Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Dayton
Hoosiers Dominate Cincinnati, Dayton, Eastern Michigan
4/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 1, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In a chilly day of competition at Lake Lemon, the Indiana rowing team dominated Cincinnati, Dayton and Eastern Michigan in Bloomington, Ind., on April 1. Overall, the Hoosiers captured four of the five events in which they raced, while the novice 4 rowed up a level against second varsity 4 crews.
"I am very happy with the way we raced today," Indiana head coach Steve Peterson said. "It is great that it went well for all of our boats today."
In the opening race of the day, the second novice 8 shell of freshman Madison Spruell (cox), freshman Stephanie Hamilton (stroke), freshman Allison Blackburn, sophomore Megan Robb, freshman Christina Vernon, freshman Stephanie Horvath, freshman Ariana Breckner, freshman Rachel Bernhardt and freshman Allison Parman (bow) jumped out to an early two-shell open water lead over Dayton at the quarter mark. The Hoosiers continued to dominate the initial race by pushing their lead to four-shell lengths at the halfway mark. Overall, the Indiana crew clocked a winning time of 7:30.4, while Dayton came in at 8:13.2.
"This is another solid win under the 2N8 belt," assistant coach Fran O'Rourke said. "We are learning to expect more from them. We just need to make some technical changes to the body of the race. Overall, it was a great day for Indiana rowing."
The second race of the day went much the same way as the Hoosiers dominated from start to finish. By the first quarter of the race, the IU first novice 8 contingent of freshman Carlie Boese (cox), freshman Ashley Johnson (stroke), freshman Kelsey Kapral, sophomore Kiri Crane, freshman Jamie Spoto, freshman Brittany Billingsley, sophomore Marla Alexander, freshman Jenn Maslanka and freshman Jessica Keller (bow) held a full-shell lead over Cincinnati, which led Dayton. The Hoosiers then stretched their lead to two shell lengths at the halfway mark over the Bearcats. In the end, the Indiana crew crossed the line victorious in 7:06.02 with a three-length win over Cincinnati, which took second in 7:27.0 with a two-length lead over Dayton's third-place effort of 7:36.2.
"This is the kind of boost we needed right now," assistant coach Carmen Mirochna said. "I am looking forward to continuing this kind of work."
The Indiana novice 4 of Spruell (cox), freshman Ketra Bartek (stroke), freshman Allison Blackburn, freshman Melissa Miller and freshman Jessica Turner (bow) had a rough time stepping up against Cincinnati and Eastern Michigan's second varsity 4s as the Hoosiers wound up third in 8:41.1. Meanwhile, EMU crossed the line first in 8:10.1 with a two-shell lead over Cincinnati's second-place effort of 8:17.3.
In the first varsity 4, the crew of freshman Shelby Jacobson (cox), junior Dana Powell (stroke), senior Liz Marshall, senior Erin Kuehn and sophomore Jessica Newlin (bow) powered out to a one-shell lead at the quarter mark, before pushing out a one-and-a-half-length advantage at the halfway point. The Hoosiers then cruised home triumphant with a time of 7:42.8 with a two-length lead over Cincinnati's second-place time of 7:53.3. Meanwhile, the Bearcats finished three lengths ahead of Dayton's time of 8:09.5 and Eastern Michigan closed out the race in fourth with a time of 8:39.1
The Hoosiers sat out the second varsity 8 as Eastern Michigan edged out Cincinnati on the final sprint to win in 7:03.6, while the Bearcats posted a 7:07.6. Meanwhile, Dayton's lightweight crew claimed third with a 7:15.3 two-and-a-half lengths in front of its varsity, which took fourth in 7:30.3.
In the final race of the day, the Hoosier varsity 8 of junior Betsy Hibbard (cox), senior Ashley Airis (stroke), senior Elisabeth Benoit, senior Laura Lazaridis, junior Laura Stebbins, junior Courtney Valerious, junior Rozzie McHenry, junior Colleen Ryan and junior Elaine Deppe (bow) opened up with a strong start to move into an open-water lead at the halfway point. The Hoosiers then put on the steam to conclude a successful afternoon of competition for the Indiana rowing team with a half-length win in 6:45.5. Eastern Michigan placed second in 6:53.3, while Dayton took third in 6:56.0 and Cincinnati wound up fourth in 7:00.7.
The win moved IU's first varsity 8 to 7-2 on the season. The Hoosiers are just one win away from matching the most head-to-head wins in program history set last year with eight during an 8-5 campaign.
"I talked to the varsity 8 a lot this week about staying inside their boat," Peterson said. "They really got worked up against Michigan State last weekend. Today, it was a pretty close race through the first 500 meters. Our boat stayed composed though and really started to stretch it out the rest of the way. It was a good race for us."
Next up, the Hoosiers head to Indianapolis, Ind., on April 8 for the Big Ten/Big East Double Dual including Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin on the Big Ten side against Louisville and Notre Dame from the Big East.
Players Mentioned
