Indiana University Athletics
Indiana State Champs Preview (04-05-05)
4/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
VARSITY 8 LINEUP
Sophomore Betsy Hibbard (cox), senior Amanda Walker (stroke), junior Lauren Anderson, senior Kelly Schuiling, junior Ashley Airis, junior Laura Lazaridis, sophomore Stacey Young, sophomore Rozzie McHenry and sophomore Dana Powell (bow).
OTHER LINEUPS
Other lineups will be decided prior to competition.
QUOTING COACH PETERSON
On the upcoming race:
"This weekend's racing poses our biggest challenge of the young spring season. First off, we will be racing twice in one day. Our sport is not like swimming where one athlete will race multiple times in one day. Typically, the athletes race only once...and that is more than enough. However, as we prepare for the Big Ten Championships and our NCAA Qualifier, the Lexus Central/ South Region Sprints, we need to be ready to race twice in one day since that is how those races are set up. This will be a good practice for those championship regattas. I think this weekend, more than any other, will really give us a good indication of the potential of this crew for the remainder of the spring."
On the field:
"In the morning, we will be having the Indiana State Championships where we face off against Notre Dame, and Purdue. Notre Dame will definitely be the bigger challenge of the two, but we won't over look Purdue. It is the same Purdue crew we faced down in Clemson, but I expect they will be geared up to really take us down. It will take a very good race for us to win this. Notre Dame started the year ranked in the top 20, but has dropped out of it after a couple of bad results. I think this year, more than ever, we should have a good chance of coming away the winner in this race. In the afternoon, both Notre Dame and ourselves will face off again, this time taking on Louisville. Louisville has turned out to be a surprise this spring, racing very well against Minnesota and Tennessee earlier in the season. We faced off against them in the fall and they are of similar speed to us and should provide us with a great opportunity to test our endurance in a two race in one day format."
BEST V8+ START EVER
The Varsity 8+ shell of sophomore Betsy Hibbard (cox), senior Amanda Walker (stroke), junior Lauren Anderson, senior Kelly Schuiling, junior Ashley Airis, junior Laura Lazaridis, sophomore Stacey Young, sophomore Rozzie McHenry and sophomore Dana Powell (bow) broke the school record for best start to a season, set last year with a 6-0 opening, by besting George Washington, Georgetown and North Carolina in the headline event on March 26 and running its ledger to 7-0.
BIG TEN BOAT OF THE WEEK
The Indiana University women's rowing squad made history as the Big Ten Conference tabbed the Varsity 8+ shell as the Boat of the Week on March 22. The accolade is the first such honor in the program's five-year existence, and came after a first-place finish in the Varsity 8+ race at the Solid Orange Clemson Challenge in Clemson, S.C.
Highlighting the Cream and Crimson's efforts was the Varsity 8+ shell as the crew of sophomore Betsy Hibbard (cox), senior Amanda Walker (stroke), junior Lauren Anderson, senior Kelly Schuiling, junior Ashley Airis, junior Laura Lazaridis, sophomore Stacey Young, sophomore Rozzie McHenry and sophomore Dana Powell (bow) blazed to a commanding 6:53.00 performance to claim the event crown for the Hoosiers. Indiana rolled on to the win after opening a four-seat lead at the 500m mark. By the 1,000m mark, IU had pushed out to an open-water lead and sprinted to the finish with nearly a 10-second conquest of Clemson's second-place time of 7:02.3.
FALL SIGNEES
Indiana rowing head coach Steve Peterson has announced the signings of five student-athletes for the 2005-06 season. Hannah Elsy (Twickenham, England), Ashley Johnson (Alpharetta, Ga.), Valerie Mercer (Jacksonville, Fla.), Emily Clarke (Bloomington, Ind.), and coxswain Bridgett Bartholomew (Marina Del Ray. Calif.), have all committed to continue their rowing careers at Indiana.
NEXT UP
The Indiana rowing squad invades Big Ten territory with a regatta against Ohio State and Minnesota in Columbus, Ohio on April 16.
