Weekly Release #2

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday,April 1-- ACC/Big Ten Double Dual: vs. Michigan State and Duke; vs. Virginia (Columbus, Ohio)
Saturday, April8 --vs. Southern California, vs. Tennessee(Columbus, Ohio)

Michigan This Week
The No. 7-ranked Michigan women's rowing team will take part in the ACC/Big Ten Double Dual this Saturday (April 1) in Columbus, Ohio. U-M will begin the day at 9 a.m. with three-waysprints against both No. 13 Michigan State and Duke. The afternoon races scheduled with No. 3 Virginia are slated to begin at 1 p.m.

Schedule of Events

Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia	Second Novice Eight	9a.m.
Michigan, Michigan State	FirstNoviceEight	9:10 a.m.
Michigan, Michigan State, Duke	Second Varsity Four	9:30 a.m.
Michigan, Michigan State, Duke	First Varsity Four	9:50a.m.
Michigan, Michigan State,Duke	Second Varsity Eight	10:10 a.m.
Michigan, Michigan State, Duke	First VarsityEight	10:30a.m.

Michigan, Virginia, Michigan State	Second Novice Eight	1 p.m.
Michigan, Virginia	First NoviceEight	1:10 p.m.
Michigan, Virginia	Second Varsity Four	1:30 p.m.
Michigan, Virginia	First Varsity Four	1:50p.m.
Michigan, Virginia	Second Varsity Eight	2:10 p.m.
Michigan, Virginia	First VarsityEight	2:30 p.m.

Coach Mark Rothstein Says...
"Our team is looking forward to trying to get back on track after last weekend (losses to Princeton and Brown). We certainly have our hands full with Michigan State, Duke and Virginia. It's great for our program to race such quality crews early in the season to be able to measure our boat speed. We're looking forward to some really good racing this weekend."

Weather Forecast
The forecast for Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, calls for a high of 55 degrees with possible rain. Wind is expected from the west at 11 mph.

On Michigan State
The No. 13-rankedSpartans are under the direction of second-year head coach Matt Weise.MSU opened its regular season last weekend against Indiana. The Spartans won five of six races versus the Hoosiers, including all varsity sprints.Michigan Stateon the Web: www.msuspartans.com.

On Virginia
The No. 3-ranked Virginia Cavaliers are coached by Kevin Sauer, now in his 10th season. The Cavaliers spent last weekend (March 25-26) in California at the Windemere College Classic. The second varsity eight swept its races against Oregon State, California and Stanford to garner the ACC's Boat of the Week award. The UVA first varsity eight had wins over Stanford and Oregon State, but fell to Cal. Virginia on the Web: www.virginiasports.com.

On Duke
The Blue Devils, coached by Robyn Horner,were off last weekend, but competed two weeks ago (March 17-19) at the Longhorn Invitational. The first varsity eight had wins over Texas,Iowa and Kansas State and lost to Iowa. The secondvarsity eight lost all four of its races.Duke on the Web: www.goduke.com.

Last Week
The Wolverines struggled against No. 1 Princeton and No. 6 Brown in their first week of action last Saturday (March 25). Michigan's first and second varsity eights each placed third among the three crews in their respective races. The first varsity four took fourth behind two Princeton crews and a Brown entry.

Experience Helps
Michigan's first varsity eight returns four rowers from its final 2005 crew. The veterans include seniors Stesha Carl (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS) and Janine Hanson (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary's Academy) and Cristin McCarty (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Bishop James Mahoney) and junior Emily Shea (Ashfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy).

Preseason Rankings
The Wolverines were slotted No. 7 in the country by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association when its preseason rankings were released on March 13. U-M finished the 2005 campaign in eighth place at the NCAA Championships. Around the Big Ten Conference, Ohio State is No. 4, Wisconsin is No. 8, Michigan State is No. 13 and Minnesota is No. 18.

Head Coach Mark Rothstein
Mark Rothstein is in his 10th year as the head coach of the Michigan rowing team. Rothstein, the only head coach in the program's history, has guided the Maize and Blue to the NCAA Championships for eight straight seasons. In 2003, Rothstein guided the first varsity eight to a runner-up finish, its best ever showing, at the NCAA Championships en route to a fourth-place team finish. At the 2001 NCAA Championships, U-M had a school-best second-place finish, highlighted by a national boat title by the second varsity eight. He has led the team to four of the six Big Ten Conference championships (2000, '01, '03, '04). In 2000, '01 and '04 he was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. He was the Central Region Coach of the Year in 2000 and '01. For his efforts during the 2001 season, he was selected as the National Coach of the Year.

Probable Lineups

First Varsity Eight -- Julia Dalzell (coxswain), Stesha Carl, Ellen Tomek, Janine Hanson, Emily Shea, Cristin McCarty, Annie Hildebrand, Ashley Jones, Cate Trumble.