Wolverines Put All Three Boats in Grand Finals on Day 2 of NCAA Championships

Saturday, June 1

Indianapolis, Ind.

9:00 AM

Michigan

NCAA Semifinals

Wolverines Put All Three Boats in Grand Finals on Day 2 of NCAA Championships

6/1/2019 11:59:00 AM | Rowing

By: Chad Shepard

» With three boats in A/B semifinal races, U-M was able to place all three into Sunday's Grand Final races, where a national championship will be on the line for competing crews.
» U-M has now placed all three boats in Grand Finals in two of the last three seasons, and three times total in program history.
» Teams experienced another slight delay this morning, with races and centers tightened.

Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Eagle Creek Park)
Event: NCAA Championships Semifinals
First Varsity Eight Finish: 6:38.038 (3rd of 6), advanced to Grand Final
Next U-M Event: Sunday, June 2 -- at NCAA Championships Finals (Indianapolis, Ind.), 9:10 a.m.

• Results | Photo Gallery | NCAA Championships Site

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- One day after earning top-two finishes for all three boats during preliminary heats, the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing program continued its fast start during Saturday's (June 1) second day of competition at the NCAA Championships. After they endured a less significant weather delay than Friday's (May 31) drawn-out series of postponements, the Wolverines put all three boats into Sunday's (June 2) Grand Final races. This 2019 team joins the 2017 and 2001 teams as the only in program to accomplish that feat.

Races originally scheduled for 8:36 a.m., 9:36 a.m., and 10:24 a.m. were eventually started at 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 10:40 a.m. due to continued debris removal from the course in outside lanes. Weather was sunny with light cloud cover and temperatures were in the mid-70s, gradually increasing throughout the morning. Winds were minimal, and racing conditions were solid.

U-M's first varsity eight set the tone for the day in the first heat of the A/B semifinal. As they raced against No. 3 California, No. 4 Texas, No. 8 Virginia, No. 10 Brown and No. 14 Iowa, the Wolverines showed their toughness and earned a spot in Sunday's Grand Final with an excellent race. It will be the second Grand Final for U-M's top boat in the last three years.

In a tightly-contested field, no clear leader had emerged by the 250-meter mark, but Michigan jumped out front with California, Texas and Iowa soon thereafter. By 500 meters, U-M had pushed itself into a small lead with Texas and Cal charging on Iowa, and both boats soon overtook the Hawkeyes. Cal worked itself into lead position before the race's halfway point and took off from there.

Over the final 1,000 meters, the race turned into two packs of three: Cal, Texas and Michigan out front with Virginia, Iowa and Brown bringing up the rear. Smooth strokes kept those packs in place over the remainder of the race, with clear separation between them as Michigan's third-place boat put open water on Iowa. California took the win in 6:31.252, with Texas as runner-up and Michigan in third. All three boats advance to Sunday's Grand Final, where they will compete with No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Stanford and No. 6 Ohio State.

Next, it was the second varsity eight's turn. As U-M's highest-seeded boat (No. 2 overall), it has lived up to its billing. In the second heat of the A/B semifinal against No. 2 Stanford, No. 6 Princeton, No. 8 Brown, No. 10 Virginia and No. 11 Wisconsin, U-M finished second and advanced to the 2V8's third consecutive Grand Final.

Stanford led nearly wire-to-wire in another close race. The Wolverines started in fourth position behind Princeton and Brown, but by 500 meters had caught both boats and took over second place, which they did not relinquish for the remainder of the race. At the halfway point, Stanford was up a half-boat length on U-M while Brown tried to hold off Princeton and Virginia.

The Cavaliers eventually took over Brown for third position, and U-M ate into Stanford's lead down the stretch, but the Wolverines finished three seats behind the Cardinal. Along with Stanford and Virginia, U-M will race No. 1 Washington, No. 4 Texas and No. 6 Ohio State during Sunday's Grand Final.

The first varsity four advanced in its race as well. The Wolverines competed in the first heat against No. 1 Washington, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Princeton, No. 8 Brown and No. 9 Yale. Michigan took control early with an assertive pace off the line as Brown and Texas chased for second place with Washington hanging tight in fourth place. U-M soon settled into race pace and kept its composure as Texas and Washington overtook them during the second 500, while the Ivy League crews fell behind.

Washington continued to grow its advantage, but over the latter half of the race U-M ate into Texas' lead and whittled it down from three-quarters of a length to less than a half-length. Michigan had open water on all chasing boats and continued to creep up on the Longhorns as the top-seeded Huskies put the hammer down on the rest of the field.

U-M would not have enough to reel in Texas, but it had plenty for third place and will make Michigan's fourth consecutive Grand Final appearance in the varsity four Sunday. In addition to U-W and Texas, Michigan compete with Stanford, Ohio State and California.

Michigan is one of five schools with three boats in Grand Final races on Sunday and is scheduled to begin at 9:10 a.m. with the first varsity eight, but fans should stay tuned to social media channels for anticipated changes.

Results

* = advance to Grand Final

First Varsity Eight
1. California -- 6:31.252*
2. Texas -- 6:33.682*
3. MICHIGAN -- 6:38.038*
4. Iowa -- 6:41.806
5. Brown -- 6:46.531
6. Virginia -- 6:49.616

Second Varsity Eight
1. Stanford -- 6:51.761*
2. MICHIGAN -- 6:53.932*
3. Virginia -- 6:57.927*
4. Brown -- 6:59.247
5. Princeton -- 7:05.198
6. Wisconsin -- 7:14.393

First Varsity Four
1. Washington -- 7:35.938*
2. Texas -- 7:39.866*
3. MICHIGAN -- 7:42.590*
4. Princeton -- 7:47.847
5. Yale -- 7:51.528
6. Brown -- 7:51.975

Varsity Lineup

1V8: Charlotte Powers (coxswain), Jessica Schoonbee, Caroline Hendershot, Madison Byrd, Victoria Glunt, Grace Collins, Tayla-May Bentley, Kathryn Grotto, Annika Hoffmann