Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Michigan Places Second at Big Ten Championships After Dramatic Finish
5/15/2022 12:12:00 PM | Rowing
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Eagle Creek Park)
Event: Big Ten Championships
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:14.446 (2nd of 8)
U-M Result: 2nd of 8 (174 points)
Next U-M Event: May 27-29 -- at NCAA Championships (Sarasota, Fla.), TBA
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan rowing program earned a second-place finish at Sunday's (May 15) Big Ten Championship regatta held at Eagle Creek Reservoir. The Wolverines displayed speed up and down the lineup with standout efforts and gritty performances, collecting gold medals in the second varsity eight (2V8) and third varsity four (3V4) events. The Wolverines had a chance to claim the conference crown in the 1V8 race, but a photo finish in that final event left them in second place in both the event and the team standings.
Heading into the final stretch of the day (the two varsity eight races), Ohio State led the team standings with 70 points. U-M was close behind (63) with Rutgers (56) still very much within closing distance. With 72 points available to the first-place finishers of the 1V8 race (63 points to second) and 48 points available to the first-place finishers of the 2V8 race (42 to second), the team standings were far from decided, but the Wolverines knew they needed to win both the final two races outright to win the title.
U-M took the early lead in the 2V8 race but only by a few feet. The Buckeyes were breathing down the Wolverines' neck, and keeping the pressure on -- a role they would play for the remainder of the race. Slowly, the Maize and Blue boat inched ahead. U-M led by an even two seconds at the halfway point of the race, but the naked eye saw Ohio State was beginning to inch its way forward.
The Wolverines emptied the tank down the stretch, holding off a very formidable move from their rival. Each time OSU made a move, Michigan responded perfectly. Stroke after stroke, they pushed forward and held off the Buckeye advances. Less than a half-second separated the two top finishers, but in the end, U-M's strong start and late-race toughness proved to be enough to win the gold. U-M's time of 6:23.917 was .378 seconds ahead of Ohio State. Those 48 points put U-M just one point behind in the team standings, setting up for a true showdown in the final event.
The 1V8 race lived up to its billing. Surprise fourth-place finisher Indiana led the field through 500 meters, with Ohio State in second and Michigan and Rutgers close behind to form a chase pack. The Hoosiers' lead did not last long as OSU had taken the lead by about 400 meters while U-M and Rutgers drew dead even into third place.
The Buckeyes' high stroke rate was matched by the Wolverines and U-M pushed into the leaders and took over second place. At 1,000 meters, the Buckeyes had 1.7 seconds on the Maize and Blue, but U-M looked poised and comfortable as it kept eating into the OSU lead. Over the final 750, the Wolverines did not let up an inch. They pushed and kept trimming Ohio State's lead until it seemed nonexistent. It seemed as if with each stroke, a different boat led, and as the two crossed the finish line, no onlooker could tell who won. Much to the chagrin of every Wolverines in attendance, the photo finish and the clock credited Ohio State with a victory, and like that the Wolverines' dreams of a third consecutive conference title were dashed.
Though the team title was not captured, the Wolverines were put in a position to win because the team's fours led the comeback charge. They were pivotal to the team success, garnering 44 of a possible 48 points, beginning with the team's first gold medal of the day from the 3V4.
The 3V4 was a three-boat race in the beginning, with Ohio State, Rutgers and Michigan leading the charge and Rutgers making the first move. Past the quarter-mark, the Wolverines made a move on the leader Rutgers and surged into first place. U-M put a half-boat length on the next two crews as the boats came through 1,000 meters. Rutgers and Ohio State traded moves while Michigan continued its strong pace as the leader. The Wolverines pushed to a full boat length ahead of the field coming into the final 500 meters, and controlled their sprint into the finish. The win was U-M's first of the morning, and the boat's winning margin of 3.469 seconds proved to be the biggest of the day by any Michigan boat.
The 2V4 race was next. It was a very tight field six boats across in the beginning, but Ohio State and Rutgers inched into first place early before the Buckeyes began pulling away early. U-M chased from third place. Ohio State overtook the lead and the Wolverines caught Rutgers to draw even in second place. U-M surged past the Scarlet Knights, trading nearly a full boat length in distance across a 500-meter span, but ahead, the Buckeyes were putting open water on the field. At the halfway point, the Wolverines were nearly three seconds off OSU's pace. The Wolverines showed their mettle down the stretch, putting everything they had into the final sprint. The boat gave the Buckeyes' crew all it could handle, but Michigan came up just short. Ohio State held on for a winning time of 6:39.098 with U-M 2.802 seconds behind.
In the 1V4 race, Ohio State developed a deck length lead in the first few-hundred meters, and the Buckeyes looked fast. U-M chased from second place and quickly developed their own rapid rhythm, checking in about a second behind the Bucks through the first quarter of the race. OSU's pace proved difficult to match and the Wolverines found themselves losing ground, almost three seconds behind at the halfway point. That deficit could not be erased, and the Buckeyes held on down the latter stages of the course to collect a win of more than eight seconds.
The morning began with the 2N8 race and Michigan in lane four. The Wolverines asserted their speed right away taking a lead. Wisconsin was just a few seats behind and those two boats had about a half-boat length or more on the field, led by the Buckeyes. Rutgers made a move and joined Ohio State in passing Wisconsin but the Wolverines still led at about 1,200 meters. Then Rutgers made another move, pushing to row through U-M in the final 500 meters while OSU still chased. The Wolverines were passed by the Scarlet Knight and Buckeye boats in the final stretch, coming in just over three seconds (3.616) behind the winning boat from Rutgers, which timed 6:55.477.
In the 1N8 event, the same four boats led early: Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes took the first lead while the Wolverines and Scarlet Knights battled for second place, but both crews were about two seconds behind just 500 meters in. U-M kept that gap at the 1,000-meter mark, not letting the Buckeyes slip too far ahead, but Rutgers and Wisconsin fell behind such that the Wolverines had open water on the third and fourth-place crews. Ohio State picked up a couple of additional seats coming into the stretch, and then U-M began its sprint. Over the final 300 meters, the Wolverines could not generate enough to close the distance and OSU held on in a time of 6:39.098 with U-M 2.02 seconds behind.
U-M will enjoy the success they have worked so hard for but the team is not done with its goals for the 2022 season. The Wolverines will continue to train the week ahead of the NCAA Championship Regatta that comes at month's end (May 27-29).
Results
Team Standings
1. Ohio State (184 points)
2. MICHIGAN (174)
3. Rutgers (137)
4. Indiana (115)
5. Iowa (75)
6. Wisconsin (70)
7. Minnesota (59)
8. Michigan State (47)
First Varsity Eight
1. Ohio State -- 6:13.883
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:14.446
3. Indiana -- 6:20.752
4. Rutgers -- 6:21.012
5. Minnesota -- 6:26.860
6. Iowa -- 6:29.798
7. Wisconsin -- 6:37.448
8. Michigan State -- 6:46.488
Second Varsity Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:23.917
2. Ohio State -- 6:24.305
3. Rutgers -- 6:32.789
4. Indiana -- 6:34.639
5. Iowa -- 6:41.863
6. Wisconsin -- 6:42.565
7. Minnesota -- 6:48.085
8. Michigan State -- 6:56.998
First Varsity Four
1. Ohio State -- 7:01.378
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:09.499
3. Rutgers -- 7:16.119
4. Michigan State -- 7:22.103
5. Indiana -- 7:26.344
6. Wisconsin -- 7:26.779
7. Minnesota -- 7:28.751
8. Iowa -- 7:33.718
Second Varsity Four
1. Ohio State -- 7:05.968
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:08.866
3. Rutgers -- 7:14.023
4. Iowa -- 7:24.163
5. Indiana -- 7:29.301
6. Wisconsin -- 7:35.431
7. Michigan State -- 7:35.868
8. Minnesota -- 7:47.891
Third Varsity Four
1. MICHIGAN -- 7:17.532
2. Ohio State -- 7:21.901
3. Rutgers -- 7:28.920
4. Wisconsin -- 7:43.564
5. Iowa -- 7:47.356
6. Indiana -- 7:51.116
7. Michigan State -- 7:52.579
8. Minnesota -- 7:58.761
First Novice Eight
1. Ohio State -- 6:39.098
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:41.900
3. Rutgers -- 6:52.529
4. Wisconsin -- 6:54.645
5. Indiana -- 6:58.304
6. Michigan State -- 7:08.049
7. Iowa -- 7:09.058
8. Minnesota -- 7:21.464
Second Novice Eight
1. Rutgers -- 6:55.477
2. Ohio State -- 6:55.779
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:59.093
4. Michigan State -- 7:18.326
5. Wisconsin -- 7:24.568
6. Iowa -- 7:48.184
VARSITY LINEUP
1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Jessica Schoonbee, Katie Easton, Kate Burns, Grace Collins, Elena Collier-Hezel, Abigail Dent, Gabrielle Graves, Ariana Shokoohi
2V8: Ainslie Evans (coxswain), Jeri Rhodes, Carla Russell, Sarah McKay, Brooke Gietzen, Victoria Cooke, Noa Sreden, Kathryn Ward, Aubrey Fitts
1V4: Madelyn Ball, Emma Luniewicz, Cecilia Spesia, Annaka Draaisma, Kaitlin Nemeh (coxswain)
2V4: Delaney Evans, Kate Lucken, Lauren Sickmiller, Olivia McMullen, Kayla Ehrlich (coxswain)
3V4: Elle Caton, Gracie Landefeld, Lauren Benitez, Hadley Camp, Rocky Morabito (coxswain)
1N8: Sophie McSpedon (coxswain), Erin Benitez, Abby Hathaway, Anna Muench, Emily Nelson, Allison Hall, Lauren Boydston, Megan Kleiner, Emma Pettigrew
2N8: Gabby Franco-Borges (coxswain), Caroline Kevnick, Ellen Koselka, Alana Maffesoli, Lauren Lier, Charlotte Trunsky, Madeline Lohse, Matilda Carr, Evyn Johnson
Players Mentioned
