Collier-Hezel Invited to Join Tuppen-Assisted U23 Selection Camp
5/26/2021 10:34:00 AM | Rowing
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Sophomore Elena Collier-Hezel of the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan rowing program was invited to the 2021 Under 23 National Team Selection Camp, USRowing announced on Wednesday (May 26). Collier-Hezel will be under the direction of a staff that includes U-M assistant coach Liz Tuppen as an assistant on the staff led by Iowa coach Andrew Carter.
Collier-Hezel is among the 54 athletes who have been invited to compete, and she has the opportunity to join the camp after the conclusion of the NCAA Championships. The camp will be run June 1-20 at the University of Iowa. Athletes selected through the camp will represent the U.S. at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships (July 7-11) in Racice, Czech Republic.
After the cancelation of her freshman season in 2020, Collier-Hezel has been a force as a letterwinner in the varsity lineup this spring. She rowed in the sixth seat for the 2V8 that won Big Ten gold and helped the Wolverines repeat as Big Ten Championships with a program-record 191 points earlier this month (May 16). Collier-Hezel rowed in the 1V8 lineup for much of the spring and has strictly bounced between the Wolverines' top two boats.
Last February, Tuppen was announced as an addition to the staff leading the USRowing Women's U-23 program. Tuppen is in her ninth season at Michigan and has led the 2V8 boat for the last six years, guiding the boat to four Big Ten Championships (2015, '17, '19, '21) in that span. The U-M 2V8 has qualified for three straight NCAA Grand Finals (2017-19) and also has two bronze medals at the NCAA Championships (2017, '19), finishing fourth in 2018. Those finishes have led U-M to a pair of third-place team finishes as well (2017, '19). The U-M 2V8 is seeded fifth ahead of this weekend's championship event.
After being named part of the 2019 CRCA Region 4 Staff of the Year with her fellow U-M coaches, Tuppen coached South Africans Tayla-May Bentley and Jessica Schoonbee to a silver medal at the 2019 World U23 Rowing Championships in women's pair.
Fans can follow the progress of the US U23 team on Instagram.
Michigan readies for the NCAA Championships this Friday through Sunday (June 28-30) in Sarasota, Fla. Racing begins at 9:36 a.m. on Friday.
• USRowing Release
