It wasn’t the finish to the regular season it had hoped for, but the No. 13 Michigan women’s rowing team took second place in Sunday’s Big Ten championships with 135 points. The Wolverines fell to longtime foe and first place finisher, No. 4 Ohio State, in five out of seven races. The Buckeyes wrangled in 160 points while third-place finisher, No. 14 Wisconsin, totaled 134 points for nail biting finish.

Heading into the final three races of the day, Michigan held the lead after winning the 2v4 competition with a time of 7:31.38 over runner-up Wisconsin (7:35.71). The Wolverines had 36 points while Wisconsin and Ohio State had 35 and 34, respectively.

Last year, Michigan entered the final three races of the day in third place behind Ohio State and Wisconsin, trailing the Buckeyes by 13 points. It was the stunning, back-to-back varsity eight wins that secured the title for the Wolverines in 2012.

Though it couldn’t pull out the improbable victory it had done so the year before and the 2v4 was the only Michigan win of the day, Coach Mark Rothstein was not entirely disappointed with his team’s performance.

“I thought we raced hard,” Rothstein said. “A bunch of our boats had their best races of the year, it just wasn’t enough to win.

“We didn’t win and that’s our expectation.”

The quality, intensity, and diligence of this year’s squad’s hard work and dedication is one that has been expressed time and time again by Rothstein. He was particularly pleased with their two-week preparation as they began their taper coming into the Big Ten Championships.

“They did everything I asked of them,” Rothstein said, “and we continued to make gains.”

This year’s second place finish marks the Wolverines’ 10th time they have placed in the top two slots of the conference’s final meet. Since its startup in 2000, Michigan has laid claim to five of the 14 Big Ten titles (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2012).

Strong performances from senior Shannon Stief and redshirt senior Melissa Ongun earned them a first team All-Big Ten selection wehile senior Kate Grimaldi and junior Bryna Oleshansky who made it onto the second team. Each of the four rowers competed in the 1v8 for the Big Ten Championships.

Senior coxswain Colleen Macke was one of seven players to receive the Sportsmanship Award this year. Macke led the 2v8 to a third place finish in today’s competition.

The Wolverines will begin training for the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, which will be held May 30th. Last year, Michigan finished five points behind first place finisher, Virginia, with 82 points. But with competition heating up and the Buckeyes reaching peak performance, the Wolverines have a tough road ahead.