Oct 10, 2009

Site: Rockford, IL

Experience pays off for the Freshman at Head of the Rock

On their way to winning two gold medals, the Freshman Four and Freshman Eight each set course records in Rockford, Illinois this weekend. The Varsity, not to be outdone, won both the Collegiate and Lightweight Eights and both Fours races as well. They were only three seconds off the 2007 Michigan Eight and the course record in the collegiate eight event.

The Michigan Men faced off against several Midwestern competitors Sunday after frigid weather on Saturday gave way to a brisk fall day on Sunday and fast conditions. The Wolverines proved they are still the team to beat at the Head of the Rock, but Notre Dame made a statement with strong finishes in the collegiate eight, and a sweep of the medals in the double and nearly so in the pairs. Nate Bohn and David Caldwell had something to say for the wolverines and posted a second place finish for the Maize and Blue 3 seconds out of first.

The wolverines responded to some sluggish small boats performances to win the Lightweight and Heavyweight Fours in addition to their victories in the Collegiate and Lightweight Eights as well. They made it clear they would not back down easily and won the overall points trophy for the men with 851 points, over 300 points ahead of their nearest collegiate competitors.

The Lightweight Four led by their pirate-eyed stroke, Matt Deighton, rowed down the course like they stole their boat and outpaced the field in 16:13.49. The two Collegiate Fours responded by fighting for first and third place finishes, again stroked by sophomores. The Open Fours just missed medals, placing fourth and seventh, but the Freshman stole the show when they broke the course record by over fifty seconds and showed the field just a bit of the speed that was in store for the afternoon.

Five Varsity Eights and one Freshman Eight brought the whole team out on the water for the first time after a parade of small boats all morning, and as the Wolverines came down the course, they spoke loudly to anyone who wanted to threaten the Wolverine's traditional hold on this regatta. The Collegiate Eight took off and used a good starting position with lots of open water to show the field their speed. Finishing three seconds off the course record in 14:15.3 closely followed by Notre Dame and Purdue. The depth of Michigan's team was on display, with three eights finishing less than a minute behind the first boat. The Lightweights taking one of Michigan's 8 gold medals on the day, posting the second fasting time, in 14:51.6.

After a short week of training, the top eight rowers from the annual pairs matrix will travel to Boston for the biggest regatta in the world-Head of the Charles. The Collegiate Four will race on Saturday afternoon, and the Championship Four races Sunday afternoon. In the absence of several of the top rowers, the Wolverines will look to the younger rowers to provide leadership as the full freshman squad sees its first racing action of the season against Michigan State and Grand Valley University in East Lansing and looks to build on the strong performances of the weekend.