Lauren Boydston, Madeline Lohse, Lauren Lier
2N8 (morning): Gaby Franco-Borges (coxswain), Alana Maffesoli, Madeline Lohse, Emma Pettigrew, Ellen Koselka, Caroline Kevnick, Anna Machak, Matilda Carr, Lauren Lutz
2N8 (afternoon): Gaby Franco-Borges (coxswain), Alana Maffesoli, Allison Hall, Emma Pettigrew, Ellen Koselka, Audrey Becker, Jillian Rhoney, Caroline Kevnick, Evyn Johnson
Players Mentioned
