Michigan's crew team will be embarking on its first regatta of the '98-99 season when it travels to Pittsburgh for the Head of the Ohio Regatta this weekend.
The fall season - the warmup for the spring - is when the coaches find out who will be the main contributors.
The races are also longer than those of the spring regular season as the fall races measure 4,000 meters compared to 2,000 meters in the spring.
About 15 teams will be participating in the regatta tomorrow. These crews include three others from the Big Ten (Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State), and Virginia, which is another big rival for the Wolverines.
"I think we've got a good group," Michigan crew coach Mark Rothstein said. "We lost some good athletes, but I think I'm seeing some of the returning kids from last year step it up a little bit.
"We've got a real good group of freshmen and a real good group that was on the freshman team last year that's now on the varsity team."
Rothstein was optimistic about his team's chances in the regatta, but maintained that the focus of the fall was to prepare for the spring.
Getting ready for the winter camp in late December in Tampa, Fla., was also on his list of priorities for the fall season.
"We are more focused on preparing for the spring," Rothstein said. The Wolverines want to put themselves in a good position at Thanksgiving time to go into our winter training to put ourselves in a good position for April. But we would like to win."
10-02-98
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