U-M Set to Travel East for Head of the Charles

Sunday, October 22

Boston, Mass.

2:22 PM

Michigan

Head of the Charles

10/19/2017 2:31:00 PM | Rowing

By: Chad Shepard

» In its final event of the fall, Michigan travels east to the Head of the Charles in Boston, Massachusetts, where it will race in the Women's Championship Eights at 2:22 p.m. on Sunday.
» In the 2016 edition of this regatta, U-M put both of its varsity eights in the top 10 overall. It is also defending a three-year streak of the alumni eight winning a title.
» When fans see the varsity team next, it will be the start of the 2018 spring season. U-M return numerous letter winners from last spring, including 15 of 23 athletes from the 2017 NCAA Championships lineup.

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

THIS WEEK

Sunday, Oct. 22 -- at Head of the Charles Regatta (Boston, Mass.), 2:22 p.m.
Head of the Charles Information

BOSTON, Mass. -- The University of Michigan rowing team will conclude its fall season this Sunday (Oct. 22) at the famed Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts.

The two-day event annually attracts over 11,000 athletes to the East Coast each October. U-M is looking to continue its established pattern of success in the event with this weekend's opportunities, as the Wolverines are sending two varsity eight boats to compete.

This marks the final fall event for Michigan's varsity program. The Novice program will travel to Michigan State next Saturday (Oct. 28) to close out the fall season.

Michigan's lineups for the weekend are listed below.

VARSITY LINEUPS

1V8: Kathryn Boyle (coxswain), Meghan Gutknecht, Tayla-May Bentley, Shayla Lamb, Kathryn Grotto, Anneka Allard, Victoria Glunt, Annika Hoffmann and Flick Cain.

2V8: Alexis Jones (coxswain), Sadie Staudacher, Perry Bower, Rebecca Joyce, Rae Oleshansky, Megan Hinkle, Tate Aronstein, Kathleen Peng and Grace Collins.

THINGS TO KNOW

• Earlier this fall, U-M had successful varsity and novice scrimmages with Eastern Michigan, and the U-M varsity squad also enjoyed success in a showdown with Big Ten Rival Ohio State.

• Originating in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta is a two-day affair that attracts over 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of spectators to the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It takes a dedicated team working year-round and a volunteer group of over 1,700 individuals to put on the event.

• The Wolverines will compete in event 48a, the Women's Championship Eights. That event is slated to begin at 2:22 p.m. on Sunday.

• Head Coach Mark Rothstein is in his 22nd season at the helm of the program that he help build from a club team to a varsity powerhouse. He has coached nine teams to top-five NCAA Championship finishes, including two second-place finishes (2001, 2012) and last spring's third-place showing. He has been recognized as the Big Ten Coach of the Year on four occasions and was named CRCA National Coach of the Year in 2001.

• Among the roster's top returning athletes, U-M welcomes back five of its eight rowers from the top varsity eight boat at last year's NCAA Championships: Meghan Gutknecht, Tayla-May Bentley, Kendall Brewer, Shayla Lamb and Kalia Krichko. The Wolverines also return all three coxswains who were part of the NCAA Championship roster (Kat Boyle, 1V8; Alexis Jones, 2V8; Erika Yasuda, 1V4).

• Returning athletes to the Head of the Charles who have competed at the regatta in years past include: Brewer, Krichko, Caroline Hendershot, Rebecca Joyce, Meghan Gutknecht, Flick Cain, Kat Boyle, Lamb, Bentley, and Kathryn Grotto.

• The returning Wolverines on this year's roster are an accomplished bunch. Between them, these athletes have garnered two All-American recognitions (Brewer; 2017 first team, Krichko; 2017 second team), three All-Region accolades (Brewer; 2015 second team, 2016-17; first team and Krichko; 2017 second team).

• This group has achieved at the conference level as well, with a pair of All-Big Ten honors (Brewer; 2016-17), two Big Ten Freshman of the year accolades (Gutknecht; 2016, Bentley; 2017) and one conference sportsmanship honor (Joesi Krieger; 2017) in their names.

• The accomplishments of the 2017-18 team aren't limited to the water, either. This team retains 15 athletes who earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition last spring.

• Last season, the Wolverines spent all season occupying a top-five place in the Row2K poll and began the year at No. 4. That marked the team's best preseason ranking in over 10 years, and with the amount of talent U-M retains heading into next spring, another high preseason ranking is to be expected.

Tweet of the Week

Hi @michiganrowing & @umichrowing, can you send us what teams are in the #HOCR this year? @UMAlumniBoston would love to cheer you on!
— Chelsea Hunersen (@ChelseaLikeNY) October 18, 2017