Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Pleased with First Scrimmage (10-12-04)
10/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana women's rowing team was in action over the weekend as the Hoosiers hosted Louisville in a scrimmage on Saturday morning, Oct. 9, at the Lake Lemon Rowing Center.
The scrimmage was the first event of the year for Indiana, and second-year coach Steve Peterson was happy with what he saw.
"This first competition of the year against Louisville was a great way to start the year. We did one 15-minute piece followed by three shorter more intense four minute pieces. The fact that the results were so very even throughout the workout made for a very good workout and an extremely productive day for coaches and rowers alike."
Saturday morning was an ideal day for rowing on Lake Lemon. The slightly overcast weather provided a cool setting for the rowers, as well as for glass-like waters.
"The conditions at Lake Lemon could not have been any better," said Peterson.
The scrimmage consisted of two or more crews racing multiple times against each other at different lengths as well as different controlled ratings. The rating varied by a stroke rate, which is the number of strokes you take per minute, and when you "control" the rates, you don't allow a crew to row above a certain number of strokes per minute.
"We chose to begin the year with a scrimmage against Louisville, because they are very much a crew like us, relatively new, and in the process of trying to build a strong program, said Peterson. " At last year's Central Region Championships, we were able to edge out Louisville by a tenth of a second in the final for the Varsity Eight so I knew they would be a great crew to begin the season with."
The scrimmages had a rating cap of 32, and due to the cap rating no true winners or losers could be declared. The main goal of the scrimmage was to give the athletes a highly competitive workout that allowed both coaches and crews to learn a lot more than they would typically do in a single standard race. In a standard race, coaches are not allowed on the water, nor are they allowed to talk with the crews once they have launched, however since it was a scrimmage, both coaches were with their respective crews during and between the races. The scrimmage format also allowed coaches to switch rowers around and try different lineup combinations and see what might work best in a racing situation.
"What we came away from this weekend with was the knowledge that the team is definitely moving in the right direction with regard to the rowing technique and physical conditioning, said Peterson. " However, it was also apparent that we need to continue to work more on how we are going to approach our racing plan, as well as learning to keep the focus inside the boat when things around the boat are going wrong."
The Cream and Crimson will be back in action this Sunday, Oct. 17, as the Hoosiers head to Cincinnati, Ohio for a scrimmage against Cincinnati.
