Michigan
Central/South Region Heats
All U-M Boats Advance to Central Region Grand Finals
5/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Event: #7 Michigan at Central Region Championships (Day 1)
Results: First Varsity Eight -- Advanced to Grand Final
Second Varsity Eight -- Advanced to Grand Final
First Varsity Four -- Advanced to Grand Final
Second Varsity Four -- Advanced to Grand Final
First Novice Eight -- Advanced to Grand Final
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 18 -- at Central Region Championships (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- The No. 7 University of Michigan women's rowing team had a highly successful day on Saturday (May 17) at the Lexus Central/South Region Sprints as each of the five Maize and Blue crews earned a bid to its respective Grand Final on Sunday. This was done despite the severe thunderstorms that forced the racing to be compressed into a three-hour block rather than the regularly scheduled eight-hour time frame. The highlights of the Wolverines' competition came from the first varsity eight and first varsity four, which extended their winning streaks to nine by winning their preliminary and semifinal races.
The first varsity eight had a very hectic morning due to the uncooperative weather. The original 9 a.m. start was pushed back four times due to lightning in the area until the first race of the day finally began at 10:40 a.m. After falling behind very early in its heat, the varsity eight walked through Notre Dame to take a six-seat lead at 500 meters. Midway through the race, U-M maintained a stern-to-bow advantage. Notre Dame came back, but U-M beat the Fighting Irish by half a boat with a time of 6:30.5. Just over 90 minutes later, Michigan rushed to the starting line for the right to compete in the Grand Final. Initially down to both No. 19 Tennessee and No. 11 Michigan State, the first varsity eight overtook MSU by the 1,000-meter mark but still trailed Tennessee. Between 1,400 and 1,700 meters, Michigan walked through the Volunteers and won the race by six seats to reach the Grand Final in a time of 6:23.6.
The second varsity eight earned second place in its heat to be forced into a repechage competition later in the day. After an early deficit in the preliminaries, the Wolverines made it a two-boat race as No. 15 Iowa held a four-seat lead at the 1,000-meter point. U-M was unable to reel in the Hawkeyes as it dropped another seat before the finish. In the repechage race, the pursuit for the top two spots in order to advance to the Grand Final came down to the sprint between Tennessee, No. 10 Ohio State and Michigan. In the last 250 meters, OSU took over first place from Tennessee and the Wolverines caught the Volunteers to gain second place by one second (6:34.9).
The varsity four had a successful first race after trailing throughout much of it to Minnesota. In the last leg of the race, however, the Wolverines picked up their pace to beat the Golden Gophers 7:27.1 to 7:28.1. Again in the semifinal, the first four pulled out a come-from-behind victory over Clemson and Michigan State with a finishing time of 7:20.3, nine seats ahead of the second-place Tigers.
The second varsity four boat was unable to advance directly to its Grand Final from the preliminaries since it could not catch the Fighting Irish crew. Nonetheless, the second four performed similarly to the first four as it came from behind in the home stretch to beat out Iowa, 7:31.1 to 7:32.8.
In Michigan's novice eight heat, the Wolverines took second place to Indiana by half of a boat length. In the semifinal race, U-M fought through a tightly packed group to grab second place and a berth in the Grand Final.
Michigan will seek its sixth consecutive Central Region championship tomorrow (Sunday, May 18) in the final events beginning at 9 a.m. Thunderstorms are still a major factor in the competition, so alterations to the schedule are probable. Complete results and updates are available at Tennessee's site.
RESULTS
Morning Results (Heats)
First Varsity Eight (Heat 1) 1. MICHIGAN 6:30.5 2. Notre Dame 6:33.1 3. Minnesota 6:40.9 4. Eastern Michigan 6:45.7 5. Southern Methodist 6:57.1 Second Varsity Eight (Heat 2) 1. Iowa 6:33.6 2. MICHIGAN 6:34.8 3. Notre Dame 6:45.4 4. Tennessee 6:51.4 5. Kansas 6:52.6 6. Clemson 7:01.1 7. Eastern Michigan 7:16.1 First Varsity Four (Heat 1) 1. MICHIGAN 7:27.1 2. Minnesota 7:28.1 3. Virginia 7:33.3 4. Duke 7:45.4 5. Cincinnati 7:53.4 Second Varsity Four (Heat 1) 1. Notre Dame 7:27.8 2. MICHIGAN 7:32.0 3. Michigan State 7:44.5 4. Kansas State 7:48.7 First Novice Eight (Heat 3) 1. Indiana 6:50.7 2. MICHIGAN 6:52.5 3. Notre Dame 6:55.1 4. Tennessee 6:59.2 5. North Carolina 7:06.6 6. Southern Methodist 7:31.5
Afternoon Finals (Semifinals)
First Varsity Eight (Semifinal A/B 1) 1. MICHIGAN 6:23.6 2. Tennessee 6:25.6 3. Michigan State 6:27.1 4. Notre Dame 6:30.7 5. Minnesota 6:36.5 6. Clemson 6:44.6 Second Varsity Eight (Repechage 2) 1. Ohio State 6:34.3 2. MICHIGAN 6:34.9 3. Tennessee 6:35.9 4. Minnesota 6:50.4 5. Clemson 7:02.6 6. Cincinnati 7:03.1 First Varsity Four (Semifinal 1) 1. MICHIGAN 7:20.3 2. Clemson 7:23.4 3. Michigan State 7:25.1 4. Tennessee 7:34.4 5. Notre Dame 7:38.6 6. Duke 7:46.7 Second Varsity Four (Repechage 1) 1. MICHIGAN 7:31.1 2. Iowa 7:32.8 3. Tennessee 7:33.5 4. Michigan State 7:39.9 5. Kansas State 7:52.0 6. Clemson 7:58.7 First Novice Eight (Semifinal 2) 1. Duke 6:46.7 2. MICHIGAN 6:49.0 3. Kansas 6:55.3 4. Notre Dame 6:53.2 5. Kansas 6:55.3 6. Clemson 6:56.8
Michigan Lineups
First Varsity Eight -- Helen Dalis (coxswain), Erin Kopicki, Crystal Culp, Stesha Carl, Heather Mandoli, Leah Ketcheson, Brett Sickler, Kate Maxim, Katie Reynolds.
Second Varsity Eight -- Tara Medina (coxswain), Sarah Trowbridge, Emily Goodwin, Elizabeth Godek, Heather DeHainaut, Christin Plunkett, Laura Drongowski, Christina Ceo, Emke Bury.
First Varsity Four -- Louisa DiLeone (coxswain), Stephanie Shapiro, Elizabeth Kreger, Janine Hanson, Amy Coughlin.
Second Varsity Four -- Sarah O'Brien (coxswain), Pam Woll, Margot Woolley, Hillary Van Duyne, Emily Boggs.
N O T E S
With two wins each today, Michigan's first varsity eight and first varsity four boats extended their winning streaks to nine races dating back to April 6, 2003.
The Wolverines earned five first-place and five second-place finishes in the 10 races in which they competed.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
