Indiana University Athletics
Lexus Sprints: Day 1 Recap
5/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Oak Ridge, Tenn. - Under severe weather threats the Indiana Rowing team raced three boats, the Varsity 8, Varsity 4 and Novice 8, at the 2003 Lexus Central/South Region Sprints on Saturday, May 17, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Racing was unable to begin until almost 11:00 a.m. because of thunderstorms in the area. During racing the temperature ranged from upper 60's to mid-70's with very humid conditions. There were also periods of heavy rain and wind during the day.
The first race of the day was the preliminary heats for the Varsity 8 event. Indiana was in the fourth heat with Virginia, Iowa, Miami, Louisville and Tulsa. The Hoosiers finished fifth, racing in a time of 6:42.8. IU finished one tenth of a second behind Louisville (6:42.7) and three seconds behind Miami (6:39.8). Virginia finished first in 6:26. Representing the Varsity 8 was coxswain Becky England, Erin Koers, Emily Rumschlag, Ashley Airis, Kelly Schuiling, Line Espedal, Margaret Clark, Stephanie Mast and Danielle Bird.
"I felt good about the team's race," head coach Mark Wilson said. "They had a good start. They were in third place for almost the entire race until about 400 or 500 meters at the end. It was such a close finish that the tape had to be reviewed. It was so close at the end, Louisville may have rowed in less then one tenths of a second before us."
With its fifth place finish, the Varsity 8 qualified for the C/D semifinal race. With nearly a half hour of rest between races, IU did not perform as well as they expected to. The Hoosiers finished fourth (6:57.4) behind Cincinnati (6:47.9), North Carolina (6:49.7) and Louisville (6:53.6).
"The Varsity 8 was a little flat in its second race of the day," said Wilson. "They were in the fourth heat of the preliminary race and then in the first heat of the semifinal race. They were a little tired and did not perform as well as we would have liked them to."
The Varsity 8 will race against the University of Kansas and Tulsa on Sunday, May 18.
The Varsity 4 finished fifth out of six boats in its preliminary heat in a time of 7:45.8, qualifying for the C final which will take place on Sunday. Coxswain Sarah Meyer, Annie Lawson, Amanda Walker, Casey Schoenhoft and Ashley Quinn finished 14 seconds ahead of Tulsa. Iowa came out on top in a time of 7:27.
Tomorrow the Varsity 4 will race against Tulsa, Cincinnati, Kansas State and Eastern Michigan.
"The Varsity 4 raced a pretty good race," Wilson said. "They looked strong towards the finish line. The boat felt good about their race."
The third boat to race for Indiana was the Novice 8. The boat, consisting of coxswain Laura Wharen, Amy Hoffman, Leslie Schaffer, Mary Bell, Katy Dickerson, Lauren Anderson, Elisabeth Benoit, Laura Lazaridis and Katie Slavik, finished first in their preliminary heat, beating Michigan by two seconds. The Hoosiers rowed in at 6:50.7.
In its semifinal race the Novice 8 finished fifth (6:59.6) out of six boats, but still qualified for Sunday's Petite Finals where they will face Clemson, Kansas, Miami, Notre Dame and Tennessee. The Hoosiers are guaranteed a top 12 finish.
"The Novice 8 raced a sensational first race," Wilson said. "However, they used a lot of their energy in their second race and didn't finish as well as they could have. It was tough because they raced in the final heat of the preliminary race and was the first heat in the semifinal race."
The Hoosiers are back on the water tomorrow for the final day of the 2003 Lexus Central/South Region Sprints.
