Michigan Varsity Eight Rower Hoffmann Named Elite 90 Winner
5/30/2019 11:54:00 AM | Rowing
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- First varsity eight sophomore athlete Annika Hoffmann of the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing program is the 2019 recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award, given annually to the participating student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at each of the NCAA's 90 championships. The announcement was made during the Championship Banquet in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday (May 30).
Hoffmann earns the honor by virtue of her perfect 4.0 GPA. She is studying Political Science and Comparative Literature in U-M's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A). She is a native of Geelong, Australia, and also speaks fluent German and French. Hoffmann earned her first career Academic All-Big Ten distinction this spring.
Hoffmann is the fifth U-M athlete to earn this distinction and the second from Michigan's rowing program (Kinsey Vear, 2016). She joins Vear and Danielle Johnson (2016, Water Polo) as Michigan's three female winners.
Hoffmann has been a varsity eight contributor since she stepped onto campus in the fall of 2017, rowing exclusively with the first and second varsity eight boats. Hoffmann won Big Ten silver with the 2V8 in 2018 and helped that boat finish fourth at the NCAA Championships.
This spring, she competed as part of the first varsity eight boat, including rowing in bow seat at the Big Ten Championships for the boat's first conference championship since 2012. The 72 points scored by the 1V8 helped Michigan to the sixth Big Ten Title in program history.
Hoffmann remains in the 1V8 lineup for this weekend's NCAA Championships, which begin with heats Friday (May 31) at 9:24 a.m., and continue through Sunday (June 2). The Wolverines seek their third straight top-10 finish.
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