Michigan
NCAA Heats
U-M Dominates First-Day Heats at NCAA Championships
5/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- The University of Michigan entered the 2001 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships as the only undefeated team in the nation and the only team at the championships with all three boats seeded No. 1 in their respective heats. After the first day of racing, Michigan backed up both of those points by winning all three of the heats in which it raced at the Lake Lanier Rowing Club on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga. The Wolverines' first varsity eight advanced to the semifinals of its event, while the second varsity eight and varsity four each advanced to the Grande Final of its event.
The first varsity eight drew the second of three heats for the event. Seeded second to the Wolverines was Syracuse, which proved to be the toughest competition for the Wolverines in the race. However, at the start, it was California that jumped out to the early lead. After the first 100 meters, the Bears had a one-seat lead on Michigan and Syracuse. By the 500-meter mark, Syracuse had pulled ahead of Michigan by a deck-length, while California had fallen one seat behind Michigan. With the Bears falling off fast over the second 500 meters, it was Syracuse in first with the Wolverines in second still by a deck-length. All of that changed when Michigan took a big move just after the 1,000-meter mark. The Wolverines jumped out ahead and had a one-half boat-length lead over the Orangewomen with 500 meters to go. Michigan took the lead up to a full boat-length in the next 250 meters and then cruised on to victory with a time of 6:28.1, three seconds faster then second-place Syracuse.
Both Michigan and Syracuse advance to tomorrow's (May 25) semifinals, which start at 11 a.m., while the rest of the boats in the heat row this afternoon in the repechage heats. The other fours boats to automatically advance to the semifinals were Washington and Southern California from the first heat and Brown and Princeton from the third heat. The top three boats in each of the two repechage heats will advance to the semifinals. The remaining seven boats move to the final for places 13-19. From the two semifinals, the top three boats in each race will advance to the Grande Final with the other three moving on to the Petite Final.
The Second Varsity Eight race started the same as the first varsity eight with California jumping out to a slight lead over Michigan at the start. The lead was short-lived as Harvard moved ahead by a deck-length and Ohio State moved to second over the Wolverines 350 meters into the race. The formation held until just after the 500-meter mark when Michigan pulled even with the Buckeyes and then took a move to work its way to second. The Wolverines chipped away at Harvard's lead and then took a big move at the 1,000-meter mark to capture their first lead of the race. Michigan continued to expand its lead and broke away from Harvard by the 1,500-meter mark. Michigan continued to press and won the race by open water over Harvard with a time of 6:39.3.
From the heat, Michigan and Harvard advanced to Saturday's (May 26) Grand Final for the Second Varsity Eight. From the second heat, Brown and Washington advanced to the Grande Final. The other six boats row tomorrow in the repechage heat with the top two advancing to the Grande Final and the other four to the Petite Final.
Michigan's varsity four provided the best drama of the three boats. The crew started the race in fifth place after a rough start but rebounded quickly to take a lead 500 meters into the race. At the halfway point, Michigan had a deck-length lead over Iowa, but the Hawkeyes were on the heels of the Wolverines. In the third 500 meters, Iowa took a lead over the Wolverines and Virginia was challenging Michigan for second. Iowa kept moving on Michigan and it looked like that was going to be the final standings. However, a huge move in the last 500 meters started to cut into Iowa's lead. Michigan kept moving and walked though the Hawkeyes to finish in 7:31.3, nearly two seconds faster than Iowa.
Michigan and Iowa advanced to Saturday's (May 26) Grande Final for the Varsity Four. From the second heat, Brown and Washington advanced to the Grande Final. The other six boats row tomorrow in the repechage heat with the top two advancing to the Grande Final and the other four to the Petite Final.
Morning Results (Heats)
First Varsity Eight (Heat 1) 1. Washington* 6:19.1 2. Southern California* 6:19.9 3. Virginia 6:31.5 4. Iowa 6:34.6 5. Rutgers 6:39.7 6. Ithaca 6:49.8 7. Wesleyan 7:00.7 First Varsity Eight (Heat 2) 1. MICHIGAN* 6:28.1 2. Syracuse* 6:31.2 3. California 6:34.7 4. Harvard 6:40.0 5. Boston University 6:40.5 6. Western Washington 7:06.5 First Varsity Eight (Heat 3) 1. Brown* 6:26.8 2. Princeton* 6:31.7 3. Yale 6:35.6 4. Ohio State 6:36.2 5. Michigan State 6:45.1 6. Williams 7:03.1 * Advance to First Varsity Eight Semifinals Second Varsity Eight (Heat 1) 1. MICHIGAN# 6:39.3 2. Harvard# 6:44.1 3. Ohio State 6:44.9 4. California 6:49.5 5. Princeton 6:57.1 Second Varsity Eight (Heat 2) 1. Brown# 6:40.6 2. Washington# 6:41.3 3. Virginia 6:41.6 4. Iowa 6:56.1 5. Boston University 6:56.3 # Advance to Second Varsity Eight Grande Final Varsity Four (Heat 1) 1. MICHIGAN@ 7:31.3 2. Iowa@ 7:33.0 3. Virginia 7:38.6 4. California 7:47.4 5. Harvard 7:52.8 Varsity Four (Heat 2) 1. Brown@ 7:26.9 2. Washington@ 7:29.0 3. Ohio State 7:31.7 4. Boston University 7:40.9 5. Princeton 7:41.2 @ Advance to Varsity Four Grande FinalMichigan Lineups
First Varsity Eight
Coxswain Helen Dalis, Kate Johnson, Laurel Donnell-Fink, Alison Hickey, Christina Meyer, Jenny Bryant, Bernadette Marten, Tami McBratney and Kate Maxim
Second Varsity Eight
Coxswain Corinn Cunningham, Melanie Duncan, Petra Juzwishin, Sera Coppolino, Sophie Roberge, Liz Nelson, Julie Brescoll, Kristine Johns and Katie Reynolds
Varsity Four
Coxswain Carissa Bragg, Elizabeth Glenn, Erin Kopicki, Heather Mandoli and Christina Ceo
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Mark Rothstein
On today's racing ... "I really felt that all three boats had solid performances today. I'm very happy to have two boats in the Grande Finals, and hopefully the first varsity eight will do the same tomorrow."
On the racing today ... "We saw a lot of crews with good speed today. I am really eager to see the racing tomorrow."
First Varsity Eight Stroke Seat Kate Johnson
On the first varsity eight race ... "The race went exactly as planned. We have a very meticulous race plan, and we were able to execute it just like we wanted."
On the team's performance ... "All season we have had very consistent performances by all three boats. The second varsity eight and the (varsity) four have always been there this season, and today was no different."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
