The Michigan crew team turned in another solid performance Sunday at the Head of the Elk regatta in Elkhart, Ind.
In the most prestigious open-eight race, the Wolverines took the second, third and seventh places out of a field of 15. Purdue's top boat finished in first place, completing the 2 1/2-mile course in 15:17. Following close behind were two of Michigan's boats, with times of 15:25 and 15:35.
The Wolverines entered three relatively even boats rather than focusing all of their talent on one best boat. While this makes it more likely that all three boats will do well, placing a boat in the top three becomes more difficult.
In the novice-eight race, Michigan took third with a time of 17:37, trailing first-place Purdue (17:23) and second-place Indiana (17:36).
Though the combination of a second- and a third-place finish in the open eight is certainly an excellent showing, the Wolverines had hoped for a repeat of last week, when Michigan finished one-two in the Jack Speakmon Invitational.
"No one is happy with losing to Purdue," Michigan assistant coach Pam Carroll said. "But we are happy that we had a strong performance."
Along with the competition from other schools, the Wolverines had to battle near freezing temperatures and a stiff head wind which made rowing difficult.
"We had a little problem with chop, but we handled it well," Carroll said.
Though the team certainly wants to do well during the fall season, its attention is focused primarily on preparing for the more important spring season.
"Results (in the fall) give you a measure of where you are (with respect to other teams)," Carroll said.