University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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The team practices their strokes for their upcoming regatta. The Maize and Blue varsity eights finished second, third and sixth at the American Heritage River Classic Regatta on the Detroit River. Photo courtesy Sports Information Sophomore movement science major Annie Hildebrand and her teamates carry the boat out to the water. Home meets took place at Bellville Lake. Photo courtesy Sports Information ysic test. Eight women sat in a boat, synchronized their strokes, and rowed. There were no touchdowns, home runs, or goals no star- making opportunities. There was just a lot of hard, grueling work and team effort. Fall 2006 marked the women ' s rowing team ' s ninth season at the University. The team performed well in their season opener, rowing to win four of five races against Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University. Mark Rothstein, who had been the head coach since the team began competing in 1997, commended the team ' s first result in 2006. I was pleased with our rowing today. The team looked to be in a strong position from the outset; Rothstein said, It was really good to race against good competition early in the season. I think our crews responded well, said Rothstein. Although Big Ten Conference titles were not awarded in this relatively new sport until the 1999- 2000 season, by 2006, the team had captured three of them. Year after year, the team was consistently ranked among the top ten in the country. With the addition of three new assistant coaches in 2006, Veronika Platzer, Bernadette Marten Teeley, and Molly Gutilla, the team expected another successful year. They had finished fourth in the conference in their previous season, but Rothstein had done a great deal of recruiting in the off-season, so the team had a different look entering competition in 2006. Rothstein was optimistic. When seven high school-rowers signed letters of intent to attend the University as stud ent athletes, he commented, It ' s a great group. We really enjoyed recruiting these kids. I think they ' re all going to do well. Rothstein hoped his assistant coaches bychrisalbanese could guide the young talents. Referring to Gutilla, he said, Molly is a very bright young coach, and I have no question that she will do an outstanding job developing our novice team. sports 131

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me women s rowing learn warms up before their. meet against Eastern Michigan. The meet took place Belleville, Michigan on November 11 2006. Photo courtesy Sports Information 130 rowing

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ter four straight losses to open the 2006 season, the en ' s field hockmp team resiliently battled back over the next six games, winning five and evening out their record. Historically, the team had excelled, particularly over the last decade. Infact, they had won the NCAA Championship just five years prior. 2006 marked Coach Nancy Cox ' s second season running the team. She had success in 2005, taking third place in the Big Ten Conference and coaching the team to the second round of the NCAA tournament. In the off-season, Cox recruited a lot of new talent, and was excited about the new freshmen joining the team. We are thrilled about this entire class, she said. Indeed, on the whole, the team looked very promising. Cox stressed the importance of practice while she praised the incoming freshmen hockey players, commenting, It is a very well-rounded group, and they are all playing hockey right now, which is one of the best things we can say about them. Among these new recruits were kinesiology student Jenner Johnson, and LSA students Alissa Pullos and Morgan Perry. Referring to Pullos, Cox said, I think Alissa will be a prolific collegiate ball striker. Cox said Perry, a New Zealander, will bring that international flair, and she praised Johnson, whom she also anticipated to be a prolific collegiate ball striker. But it was not all about the freshmen on the 2006 team. The team was led by senior captains, biomedical engineering major Mary Fox, as well as communication studies majors Eleanor Martin and Kara Lentz. The goalkeeper, Beth Riley, a sport management and communications studies major, ield h Sophomore defender Michaeb McDermolt races against a Michigan State player to reach the ball. Michigan won the game 2-1 . S. Jerome photo The women of the field hockey team gather around each other after scoring a goal. The women congratulated players after shooting goals. C. Leonard photo returned for her fourth year as well. The 2006 women ' s field hockey team was rich in experience, and full of vibrant young talent. With Coach Cox at the helm, the team was poised for another great season. by chrisalbanese 132 field hockey