Michigan Rowing victorious at HOCR

Submitted by MGoNuts on
The Michigan Men's Rowing team won the Collegiate 8 race at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the most prestigious rowing event in the US. The Michigan Alumni Women won their event, while the Alumni Men finished fourth. The Varsity Women finished a respectable 7 th in the Championship Series race, which includes composite boats like the US National team.

Teams from Ann Arbor Rowing Club as well as Huron and Skyline Highs also fared well enough to earn automatic invitations to next year's event.

Congratulations, and Row Blue!

https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results2/eventResults.jsp?job_id…

blackt0wer

October 19th, 2014 at 10:12 PM ^

I didn't row for the block M, but I hope to in grad school. The HOCR is the probably the most prestegious rowing event in the USA. Winning it is like winning the OSU game.

el segundo

October 20th, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^

Michigan men's rowing is a club program and does not compete with the elite collegiate rowing programs, like Harvard, Washington, Cal, Brown, etc.  Michigan is a member of the American Collegiate Rowing Assocition, with schools like Grand Valley State, and it competed in the Collegiate Eights.  The elite programs are part of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association, and its members race in the Championship Eights.

Winning the Championship Eights at HOCR is like beating OSU.  Winning the Collegiate Eights is a significant but nevertheless lesser accomplishment, like winning a big 1-AA football game. Or maybe like beating Grand Valley State, which finished third in the Collegiate Eights. 

 

AMazinBlue

October 19th, 2014 at 10:15 PM ^

My dad rowed at the Head of the Charles for many years.  He held the "Masters" divison singles record for many years.  I remember going there with him and being all day from sunrise until late in the day. 

I will call him tomorrow and let him know.  He will be pleased being a UM MBA degree holder and former Olympic medal winner in the Four.

Gucci Mane

October 19th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^

A few members of the woman's team sat near me for the UTL last weekend. Let's just say I'm confident they had a good time in Boston this weekend.

chatster

October 19th, 2014 at 10:59 PM ^

Down by the River! Down by the banks of the River Charles!  

If you're a fan of some of those "non-revenue sports," then the annual two-day Head of The Charles Regatta in Boston is a fun event, even if you've got little or no interest in the sport of rowing, only know of it from the Winklevoss Twins in the film The Social Network, and wouldn't know the difference between "sculls" and "skulls."

Though it's easy to think of rowing as an elitist sport, there are lots of non-elitist college students (some of whom might've been or still are Michigan students) who join rowing teams and clubs without ever having experienced the sport. If you've ever taken the seat of a rowing machine at your gym, then you probably know the work that's needed to get the oars moving at a fast pace.

If you think of The Head of the Charles Regatta as being to rowing in the United States like what the triple crown races are to horse racing, or what the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 are to auto racing, or what the Boston Marathon is to distance running, then you can get an idea of what this event is like.

This year was the 50th HOCR.  It usually gets many of the best crews in the world, and whether you view it from the Cambridge side of the river or the Boston/Allston side, there are lots of great viewing places. The races start near the old Boston University Bridge that has been recognized as the only spot in the United States where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving next to a cyclist while an airplane passes overhead.

It might've been nice if Michigan's hockey game against Boston University next Saturday could've been scheduled for this weekend, so that Michigan hockey fans also could've experienced the Head of the Charles Regatta.

Congratulations to all of Michigan's competitors in this year's event!

LSAClassOf2000

October 19th, 2014 at 11:07 PM ^

Not only a great event, but a popular one as well. I believe the HOCR regularly draws a few hundred thousand now, bolstered some by the fact that there is typically some international representation in the regatta as well. Does anyone know if we've we got a team in the Head Of The Schuykill as well? 

BlueDragon

October 19th, 2014 at 11:16 PM ^

One of my favorite parts of walking the Huron River bike trail is yelling words of encouragement to the Pioneer and Huron High teams as they row by.

"Row faster! Come on Pioneers!"

chatster

October 19th, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^

The results I've seen show that Michigan's women finished fifth in the championship race in a field of 34 boats, with a time of 16:36.92, behind Cambridge, US Rowing, Virginia and Oxford. That's very impressive. LINK

Congratulations to Coach Mark Rothstein and the Michigan women’s crew (listed by their seat numbers): 8: Alexandra Spaulding. 7: Samantha Heron, 6: Kate Wright, 5: Kendall Brewer, 4: Jessica Eiffert, 3: Louisa Freeman, 2: Felicity Cain, 1: Adena Coste, Cox: Hannah Sherman

chatster

October 20th, 2014 at 7:13 AM ^

In the listing of the finishers in the race, it showed the Michigan boat as having the number seven bow, right next to the column where it indicates that they finished fifth.  Either result is impressive in a field of that many top boats, and especially considering that Cambridge and Oxford have crews with several elite, young international rowers and the US Rowing crew should be expected to finish among the top crews.

The Radcliffe women finished eighth, so maybe they'll have to wear these shirts for the spring rowing season.

.

aiglick

October 19th, 2014 at 11:50 PM ^

Should you be a rowing fanatic I highly recommend The Boys in the Boat a true story about the University of Washington Men's Rowing Team who competed in the 1936 German Olympics. This was a really fascinating book.

I mentioned the book once before on the blog but since this was about rowing I thought I'd mention it again. If you like history, sports, or drama this is a great read.

Congrats to the Michigan teams on a fabulous performance.

autodrip4-1968

October 20th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^

Am not a rowing fan. But I have been reading this book and I have to say I have become a rowing fan. The athletes are amazing. The training and competing these men and women perform in the elements is not for the faint of heart. The ebook is as it says on the cover is breathtaking. Joe Rantz's story and the great George Pocock and his quotes are inspirational." It's all about the swing!!!"

Wolverine In Iowa

October 20th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^

I rowed in high school in Massachusetts, but I never rowed in the Head of the Charles.  We had fall and spring rowing, with our competitions being in the spring.  I played water polo in the fall, and so I didn't get to try to compete for a seat on the eight sent to the Head.  However, my racing shirt from my junior season, tie-dyed over the summer in a vat of chlorine at the pool I lifeguarded at, was used by one of the guys in our school's boat.  So, that's my claim to fame.

Congratulations to the U-M teams!