Oct 31, 2009

Site: Indianapolis, IN

The Head of the Eagle

Halloween found the Wolverines racing in the scariest of places. Indianapolis' legendary winds make a regatta always an unnerving prospect, but the inconsistent conditions on the course never kept the racing from going off as planned. It was great racing at that, with the level of competition in the Midwest reaching new heights. Grand Valley, Notre Dame and Purdue all made statements in one way or another. However, the Michigan Men performed well in races all day long on their way to medals in 12 events and another strong performance from top to bottom of the team.

In overall team strength the Maize and Blue showed they remain the target of several other schools attempts to reel them in from out in front of the pack. Grand Valley and Purdue earned victories in the Varsity and Junior Varsity respectively, but medals in most of the races the Wolverines rowed put to rest any doubt the wolverines are still a tough team to beat. It is clear that Michigan needs to bring its best every time they see their Midwestern counterparts in the spring sprints if they want to keep their shirts. Betting begins with the Lubbers Cup in late March.

The racing started for Michigan with doubles of Moore/Pannuto and Huebschman/Oliver trying to shake the rust off their sculling skills and best their times from Rockford. In tough conditions, neither boat was able to capture a medal, but they kept the boats upright, something which was more difficult later in the day.

The Freshmen had Eights races mixed in the early morning and afternoon. Just like at the Head of the Rock, the experience of a few of the freshman rowers came in handy leading the A Eight to a gold medal in the best piece of the day from any of the freshman boats and a solid performance. The rest of the Freshman Eights had good pieces in some of the roughest water they've ever seen, and gained experience which will help them next weekend at Belleville Lake.

The Varsity had a fleet of fours to race, with four of five heavyweight fours receiving medals, led by the top four of Bomstein/Dryer/Zoufaly/McCormick/Wyrwa in the A flight. The two lightweight fours left the dock in some of the roughest water of the day and captured another medal-gold from Rodriguez/LaTulip/Wimmer/Bellefleur/Perrin.

Racing in that nasty water however were three pairs, and an eventful race ensued. Sugiyama/Caldwell had perhaps the most impressive determination of the group as they flipped in the staging area, righted the boat, went to a nearby dock to drain the water, and got back in the water for their race. The pair responded to the official's query about returning to the docks with a slight laugh and built into the piece. Ronald/Chadwick made it through to the finish line okay, but got themselves stuck in the mud and flipped on their way back to the docks. The officials didn't ask this time and threw a few life vests their way. They jumped into the launch in just enough time to make the pre-race meeting for the Eights racing that remained. The third pair certainly didn't stay dry, but after cruising through all the waves Dryer and Zoufaly each earned their second gold medal of the day.

With hardly any time to warm up, the wet sophomores Sugiyama, Caldwell, Ronald and Chadwick went back into the mix as the guys gathered for their pre-race talk. Conditions had been bad all morning, and after a race or two to get their feet wet the crews went out with confidence they would handle the conditions better than the first trip down the course. They delivered with solid races from first to fifth boat. Officially second in the A and B flights it could have been a disappointing afternoon. However, the C flight was dominated with the top three spots all going to third, fourth and fifth Michigan Crews who rose to the occasion to make an uncertain finish in the A flight easier to take.

The whole team will be on the ergs Friday for the all important November 6k. Looking toward their fall final rowing exam, the guys will certainly be going after some big scores here to set them up for their best shot at personal bests in December.

The Belleville Classic will have the Michigan Men and Women on the same water this weekend in an epic time trial at Belleville Lake. It has found crews in the past racing through sideways rain and clashing oars and promises to be both an exciting and fun regatta for the Wolverines.