Michigan Rowing is excited to be so well represented in the 2008 Olympics! Four Wolverine alumnae are headed to Beijing for the Olympics. Ellen Tomek '06 (pictured at right) will row for the United States Olympic Team in the U.S. women's double sculls, and Brett Sickler '05 (pictured at left) will travel with the U.S. squad as an alternate. Heather Mandoli '04 will row in the Canadian Olympic Team's eight, and Janine Hanson '06 will row in the quadruple sculls for Canada. Michigan Rowing's trainer, Lisa Hass, also heads to Beijing this summer, as the U.S. Olympic Rowing team's trainer in the 2008 Olympics. We look forward to cheering on these Olympians this summer, and to hearing about their experiences when Heather returns as a volunteer coach, and Lisa returns as the team's trainer, in September.

Three members of Michigan Rowing's incoming class will arrive in Ann Arbor with exciting international rowing experience behind them: representing the United States at the 2008 Junior World Championships. This July, first-years Emily Eiffert, Cristina Felix, and Melisa Ongun will row in Austria as part of the U.S. Junior National Team, Cristina and Melisa in the U.S. eight and Emily in the women's double sculls. They will be in Linz, Austria, with another member of the Wolverine team, Michigan Assistant Coach and U.S. Junior National Team Assistant Coach Veronika Platzer, who will be coaching the junior women's pair. Good luck to all of these Michigan competitors!

This summer, not only will three Michigan Wolverines be rowing for the United States National Team at Senior Worlds, but they'll be rowing together in the same boat! Michigan alumnae Sarah Trowbridge '05 (3-seat in photo at left) and Stesha Carle '06 (2-seat) and Karen Colwell '09 (bow) are three of the four rowers in the U.S. four. Sarah, Stesha, and Karen will be three of six Michigan Wolverines rowing for the United States in Linz, Austria, at the World Rowing Championships -- the other three are incoming rowers Emily Eiffert, Cristina Felix, and Melisa Ongun, competing in the 2008 Junior World Championships. Alumna Cristin McCarty '06 joins these rowers in Linz as a member of the Canadian National Team, rowing in the Canadian four.

The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) named Michigan Wolverine Karen Colwell to its 2008 Division I Pocock All-America Team. Lori Gordon was a CRCA All-America Second Team Selection. Both Karen and Lori also were named to CRCA's First Team for its All Region awards in the Central region; they are joined by teammate and coxswain Laura Dunn. Congratulations to these three rowers and also to Adrienne Mecham and Caitlin Trumble, CRCA Second Team All Region honorees. Go Blue!

The Michigan Wolverines have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Rowing National Championships, to be held May 30 - June 1 in Sacramento, California. After a third-place finish in a field of 22 at the South/Central Regional Championships, the First Varsity Eight boat looks forward to competing against 15 other teams for an NCAA boat championship. Details coming soon!

Four Michigan Rowers were honored at the 2008 Big Ten Rowing Championships on May 3 at Belleville Lake. Junior Karen Colwell was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and sophomore Adrienne Mecham and junior Caitlin Trumble were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Senior Caitlin McCallister was named a Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree. At the Big Ten Banquet on the eve of the championships, graduating seniors Annie Hildebrand, Marin McCabe, Caitlin McCallister, and Rebecca Shapiro also were recognized. Congratulations to these Wolverine Rowers.

The 11th-ranked Michigan Wolverine First Varsity Eight crew rowed its way to third place at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, held on Belleville Lake in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 3. Rowers Adrienne Mecham, Lori Gordon, Sarah Gribler, Grace Luczak, Ashley Kroll, Karen Colwell, Caitlin Trumble, and Julia Nelson and coxswain Laura Dunn finished third, behind Michigan State and Ohio State.

Recently Michigan sports fans were asked to rate Michigan's all-time top tandems in Wolverine Athletics. Michigan Rowers Crystal Culp and Erin Kopicki "edged out football quarterback Elvis Grbac and1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard by three votes as top write-in candidates," according to a release posted on the Athletic Department's website. Erin ('03) and Crystal ('05) rowed as the stern pair in the first varsity boat that won the Big Ten Championships and placed second in the nation at NCAAs in 2003. Head Coach Mark Rothstein says of the Kopicki-Culp stern pair: "They had instant chemistry, great chemistry. When Erin and Crystal were rowed as the stern pair, the boat flew. This tandem set a very long, fluid rhythm for the rest of the crew, a great group of rowers, to follow." Erin, who was named the Big Ten Rower of the Year in 2003, and Crystal rowed in a terrific boat with very strong rowers behind them (four future National Team members -- Brett Sickler, Heather Mandoli, Katie Reynolds, and Stesha Carlé, and two All-Americans -- Kate Maxim and Leah Ketcheson) and a great coxswain guiding them (All-American Helen Dalis). Way to go Michigan Rowing -- and Michigan Rowing Fans! For more on this fun virtual competition, read the post online.

Michigan Rowing experienced its most successful Head of the Charles to date with its third-place finish in the final event of the prestigious regatta, the Women's Championship Eights. Michigan's crew finished ahead of all other collegiate crews and after only the U.S. National Team and the Canadian National Team boats, in a field of thirty-nine entries. Michigan's Eight was coxed by Laura Dunn, and its lineup included Lori Gordon, Cate Trumble, Adrienne Mecham, Ashley Kroll, Karen Colwll, Kate Strzalkowski, Sarah Gribler, and Grace Luczak. The Canadian National Team's Eight included two Michigan alumnae, Heather Mandoli '04 and Katie Reynolds '04. Michgan's Four, coxed by Margaret Deinek with a lineup of Maggie Cooper, Liz McCannell, Ashley Jones, and Kari Stenbakken, took ninth overall, fourth among collegiate crews, in the Women's Championship Fours division.

Congratulations to Michigan Rowing's First-Year Varsity Letter Winners! On September 20, 2007, the University of Michigan's Athletic Department honored all of its first-time Varsity Letter Winners in the university's spring sports. Pictured in their new varsity letter jackets with Head Coach Mark Rothstein are Jordan Peek, Maggie Cooper, Margaret Dienek, Sarah Gribler, Adrienne Mecham, Julia Nelson, Lori Gordon, and Ashley Kroll.

Brett Sickler '05 won her second World Championship at the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Germany. With their World Championship, Sickler and her gold medalist boatmates secured the United States an Olympic bid for the U.S. women's eight in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The U.S. women's eight, with Sickler in bow, led the race from start to finish. “We knew it was going to be ridiculously fast, and we knew we had to be patient in the first 1,000 (meters),” Sickler said. “I think we were all kind of surprised that we were up at that point. When we passed through the 1,000, we knew that we had more, and we gradually increased the rate. With 500 to go, we knew that someone was going to have to row really hard to take it from us. It was the best race of my life so far. It was amazing.” Two other Michigan alumnae helped their national teams secure bids for the 2008 Olympics: Jeanine Hanson '06 in the Canadian quad and Ellen Tomek '06 in the U.S. quad. Wolverine alums Heather Mandoli and Katie Reynolds rowed in the Canadian National Team's women's eight, which failed to qualify -- though Team Canada has another chance to qualify their women's eight for the 2008 Olympics next summer in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The United States and Canada have announced their rosters for the 2007 World Rowing Championships, to be held in Munich, Germany, August 26 - September 2. Five Michigan Rowing Alumnae are on those rosters. On the United States National Team are Brett Sickler '05 and Ellen Tomek '06. Brett, who rowed in the U.S. Women's Eight that won gold at the 2007 Rowing World Cup Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, in July, aims to add to her 2007 international medal count when she rows in the U.S.'s Women's Eight in Germany. Ellen, who began her rowing career as member of Michigan's Novice Squad, will row in the U.S.'s Quad. On the Canadian National Team are Heather Mandoli '04, Katie Reynolds '04, and Janine Hanson '06. Heather and Katie will be boatmates in Canada's Women's Eight, and Janine will row in Canada's Women's Quad. Medalists Heather and Katie already have rowed for the Canadian National Team in Austria, England, and Poland, among other places, and the World Championships in Germany marks Janine's first post-graduate racing for Canada. We wish all of these Michigan Rowing Alumnae the best as they compete at Worlds!

Three members of Michigan Rowing's Class of 2011 already have terrific experience on the international rowing circuit. Two incoming first-year Wolverines won bronze medals for their third-place finish rowing in the United States's Women's Eight at the World Junior Championships in Beijing, China in August. Natalie Eisermann, who joins the Michigan team from Key Biscayne, Florida, and Grace Luczak, who joins Michigan Rowing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, capped off a summer of training at the U.S. Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York, with a strong showing in the Women's Eight, behind only Romania and Germany. Suzanne Maddamma, who joins Michigan Rowing after having rowed for the Steele City Rowing Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, placed ninth overall in Beijing in the single sculls event, which is the second best finish ever for a United States single sculler at at Junior Worlds. For more on these three rowers and their U.S. Junior National Team teammates, read the news at U.S. Rowing's website. These three student-athletes and their Michigan Wolverine teammates begin classes and practice for the 2007-08 season on September 4 in Ann Arbor.

Michigan junior Julia Nelson has had an exciting summer of rowing -- and traveling. Julia was selected to row for the Canadian National Team at the Under 23 World Championships in Strathclyde, Scotland, from July 26 - 29. Julia rowed in Canada's eight, which placed fourth behind Belarus, Germany, and the United States. While traveling in Europe with the Canadian team, Julia and her boatmates "worked really hard on the water and had a chance to do 'summer-y' things too, such as barbeque together and have campfires after practice." Julia also had some memorable moments touring Europe. The night before the race in Strathclyde, for example, Julia was walking among ancient cathedrals when she encountered the aunt of a German competitor and struck up a conversation. "We had a five-minute chat," Julia recalls, "and she gave me a big hug and wished me good luck. How can you ask for anything more?" About her boat's performance at Worlds, Julia says, "Our placement in Scotland initially was really disappointing for me. Nobody wants to come in fourth. However, after a few weeks of being removed from the situation, I realized how good our race was. We were in the hunt until the end, our performance was a major improvement from the year before, and all of the medalists were the same crews who medaled last year with many returning athletes." Julia sums up her 2007 U23 experience by saying she is "pleased with what my teammates and I accomplished this summer, and I am even more excited about the hope it brings for the Canadian National Team's future competition. I've had a great experience and I treasure it, but I'm a competitor, and I'm still hungry for some hardware -- for Canada, but sooner for Michigan. I'm excited to get back to school and get back to representing the Blue!"

Michigan Rowing Alumnae Sarah Trowbridge '05 and Cristin McCarty '06 each medaled twice at the 2007 Pan American Games this July. Rowing for the United States National Team, Sarah Trowbridge earned a gold medal in the women's double sculls event -- ahead of silver medalist and Michigan alumna Cristin McCarty and her boatmate, rowing for Team Canada, by 2.53 seconds. On the very next day, Cristin and her boatmates won gold for Team Canada in the women's quad -- ahead of silver medalist Sarah and her teammates, rowing for the U.S. Team, by .55 seconds. Michigan Rowing is proud to see our alumnae earning gold and silver medals in both events!

Michigan Rowing proudly announces that three of its incoming rowers have been selected to represent the United States on U.S. Rowing's 2007 Junior National Team. Natalie Eisermann (Miami, Florida), Grace Luczak (Ann Arbor, Michigan), and Suzanne Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) begin their collegiate rowing careers at the University of Michigan in September. First, though, they will race on the Junior National Team at the 2007 FISA World Junior Championships in Beijing, China, on August 8 - 11. Grace and Natalie competed at the U.S. Rowing selection camp, held in New London, Connecticut, for their spots on the U.S. roster and now are training with the sweep team at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. Suzanne earned her spot on the U.S. roster as a single sculler during the 2007 Junior National Team Trials in June, winning both finals with a best time of 8:08.57. She continues to train at her home club, the Steel City Rowing Club, and will join the rest of the U.S. Junior Team when they head to China. Michigan head coach Mark Rothstein is "very happy for these athletes. It's a tremendous accomplishment. I had a chance to work with the Junior National Sweep Team as a guest coach in Lake Placid, and [U.S. Junior National Team head and assistant coaches] Steve Hargis and Liz Trond are doing an outstanding job. I'm excited to see the results from Beijing."

Michigan Rowing's Julia Nelson has been selected to row for Team Canada's Under 23 National Team this summer. Michigan Head Coach Mark Rothstein calls this a "great moment in Julia's development as a rower. I'm really excited that she's made the U23 team, and I'm sure she will make a great contribution to the Canadian Team, as she does to our team at Michigan." Nelson performed well at the U23 Selection Camp for Team Canada, and she will travel throughout Europe competing this summer. A late summer stop: representing Canada (and Michigan Rowing!) at the 2007 FISA Under 23 World Championships this July in Strathclyde, Scotland.

Just announced: two Michigan Rowing alumnae will compete at the 2007 Pan American Games. Sarah Trowbridge '05 will row for the United States and Cristin McCarty '06 will row for Canada in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 14 - 19. (Michigan Rowing's Athletic Trainer, Lisa Hass, is the trainer for the U.S. Team at the Pan Am Games, so Michigan will be represented well there!) Another six Michigan Rowing alumnae are training with the U.S. and Canadian Teams this summer. All four Americans -- Trowbridge, Stesha Carlé '06, Brett Sickler '05, and Ellen Tomek '06 -- competed for the United States at the US Rowing National Championships in June, as did all four Canadians -- McCarty, Janine Hanson '06, Heather Mandoli '04, and Katie Reynolds '04. Check back for updates as they travel nationally and internationally throughout 2007.

Fourteen Michigan Rowers were named to the 2006-2007 Big Ten Academic All-Conference Team, an honor bestowed on letter-winning student-athletes who are high academic achievers semester after semester. Student-athletes must be in their second year to be eligible for this award, and two Michigan Rowing seniors, Carla Bezold and Erin Cikanek (pictured at right) made the grade. So too did juniors Karen Colwell, Margaret Czerwienski, Julia Dodd, and Annie Hildebrand, and sophomores Phebe Brenne, Sydney Koch, Liz McCannell, Michela Musto, Julia Nelson, Liz Padalino, Kate Strzalkowski, and Caitlin Trumble.

Wolverines Emily Shea (pictured on left) and Karen Colwell (pictured on right) brought more post-season accolades to Michigan Rowing. Emily Shea, senior tri-captain, was selected by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association to the Central Region's All-Region First Team. Shea, who rowed in the bow seat for the 2007 season, will continue her training and also return to Michigan Rowing as a volunteer coach next year. Karen Colwell, a Michigan junior who just completed her second year of eligibility, was named to CRCA's All-Region Second Team. Colwell will attend the U.S. Under 23 Selection Camp this summer.

Three Michigan Rowers received CRCA Scholar-Athlete Honors at the end of the 2007 season: Karen Colwell, a junior majoring in Physical Education and minoring in Health; Michela Musto, a sophomore majoring in Statistics; and Kate Strzalkowski, a sophomore majoring in History. Each was named a CRCA Scholar Athlete based on their contributions to the varsity team and also their cumulative academic achievements.

All Big-Ten First Team rower Karen Colwell earned an invitation to the United States's Under 23 Selection Camp, which convenes on June 4th. At the U23 Selection Camp, sixteen of the top U.S. women rowers under twenty-three years old train and compete to row for the United States at the 2007 FISA Under 23 World Championships. This summer the 2007 World Championships will be held in Scotland in July.

On May 2, Adrienne Mecham, a freshman from Lake Stevens, Washington, was selected the 2006-2007 Big Ten Freshman Rower of the Year. Adrienne is the second Wolverine to claim Freshman of the Year laurels, as Leah Ketcheson first earned the award in 2002. At stroke of the First Varsity Eight boat, Mecham guided the Wolverines to first place in the First Varsity Eight competition at the 2007 Big Ten Championships. The University of Michigan first-year student-athlete also was named second-team All-Big Ten and received Michigan’s Athletic Academic Achievement award.

Six Wolverines received honors at the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 28. Seniors Emily Shea and Julia Dalzell and junior Karen Colwell were named to the Big Ten All-Conference First Team. Sophomore Julia Nelson and first-year Adrienne Mecham were named to the Big Ten All-Conference Second Team. Junior Marin McCabe was awarded Big Ten Sportsmanship Honors. Pictured in the photo, from left to right: Karen Colwell, Julia Dalzell, and Emily Shea. Congratulations to all six Michigan Rowers.

Not only were 33 Michigan Rowers honored at the University's Academic Achievement Awards reception on April 10th, but the team also was selected as the 2006-2007 recipient of the Rachael Townsend Community Service Team Award. The Townsend Award recognizes the team which best exhibits a commitment to community service, through the amount of hours athletes give of their time and especially the breadth of community service and leadership roles athletes take. Check out some of the great things our student-athletes do on the "Rowers in the Community" part of our website.

Michigan Rowers study together at the Boathouse on a beautiful day.

Julia Nelson (left) and Kate Strzalkowski will compete for seats with the Canadian National Team this summer.

Michigan Rowing is proud to announce that two of the team's Canadian-born rowers, Julia Nelson and Kate "Straz" Strzalkowski, have been invited by the Canadian national team to its summer selection camp for the Under 23 team. In a format new to the Canadian national team, twenty women under the age of 23 have been invited to selection camp, where they will seat race, erg test, and compete in time trials to earn a position on the Under-23 Canadian Rowing Team. If Nelson and Strzalkowski make the U-23 Canadian Team (selection is made by June 17th), they will spend three weeks of July in Europe competing in regattas including the U-23 World Championships -- after what no doubt will be intensive preparation in London, Ontario, during the month of June. When asked about her invitation, Julia said, "I really do attribute my invitation to the camp to the development I've made at Michigan under the guidance of the coaches and from training alongside enthusiastic, hardworking teammates. I'm really excited for the season, and hopefully that will just lead into having a good experience at selection camp." Straz added, "I am really excited for this new opportunity to push myself to a new level, to take what I have learned from Michigan and use these skills to help me fulfill my dream of representing my country internationally. I am looking forward to the challenges that this summer holds."