Wolverines Put All Boats in Petite Finals on Day 2 of NCAA Championships

Saturday, May 28

Sarasota, Fla.

8:48 AM

Michigan

NCAA Semifinals

(Michigan Photography)

Wolverines Put All Boats in Petite Finals on Day 2 of NCAA Championships

5/28/2022 2:32:00 PM | Rowing

Photo Gallery

Site: Sarasota, Fla. (Nathan Benderson Park)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 2 of 3)
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:36.373 (5th of 6)
Next U-M Event: May 29 -- at NCAA Championships - Day 3 (Sarasota, Fla), 9:22 a.m.

• Photo Gallery

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan rowing program advanced all three boats to the Petite Finals during semifinal action on the second day at the NCAA Championships on Saturday (May 28). Rowing at Nathan Benderson Park, the Maize and Blue placed fifth (first varsity eight), sixth and fourth to qualify all three boats for the Petite Final.

Skies were cloudy with temperatures reaching 80 at the start of racing, gradually increasing throughout the day. With a slight West wind and a brief drizzle, water conditions were slightly choppier compared to the first day of competition. Races were neck-and-neck all morning as boats were looking to secure their place in Sunday's (May 29) finals.

The Wolverines started its morning with the 1V8 race, lining up in lane six adjacent to Yale. Princeton and Washington, lane four and lane two respectively, got off to a quick start taking the early lead. With the two boats battling for the lead, Stanford began to show off their speed to put their bow in a good position. Michigan was using speed to keep up with the early leaders in the race but fell to fifth position after Yale moved its bow into fourth place.

There was a close battle between Washington, Stanford and Princeton at the 1500-meter mark as Stanford demonstrated their strength in taking the lead. The race for second was tight as both Washington and Princeton were dead level in the competition. The Wolverines continued to fight to make up water on Yale but ran out of course before they could take any seats. Michigan came in fifth finishing in 6:36.373 holding off the end sprint of Virginia (6:36.673).

The second heat of the 2V8 A/B semifinals was put on hold as the boats were taken off the course due to lightning in the area. The races were tentatively scheduled to resume at 10:50 a.m. but were held off until 11:40. When the boats began lining up for the race the newly developed crosswind meant that the lane assignments were adjusted. The boats with the best seeding were allowed to use the leftmost lanes as the wind would favor those.

The 2V8 lined up in the fifth lane between SMU and Big-Ten rival Ohio State. Yale and Stanford were the boats that set the early pace in the race. Virginia was sitting at third and had the most contact with the two lead crews as Stanford began to take a slight lead at 750 meters. The Wolverines were battling against in-conference rival Ohio State in a race that looked very similar to the Big Ten Championship (May 15). At 1200 meters the leading crews started to generate open water from the rest as the pack. The Buckeyes began to take seats on the Wolverines coming into the last 500 meters as Michigan ended the race sixth overall.

In the 1V4 event, the Wolverines were lined up in lane three between Texas and Brown. Washington and Texas pushed out of the lead while Michigan trailed in third place off of a clean start. Taking long strokes to keep up with the leaders, the Wolverines were generating half a length advantage over Brown and Virginia. At 1000 meters, lane three Texas began to take a couple of seats of water on the Maize and Blue, while the adjacent lane Brown started to break water on third-place Michigan. Coming into the last 500 meters Michigan was dead level with Brown as both competed for the final place in the Grand Finals on Sunday. The crews were pacing each other with blades in the water at the same time as the battle continued. The Bears clocked in 40 strokes a minute at the end of the race as they captured a couple of seats over Michigan, leaving the Wolverines in fourth place.

U-M will be back in action tomorrow for day three of the NCAA Championship on Sunday (May 29).

Results

First Varsity Eight
1. Stanford -- 6:22.185
2. Washington -- 6:23.741
3. Princeton -- 6:24.909
4. Yale -- 6:32.397
5. MICHIGAN -- 6:36.373
6. Virginia -- 6:23.673

Second Varsity Eight
1. Stanford -- 6:26.132
2. Yale -- 6:28.650
3. Virginia -- 6:33.634
4. Ohio State -- 6:38.048
5. SMU -- 6:41.042
6. MICHIGAN -- 6:42.844

First Varsity Four
1. Washington -- 7:09.214
2. Texas -- 7:11.366
3. Brown -- 7:15.124
4. MICHIGAN -- 7:18.684
5. Rutgers -- 7:24.158
6. Virginia -- 7:24.158

Varsity Lineup

1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Jessica Schoonbee, Katie Easton, Kate Burns, Grace Collins, Elena Collier-Hezel, Abigail Dent, Gabrielle Graves, Ariana Shokoohi