Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Hosts Dayton, Cincinnati, and Northwestern
4/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 3, 2001
Indiana Hosts Dayton, Cincinnati, and Northwestern
Meet Data
Indiana hosts the University of Dayton, Northwestern University, and the University of Cincinnati April 7. Lake Lemon is the home of Indiana's 2,000m course. Directions to Lake Lemon can be found at athletics.indiana.edu on the women's rowing page.
Mark Wilson's Ledger
Coach Wilson leads the Hoosiers in its second varsity season after acting as the club coach prior to the team being granted varsity status. This year looks to be promising as many of the rowers have at least one year of Division I experience and a better preparation for what lies ahead. His rowers have already claimed numerous victories in multiple events in just four regattas so far this season.
Coming off a successful fall head season, Coach Wilson hopes to equal that success with a challenging sprint season and several home dates.
Quoting Wilson
"I am very happy to be at home and hope the team will get pumped up for the race on Saturday. The difference between this
weekend and last is that Saturday there will be only one race for each boat. Each boat will race once and they need to make sure
that their one chance to sit on the line and race is the best. Racing new programs is exciting but we need to realize that there are very good athletes and good coaches preparing them at each university we race. Cincinnati and Dayton are good solid programs and the racing this weekend will be tough. I am looking forward to see everyone this week continue to push the ratings so they feel more confident during race day.
"I feel that Coach McCracken is doing a great job with his novice program and that the team is becoming more solid everyday. They should be looking forward to a good opportunity this weekend. The Varsity will again have their work ahead of them and will need to race and row in unison to win, there is no room for mistakes."
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati is in its inaugural season as a varsity sport and opens its spring season this Saturday in Bloomington. The Bearcats scrimmaged Louisville March 17. Their first varsity eight defeated Louisville in all three races while the second varsity eight took third each time.
Scouting Dayton
Dayton is in its second year as a varsity sport, and rows its last race before the Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday. The Flyers' varsity and novice eight beat Louisville March 25. The following week Notre Dame swept Dayton in six races.
Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern crew is in its 20th year as a club sport. The Wildcats open their spring season in Bloomington on Saturday. Indiana faced Northwestern at the Chicago Chase, Head of the Rock, and Head of the Elk in the fall season. Indiana finished ahead of Northwestern in each race.
Indiana Improves at Kansas
Indiana rowing survived another day of racing in strong winds, putting up eight boats on the first day of the Jayhawk Rowing Invitational at Kansas. The winds caused the course to be shortened to 1,500m and rerouted and the races delayed. The morning session featured the novice eight winning its heat in 4:39.1. Kansas won the other novice eight heat in 4:30.5. The novice four boat took second to Kansas in 5:28.9, 15.4 seconds behind the Jayhawks.
The varsity four finished fifth in 5:16.6, 3.2 seconds behind Iowa, and 28.4 seconds behind winner Kansas. Indiana's varsity eight claimed third in its heat and sixth overall in 4:21.2. Iowa posted the fastest time in 4:09.7.
Four boats battled the wind in the afternoon, collecting two second place finishes, a third and a fourth. The first novice eight took second in its heat and second overall in 4:31.7. The Hoosiers edged out the winner of the second heat Iowa by 0.6 seconds. Kansas won the race in 4:18.3. The novice four placed second in 5:10.7, while the varsity four took third in 4:56.8. The first varsity eight raced to a 4:21.5 finish for fourth place.
On Sunday, Indiana's novice eight boat claimed first place with a time of 8:35.3 over second place Kansas A in 8:37.9. With this win the Hoosiers handed Kansas one of only two losses in six races entered. Improved weather conditions allowed for the full 2,000 meter course, as opposed to the 1,500 meter course used Saturday.
IU's first varsity four fell to Kansas finishing in 8:37.1. The Jayhawks won in 8:06.6. The first varsity eight struggled, taking fifth place in 7:14.2. Massachusetts pulled out that victory in 6:56.2 while Tulsa won the other heat in 6:56.5 for second.
"The racing went very well this morning," said coach Mark Wilson. "The Hoosiers bettered every race from Saturday. The varsity eight had a strong row, and held on to Kansas State for the first half of the race. The varsity four is getting more together as they have more opportunities to race. Overall it was a very good weekend. We're ready to think about what we can do better this week technically to get ready for Dayton and Cincinnati."
Indiana and Cold Weather Each Win Two Events
Despite less than favorable weather conditions, the crew captured two victories over Louisville to open the spring season. The varsity A boat took first in 7:05.9 on the 2000 meter course, dominating the 1000 meters. The novice eight boat won in 7:56.3.
Winds of 15-20 miles per hour and a wind chill of 16-20 degrees prevented the four boats from hitting the water.
The varsity eight A beat out the Cardinals by just 6.2 seconds. The varsity eight B caught a crab at about the 1,200 meter mark and finished 7:51.0 for third place.
Captain's Log
Junior Joanna McCallister from Carmel, Indiana, and sophomore Amy Roble from Farmington Hills, Michigan, were named captains this spring on a vote by their teammates. McCallister was a captain starting last fall and Roble was nominated starting in the spring of 2001.
The Name Game
The tradition of naming boats after women has gone back a long time. Five women who have helped the IU team have boats named after them. Peg Z. Brand, Judy Donninger and Elizabeth (Buzz) Kurpius all have eight-man boats after them. Suzanne Floyd and Joy Mauro have four-man boats named after them.
The very first boat named after a male was dedicated at halftime of the last Indiana men's basketball home game of the season on February 14. This new shell was named after the late, great Herman B. Wells.
Knowing Your Rowing
Crew - The sport of rowing referred to as.
Shell - The name given to the boats used in the sport of rowing.
Coxswain - The onboard strategist, tactician and even coach who is responsible for steering the shell. The coxswain is responsible for informing the crew as to where they are in the race and how they are doing.
Feather - The motion used by rowers to get the blade out of the water.
Crab - The term use when an oarsman does not feather the oar cleanly. This can cause the boat to slow down and could catapult the oarmen out of the boat. A crab usually disrupts the synchronized motion during each stroke cycle maintained by the oarsman (which is called their "flow" or "swing").
Sweep Rowing - The type of rowing where each oarsman has one oar and rows either the port or starboard side of the shell.
Sculling - The type of rowing where each oarsman has two oars.
Catch - The point at which the blade enters the water.
Novice - Any competitor who has been competing for one year or less as of October 1, 1999. Experience as a sculler does not count as experience in sweep events and vice versa.
Bow - The forward section of the boat.
Stern - The back part of a boat.
Starboard - The right side of a boat facing the bow.
Port - The left side of a boat when facing the boat
