Indiana University Athletics
Lazaridis Diary - April 3 (04-03-05)
7/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Throughout the season, IUHOOSIERS.com will feature diaries from a trio of rowers: sophomore Betsy Hibbard, junior Laura Lazaridis and senior Amanda Walker. These diaries will provide a glimpse of what it is to be a member of one of the most tight-knit groups on campus. Lazaridis wrote the first installment.
"This morning, my teammates and I all woke up roughly around 5.30 a.m., dragged ourselves to the bus, and were on the road at 6 a.m. sharp, Cincinnati-bound. Personally, I fell asleep within the first 45 seconds of being on the bus, so I got a nice two-hour extension on my night's rest. Then, we got lost. Repeatedly. That was frustration #1. Finally, we arrived a half an hour late, and as soon as we got off the bus, we realized what frustration #2 would be - wind, along with rain that stung your face, and temperature that was about 10 degrees too low.
The wind was really horrible though, creating white caps on the three-foot waves. To a non-rower, that may not sound like that big of a deal, but when you consider that from the very bottom of the shell to the gunnels is a distance of about 18 inches, and then further consider that waves splash through the riggers, which has about the same effect as putting your thumb over the open mouth of a hose, and that water can easily just flow over the gunnels, everyone would understand why these conditions were so terrible. The novice 8+ and the varsity 4+ both launched and were blown around by the wind and completely drenched before officials decided that they shouldn't race. They all came off the water completely soaked through, and Raechelle (Medellin), the coxswain of the varsity 4+, had been laying chest-deep in a puddle. That makes me cold again just thinking about it. So the novice 8+ and the varsity 4+ came back in, and the rest of us were unsure as to whether or not we would even go out. It was back and forth for a while. At first, they decided that we would go out to a different part of the lake that was supposed to be a bit more sheltered. Then, they wanted to check it out in launches first. Then, there was more waiting.
Our team could definitely be described as a lively bunch, so while we were waiting inside one of the boathouses at this sight, we were trying to stay warm by jumping around and being goofy in general. We got to the point where we were making up dance moves that were simulating rowing strokes or other ridiculous things like that. Someone remembered that Lanie (Deppe) is an aerobics instructor, so she led us in some aerobics without music. Then, we all just got in a circle and had a music-less dance party, all with Dayton and Eastern Michigan looking on. It was HILARIOUS. We were just trying to stay warm, and then we made it more fun.
After our dance party, Fran (O'Rourke), the novice coach, came in and reported that the V8+ and the 2V8+ weren't even going to launch because the conditions were so bad. This wasn't really what we wanted to hear. Sure, the weather was horrible, and we were going to get even more wet and cold than we already were, but we were there to race and we want every chance to prove ourselves. That was pretty disappointing, and then de-rigging and putting everything back on the trailer in the rain was probably the most miserable thing of all time. I literally could not move my hands - not just my fingers, but also my wrists. Everyone felt this way, I'm sure, not to mention our amazing parents who came out to support us not race and the girls who actually did get out on the water and froze worse than anyone.
Finally, after all of the clean-up was done and my parents gave me my parking fines that had been mailed home (thanks, Dad), we got on the bus, dried up, and headed for home. We arrived back in Bloomington around 4 in the afternoon to blue skies. Oh the irony...
Go Hoosiers!
Laura Lazaridis"
