Michigan
Big Ten Invitational
U-M Finishes Strong at Big Ten Invitational
4/20/2024 11:52:00 AM | Rowing
Site: Nathan Benderson Park (Sarasota, Fla.)
Event: Big Ten Invitational (Day 2 of 2)
First Varsity Eight Finish: 2nd of 5 (6:24.693)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 19 -- at Big Ten Championships (Baraboo, Wisc.), 9 a.m.
SARASOTA, Fla. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan rowing team wrapped competition at the Big Ten Invitational on Saturday (April 20), executing strong races to close the third of three sessions across two days. Racing against some of the top-ranked teams at the event, the Wolverines strung together a series of top-three finishes to close their weekend in Florida.
The Florida morning reached 70 degrees by the time of the first race, and 80 by the close of the morning session. With only one set of early races on the day's schedule, waters were calm and smooth.
Michigan's top two eights and top two fours raced early and the third four and novice eights raced in the late morning. U-M placed second in three of the four early-morning events and picked up a win from the 2N8 in the later events. The weekend finale included some of the fastest times of all three sessions for U-M as they raced the field's top-ranked teams, including No. 5 Brown and No. 12 Ohio State.
In the 1V8 race, the top three crews maintained contact throughout. Brown's high stroke rate propelled them into the lead and U-M was dead even with OSU heading into the sprint. But in that final 500, U-M pushed back into the Brown lead and pulled away from Ohio State. Brown's near full-boat length was trimmed to a half-length as the boats crossed the finish with the Wolverines +1.687 seconds behind (6:24.693).
Michigan got the best start in the field in the 2V8 race, but it was tight with Ohio State just a few feet back and Brown behind by a few seats. The race grew even near 800 meters and U-M was overtaken just before the halfway mark by Brown. Once Brown moved into the lead, they did not let go; OSU pushed into second, and U-M crossed in third place.
Brown led from the get-go in the 2V4 race to begin the morning and U-M kept contact, bow to stern, all the way down the course. The results were a second-place finish for the Wolverines in 7:27.598 (+4.232). The 1V4 followed with a tight second-place finish as well. The U-M boat was even with Brown until near the race's halfway point, when it began losing ground. The crews went into the sprint with plenty of overlap, but the Bears pulled away by a few seats to win by 4.732 seconds.
U-M's third four was chasing Ohio State early and battled with Rutgers for second position. It was a tight finish, but the Scarlet Knights crossed 1.283 seconds ahead of the Wolverines leaving U-M in third.
In the novice eights, Tennessee's 1N8 rowed its way to an open-water win. Michigan picked up a victory in the 2N8 event though, leading wire-to-wire. It was Michigan and Duke pushing the pace at the front at the 1,000-meter mark before U-M pulled away for an open-water win of more than six seconds.
The Wolverines have the next several weeks free from competition before they head to Wisconsin for the Big Ten Championship. For the Maize and Blue, "Camp Wolverine" training will be in full effect as the team prepares to defend its Big Ten Conference title.
Results
First Varsity Eight
1. Brown -- 6:23.006
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:24.693
3. Ohio State -- 6:27.112
4. SMU -- 6:45.602
Second Varsity Eight
1. Brown -- 6:30.213
2. Ohio State -- 6:32.569
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:39.856
4. SMU -- 7:00.090
First Varsity Four
1. Brown -- 7:10.367
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:15.099
3. Ohio State -- 7:26.663
4. SMU -- 7:39.347
Second Varsity Four
1. Brown -- 7:23.366
2. MICHIGAN -- 7:27.598
3. Ohio State -- 7:30.781
Third Varsity Four
1. Ohio State -- 7:24.434
2. Rutgers -- 7:28.224
3. MICHIGAN -- 7:29.507
4. Indiana -- 7:46.652
First Novice Eight
1. Tennessee -- 6:41.996
2. Duke -- 6:48.597
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:50.014
4. Ohio State -- 7:05.937
Second Novice Eight
1. MICHIGAN -- 6:58.898
2. Rutgers -- 7:05.265
3. Indiana -- 7:14.707
4. Indiana -- 7:20.914
Michigan Lineups
1V8: Logan Roeder (coxswain), Katie Easton, Zara Collisson, Adelaide Lammers, Jana Peachey, Annaka Draaisma, Sarah McKay, Abby Hathaway, Aubrey Fitts
2V8: Rocky Morabito (coxswain), Ariana Shokoohi, Brooke Gietzen, Emily Nelson, Gabrielle Graves, Gracie Landefeld, Madeleine Lauriault, Amy Newton, Carla Russell
1V4: Madeson Scott, Autumn Crowe, Anna Muench, Ashley Mitchell, Lillie Gregory (coxswain)
2V4: Delaney Evans, Rachel Palaian, Lauren Langley, Leah Miller, Breonna Boyd (coxswain)
3V4: Olivia McMullen, Thea Schley, Grace Hammis, Madeline Tay, Elly Van Den Einde (coxswain)
1N8: Isabella Balchan (coxswain), Zara Bongiorno, Gretel Ham, Solvej Berman, Megan Higley, Halle Loveday, Sophie Snyder, Nicole Wrubel, Annabella Harold
2N8: Rumaysa Siddiqi (coxswain), Ava Melvin, Zoe Simmons, Cameren Beattie, Stella Wickstrom, Eliza Harris, Georgia Meyer, Annabelle Minneman, Grace Wininger
Players Mentioned
