The trees may have been speckled with rich reds, oranges and yellows and the boats aligned in their assigned lanes, but it sure didn’t feel like fall.
The Michigan Women’s rowing team joined Ohio State and Michigan State at Belleville Lake Sunday for an early fall scrimmage while battling unseasonably high heat and early team injuries.
Official results were not kept, but the Wolverines consistently traded first- and second-place finishes with the Spartans and Buckeyes.
Michigan coach Mark Rothstein said he was pleased with the fierce drive his team displayed throughout the morning.
“The pieces were competitive,” Rothstein said. “There wasn’t any one crew that kind of outdid the other. I think we’re on the right track . Obviously, the results themselves are not all that meaningful, but anytime you go out and race Michigan State and Ohio State, you always want to do well.”
The scrimmage was structured into five five-minute heats with each heat composed of three flights. Michigan entered two varsity-eight boats in the first flight and one eight in the second. It did not enter a four boat due to routine early-season injuries.
The Wolverines glided into strong finishes much more smoothly Sunday than their previous scrimmage.
“Last time we raced Michigan State three weeks ago, the results were very different,” senior port Marin McCabe said.
Rather than a traditional regatta, each race was approximately 1,400 meters instead of the typical 2,000-meter competition. In keeping with the fall scrimmage concept, the maximum stroke rating was kept at 25 strokes per minute.
The Wolverines will return to action Oct. 21 when they travel to Boston for the Head of the Charles.