Rowing team 'Sprints' to Madison for tourney

While most students are either studying or summer-dreaming, the Michigan rowing team has bigger things on its mind.

And 'big' just might be an understatement. 'Mammoth' is probably a better word for this weekend's regatta, which features more than 20 teams, including all seven varsity Big Ten squads. The Midwest Sprints in Madison, Wisc., will be one of the Wolverines' last shots to secure a spot in next month's National Collegiate Rowing Championship.

Michigan, a fledgling second-year program, is ranked first in the region and seems a lock for a trip to nationals, but "there's a lot of racing before they make the selection," Michigan coach Mark Rothstein said.

And that racing starts Saturday against a field including Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota, Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado, Texas and Tennessee, to name a few.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily The Michigan rowing team will be in Madison next weekend, as part of its season-long quest to qualify for nationals.

The host Badgers have never lost the Midwest Sprints, but Rothstein doesn't expect to see a repeat performance.

"Wisconsin has never lost, but we're planning on reversing that this year," Rothstein said. "But they're the team to look out for."

The Wolverines already defeated Wisconsin in both the varsity eight and the second varsity-eight race at the San Diego Crew Classic on April 5, dropping only the varsity-four race.

"We've beaten many of the crews we're going to see in the first varsity," Rothstein said. "Our goal is to win the race. In the second varsity, Wisconsin will give us a good challenge, but again, our goal is to win the race."

The varsity-four event is the one that concerns Rothstein the most. While Michigan's varsity four-shell is the Wolverines' third-best - behind the first and second varsity-eight shells - many schools realize that they can't compete in the varsity-eight races. Instead, "a lot of programs are putting their top people in that boat," hoping to qualify just the varsity four for nationals, Rothstein said. So Michigan's ninth- to 12th-best rowers are facing the top four from other schools.

But even more of a concern for Rothstein is final exams. While most schools are still in the middle of their semesters, the race is smack-dab in the middle of finals for the Wolverines.

"It's definitely a concern, but it's not something that should affect our rowing," Rothstein said. "Obviously, we've backed off a little on training this week, but we've had some quality practice, even better than before."

Michigan's final meet before the Central Regional Championships in mid-May is a home double-dual meet against Ohio State and Michigan State at Belleville Lake on May 5.

Both the Buckeyes and the Spartans will be at the Midwest Sprints this weekend, so there really should be no surprises at Belleville. Both teams are strong, and should bring competitive races, but they don't have the speed of Michigan or Wisconsin.

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