April 28, 2010

FIRST WATER
Saturday, May 1 -- 2010 Big Ten Championships (East Lansing, Mich.), 8 a.m.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS ON THE WEB
Michigan State: www.msuspartans.com
Big Ten Conference: www.bigten.org
Powerhouse Timing: www.info@powerhousetiming.com

Schedule of Events

The University of Michigan women's rowing team heads to the campus of Michigan State for the 2010 Big Ten Rowing Championships this Saturday (May 1) on Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park in East Lansing, Mich. The Wolverines will be racing against three ranked opponents in Big Ten foes No. 7 Michigan State, No. 14 Wisconsin and No. 15 Ohio State. Michigan has yet to race Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota this spring. U-M is looking for its first Big Ten team title since 2004.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Live scoring updates will be available throughout the Big Ten Championships at the Michigan State website (www.msuspartans.com) as well as Powerhouse Timing (www.info@powerhousetiming.com). Results will also be posted on the Big Ten Conference website (www.bigten.org). The Big Ten Network will also be filming the Big Ten Championships and airing them live on Sunday, May 16, at noon.

CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT AND SCORING
Seven of the Big Ten Conference's 11 schools sponsor women's rowing: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Each team fields up to six boats, one in each of the following events: first varsity eight, second varsity eight, first varsity four, second varsity four, first novice eight and second novice eight. The teams are split into two heats for the morning session. The top two boats from each heat advance to the afternoon grand final for their event, while the remaining boats advance to the petite final. Each boat earns points based on its overall finish.

The Big Ten Conference champion will be determined from the accumulation of points based on the completed races and the points associated with the place of the finish in each race. If there is a tie in points for the conference team championship the conference championship will be awarded to the team whose boat finished higher in the first varsity eight race. The scoring system is below:

Place Points


TAKING A LOOK AT THE FIELD
U-M earned four top-three seeds with the first varsity eight, the second varsity eight and the second novice eight earning No. 2 seeds and the second novice eight earning a No. 3 seed. Michigan State has the top seed in the first varsity eight and Wisconsin has the top seed in the second varsity eight.

Seedings


PROBABLE LINEUPS
First Varsity Eight: Margaret Deinek (coxswain), Melisa Ongun, Ashley Kroll, Adrienne Mecham, Emily Eiffert, Lindsey Healy, Natalie Eisermann, Lauren Schneider, Julia Darnton

Second Varsity Eight: Jennifer Entin (coxswain), Nellie Ruedig, Shannon Stief, Ariel Piotter, Cristina Felix, Felice Mueller, Kristen Henkels, Maggie Cooper, Katie Grossman

First Varsity Four: Erica Macke (coxswain), Sarah Gribler, Olivia Klipa, Paige Heil, Jordan Peek

Second Varsity Four: Taylor Day (coxswain), Nicole Dressler, Brittany Poston, Michaela Brown, April Newberry

Fist Novice Eight: Colleen Macke (coxswain), Kaitlin Cender, Cori Meinert, Jessie Rampton, Emily Reimnann, Rachael Minore, Becky Piks, Annie Fisher, Sam Scholl

Second Novice Eight: Jennifer Denike (coxswain), Rachel Christensen, Martha Alves, Lee Sova-Claypool, Kendall McSweeny, Danielle Prentice, Ellen vonFoerster, Sarah Kucemba, Amber Spears

WEATHER FORECAST
Saturday's weather in East Lansing calls for a high of 79 degrees with a 40-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms. The wind will be out of the southwest at 14 miles per hour.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
U-M leads the Big Ten Conference with four team championships (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004). Michigan State, the two-time defending Big Ten champion, has three titles, while Ohio State has two and Minnesota has one. Michigan State hosts the event for the first time the 2002 championships; Michigan took second place that year. Since taking their last Big Ten crown in 2004, U-M has placed second (2007, 2009), fourth (2005, 2006) and fifth (2008). U-M captured boat titles in the first varsity eight and the second novice eight both at the 2007 Big Ten Championship.

U-M Big Ten Boat Titles
First Varsity Eight - 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
Second Varsity Eight - 2000, 2001, 2004
First Varsity Four - 2001, 2003
Second Varsity Four - None
First Novice Eight - 2001
Second Novice Eight - 2007

RECAPPING THE 2009 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Wolverines came in second place overall in the team standings with 126 overall points. Four Wolverines crews -- the first varsity eight, second varsity four and the first and second novice eights -- earned silver medals, while the second varsity four took third place. U-M's second-place finish was its 10th consecutive top-five finish at the Big Ten Conference Championships.

WOLVERINE TIDBITS

Last Time Out
Michigan closed out the regular season with three top-two finishes out of the six races against No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 Southern California and No. 15 Ohio State last Sunday (April 18) on the Griggs Reservoir in Columbus, Ohio. The second varsity eight was the highlight of the race, winning with a time of 6:27.10. The second novice eight also won its race ahead of Michigan State and Ohio State with a time of 7:06.7 and the second novice eight took second place with a time of 6:47.55. The Wolverines also fielded a second varsity four for the first time all season. U-M took third place with a time of 7:36.70 just eight-hundredths of a second behind second-place Ohio State.

U-M's Second Varsity Four Earns Big Ten Boat of the Week
U-M's second varsity eight was named the Big Ten Boat of the Week, the conference office announced on Tuesday (April 20). It was the second U-M boat to earn Big Ten Boat of the Week honors. U-M's first varsity eight earned the award on April 6 after defeating Clemson. The second varsity eight picked up its second consecutive victory and defeated ranked opponents for the second time this season with wins over No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 Southern California and No. 15 Ohio State. Michigan crossed the finish line with a time of 6:27.10, two second ahead of closest competitor Ohio State (6:29.10).

Last weekend Michigan's second varsity eight was comprised of: Erica Macke (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), Nellie Ruedig (Concord, N.H./St. Paul's School), Jordan Peek (Jacksonville, Fla./Stanton College Prep), Ariel Piotter (Bridgman, Mich./Bridgman), Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif./San Marino), Felice Muller (Cleveland Height, Ohio/Pomfret School, Conn.), Kristen Henkels (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood), Paige Heil (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) and Olivia Klipa (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny).

Heading Into the Postseason
U-M begins its quest for their first-ever NCAA championship this weekend at the Big Ten Championship hosted by Michigan State. Should the Wolverines capture the Big Ten championship, it will be their fourth title since the 2000 season. Michigan's best result at the NCAA Championships was during the 2001 season when it took home runner-up honors. U-M has finished in the top five at the national championship six times, most recently taking third place in 2004.

In The Polls
This week, Michigan checks in at No. 11 this U-M is joined in the rankings by fellow Big Ten squads Michigan State (8), Wisconsin (13) and Ohio State (15). Minnesota and Iowa are also receiving votes in this week's poll.

According to this week's edition of the cMax ranking's, U-M's first varsity eight is the 13th fastest 1V8 in the country, 14.1 seconds behind the country's fastest eight, Princeton. Last week, U-M checked in ranked No. 11. U-M, Michigan State and Wisconsin are the only Big Ten first varsity eights ranked in the top 20.

Wolverines against the Rest of the Big Ten
U-M is consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the Big Ten and nationally. This season is no exception. The Wolverines received the second-highest preseason ranking coming in at No. 9. The only team ranked ahead of them was No. 7 Michigan State, which enters this season as the two-time defending Big Ten champion. Over the last four seasons, U-M had posted a 9-2 record in duals against Big Ten schools with U-M's lone losses coming to Michigan State and Ohio State. Michigan most recently defeated Ohio State and Indiana at the 2010 Big Ten Double Dual hosted by Indiana on April 10.

Top 10 Opponents
U-M consistently takes on the top programs in the country and this season is no different. U-M fell to No. 2 Virginia in the Big Ten /ACC Challenge and dropped its season opener to No. 7 Michigan State. Michigan has a 5-2 record against opponents ranked in the top 10 over the last two seasons and last season opened the spring season with a win over No. 2 Princeton and No. 8 Brown. This season Michigan will take on five squads ranked in the top 10 of the USRowing/CRCA Women's Collegiate Rowing Preseason Division I Poll.

Veteran Presence
Six Wolverines that competed in U-M's top boat at the 2009 NCAA Championships return for the 2010 season. Melisa Ongun (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park), Ashley Kroll (Edmonds, Wash./Kamiak), Adrienne Mecham (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens), Cristina Felix (San Marino, Calif./San Marino), Emily Eiffert (Honeoye, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) and Felice Mueller (Cleveland Height, Ohio/Promfret School) all return this season. Additionally, Erica Macke (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), Natalie Eisermann (Key Biscayne, Fla./School for Advanced Studies-Wolfson), Jennifer Entin (Corona Del Mar, Calif./Corona del Mar), Ariel Piotter (Bridgeman, Mich./Bridgman), Jordan Peek (Jacksonville, Fla./Stanton College Prep) and Julia Darnton (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) also rowed varsity for the Wolverines a season ago.

The Leader of the Maize and Blue
Mark Rothstein enters his 14th season at the helm of the University of Michigan women's rowing team. Rothstein has guided the Wolverines to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big Ten Championships, including back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001.

Rothstein's staff is made up of assistants, Kate Strum and Brett Sickler and graduate assistant coach Anne Hildebrand. Strum and Hildebrand are both entering their second seasons with the Wolverines, while Sickler, a former U-M rower, enters her first season on the Michigan rowing staff. Peter O'Neall is the Director of Operations.

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday-Sunday May 15-16 -- at Central/South Region Sprints (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
Friday-Sunday May 28-20 -- at NCAA Championships (Gold River, Calif.)

Contact: Jessica Poole (734) 763-4423