Michigan
Big Ten Championship (Finals)
Three Bronze Medals Fuel Fourth-Place Finish at Big Ten Championships
5/17/2026 11:33:00 AM | Rowing
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Eagle Creek Park)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 2)
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:42.768 (5th of 6)
Team Finish: 4th of 11 (255 points)
Next U-M Event: NCAA Championships Selection Announcement -- Tuesday (May 19)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan rowing program saw three boats earn bronze-medal finishes at the Big Ten Championships finals on Sunday (May 17) at Eagle Creek Park, solidifying a fourth-place team finish for the Maize and Blue. U-M's second, third and fourth varsity eights each finished third in their respective Grand Final events, while the first eight placed fifth.
Racing order changed ahead of Sunday's finals as well, with the first and second eights moved up in the racing order to give those boats the best conditions possible. Competition opened at 7:47 a.m. with the 4V8 petite finals. The morning brought a temperature of 64 degrees and negligible wind; ideal conditions for championship racing.
After qualifying for Grand Finals in all seven boat categories, U-M entered the day positioned well for team scoring. After strong starts in many of the races, the Wolverines finished with 255 points in fourth position in the team standings. Washington captured the team title with 350 points and gold medals in six of seven categories.
Michigan's 1V8 started its race with a strong pace. Washington established a lead early, and Rutgers worked quickly into second place. OSU began to battle with Michigan for third in the second 500 meters, and UCLA pushed its way into the pack near the middle of the race.
Washington maintained its length on the field in the third 500 with Rutgers firmly in second. U-M fell behind OSU and UCLA, and Indiana made a move to push into fifth. The Wolverines battled and took back their lead on the Hoosiers, but could not regain their positioning to fight for a medal, falling to a fifth-place finish (6:42.768). The Huskies held on for gold, with Rutgers taking silver and Ohio State edging out UCLA for bronze.
The Wolverine 2V8 started in second behind the Huskies, with Rutgers fighting from third. The Scarlet Knights held their pace and gained seats over the first half of the course. U-M was in lane one, nearest the shore, but from the other side of the course in lane six, USC battled the Wolverines for third. The width between the two boats made gauging the lead a challenge, but each time the Trojans pushed, the Wolverines responded with a cleanly executed move in their own. In the final sprint, the Maize and Blue surged ahead to hold on to their bronze finish position (6:47.315) by a boat length.
Each of the first four positions was closely contested in the 1V4 race. Washington and Rutgers put on a great show in the battle for first, but behind them, Michigan and Ohio State jockeyed back and forth for the bronze medal. At 1,500 meters, just 0.4 seconds separated the two crews. Down the final sprint, the Buckeyes captured third as the Wolverines crossed the line shortly after with a time of 7:50.822.
The second four started even with Ohio State in fourth, behind Washington, Rutgers, and UCLA. The Wolverines pulled forward and maintained contact with the Bruins to fight for the third-place position. The Buckeyes found their pace and gained seats over the Wolverines for the bronze finish behind the Huskies and Scarlet Knights as Michigan finished in fourth with a time of 8:13.679.
The Washington 3V4 pulled ahead early as the rest of the field started together. Rutgers, UCLA, and Ohio State continued to battle for second as the Wolverines fell to fifth, fighting to maintain contact with the teams ahead. At the 1,500-meter mark, U-M raced bow-to-bow with the Buckeyes ahead of Minnesota. A well-executed sprint by Michigan allowed them to pass the Buckeyes and finish ahead by two boat lengths in fourth position (8:24.806), behind the Huskies, Scarlet Knights and Bruins.
All teams on the water for the 3V8 final stayed together at the beginning and maintained contact through the first 500 meters. Michigan fought with Ohio State for fourth position behind Rutgers, UCLA, and Washington. The Scarlet Knights continued to pull ahead as the Wolverines picked up their pace against the Buckeyes, falling into fourth by a few seats. U-M continued to pull ahead to battle with UCLA for the bronze finish position, passing the Bruins' boat to capture third place with a time of 7:29.569 and a photofinish against the second-place Huskies with a margin of 0.63 seconds.
The first Grand Final of the morning was the 4V8. Washington and Rutgers led early, with U-M chasing from third position and UCLA close behind the Wolverines. The leaders separated from the pack, but U-M established itself in third, defending pushes from the Bruins over the middle part of the race. While Ohio State and Iowa battled for fourth, Michigan distanced itself further from UCLA and finished in bronze-medal position (7:03.120) by a boat length, following Washington in first and Rutgers in second.
Big Ten champion Washington is the conference's only automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships (May 28-31), to be held in Atlanta, Ga. The Wolverines will await the NCAA selection announcement on Tuesday (May 19).
Results
Team Scores
1. Washington -- 350
2. Rutgers -- 322
3. Ohio State -- 262
4. MICHIGAN -- 255
5. UCLA -- 227
6. USC -- 155
7. Indiana -- 143
8. Minnesota -- 142
9. Iowa -- 120
10. Michigan State -- 69
11. Wisconsin -- 57
First Varsity Eight
1. Washington -- 6:31.017
2. Rutgers -- 6:34.260
3. Ohio State -- 6:37.673
4. UCLA -- 6:38.492
5. MICHIGAN -- 6:42.768
6. Indiana -- 6:43.900
Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington -- 6:38.262
2. Rutgers -- 6:43.914
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:47.315
4. Southern California -- 6:51.950
5. Ohio State -- 6:57.691
6. Iowa -- 7:01.524
First Varsity Four
1. Washington -- 7:35.729
2. Rutgers -- 7:40.615
3. Ohio State -- 7:48.885
4. MICHIGAN -- 7:50.822
5. UCLA -- 7:59.422
6. Indiana -- 8:06.083
Second Varsity Four
1. Washington -- 7:56.789
2. Rutgers -- 8:04.778
3. Ohio State -- 8:12.603
4. MICHIGAN -- 8:13.772
5. UCLA -- 8:19.772
6. Minnesota -- 8:31.011
Third Varsity Four
1. Washington -- 8:01.811
2. Rutgers -- 8:09.616
3. UCLA -- 8:16.960
4. MICHIGAN -- 8:24.806
5. Ohio State -- 8:33.400
6. Minnesota -- 8:53.636
Third Varsity Eight
1. Rutgers -- 7:26.166
2. Washington -- 7:29.006
3. MICHIGAN -- 7:29.569
4. UCLA -- 7:31.386
5. Ohio State -- 7:37.686
6. Indiana -- 7:50.489
Fourth Varsity Eight
1. Washington -- 6:52.824
2. Rutgers -- 6:55.537
3. MICHIGAN -- 7:03.120
4. UCLA -- 7:07.460
5. Ohio State -- 7:14.180
6. Iowa -- 7:18.428
Michigan Lineups
1V8: Logan Roeder (coxswain), Olivia Carroll, Novella Rusman, Madeleine Lauriault, Jana Peachey, Ayelel Meyen, Ashley Mitchell, Lucy Hallett, Megan Higley
2V8: Isabela Pimentel (coxswain), Madeson Scott, Gretel Ham, Autumn Crowe, Marloes van der Zwart, Danelia Price-Hughes, Deanna Macolino, Zara Bongiorno, Sinéad Erasmus
1V4: Jenna Chaffin, Halle Loveday, Olive Pascoe, Ansley Vicars, Talia Daft (coxswain)
2V4: Maddy Matos, Avery Rodeheffer, Grace Hammis, Leija Murphy, Sophia Smith (coxswain)
3V4: Leah Miller, Kiley Locke, Ava Harrington, Ally Blomquist, Zoey Jacobs (coxswain)
3V8: Zulema Zunzunegui (coxswain), Sydney Swick, Megan Gornick, Sophia Stylianos, Ella Damratoski, Carly Walsh, Maddy Stagg, Reagan Weneck, Stella Fox
4V8: Catalina Echavarria (coxswain), Jane Kurkowski, Ava Fox, Ruby Jansen, Tacey Moore, Gabrielle Cahill, Mo Winstanley, Lydia Schultz, Winnie Bird
