Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Dayton, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan
Rowing Sweeps Cincinnati, Dayton, Eastern Michigan
3/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
March 31, 2007
CINCINNATI - Indiana's rowing team swept Cincinnati, Dayton and Eastern Michigan on Harsha Lake at East Fork State Park outside of Cincinnati on Saturday, March 31, winning every event.
In the first race of the morning, Indiana's second varsity of Madison Spruell (cox), Dana Powell (stroke), Rozzie McHenry, Molly Sinks, Emily Kasavana, Faye Sparks, Katie Feckler, Brittaney Norris and Katie Liston (bow) picked up a 10-second victory over Cincinnati's crew. Dayton followed in third, while Eastern Michigan finished fourth.
The Hoosiers' varsity eight of Betsy Hibbard (cox), Jenn Maslanka (stroke), Jamie Spoto, Ashley Johnson, Laura Stebbins, Courtney Valerious, Kourtney Beckham, Kiri Crane and Kelsey Kapral (bow) also turned in an impressive victory, topping the host Bearcats by nearly 13 seconds. The Flyers and Eagles again rounded out the field in that order.
"In the varsity eight race, our goal was to control the race right from the start," IU head coach Steve Peterson said. "We feel our race pace is solid, so we feel that if we can get out of the start quickly, and be with the leader, we have a good chance of winning the race. Today we did that. Over the first quarter of the race, we were able to establish a one-boat length lead over Cincinnati. That lead gave our athletes the confidence to really push themselves through the middle of the race and test how hard they could go, and even though we didn't really sprint, we finished with a very good time."
Indiana's varsity four B of Spruell (cox), Stephanie Hamilton (stroke), Marla Alexander, Stephanie Horvath and McHenry (bow) dominated the field, winning by nearly 18 seconds. Cincinnati was second and Dayton was third, while Eastern Michigan submitted a novice four for the race, which competed solely for its time.
"Madison Spruell really stood out as today's impact player," assistant coach Carmen Mirochna said. "She took two Hoosier crews to confident victories - her steering, race strategies and above all her learned ability to think on the fly are to be credited for the good speed we saw today. Madi's ability to read the field, use the emotional energy of her race-ready crew and get her boat out in front of the competition were the keys to feeling really good about this win. As I've stressed time and time again to our athletes, winning is important, but it's how you win the race that matters, and in this case Madi and her crew made this race a success."
The next event was the varsity four A, which produced similar results. The Hoosiers' contingent of Michelle Marchese (cox), Sarah Tinsley (stroke), Katie Feckler, Colleen Ryan and Elaine Deppe (bow) topped Cincinnati by just over three seconds as IU again emerged victorious.
In the final race of the day, IU's first novice eight of Monica Idstein (cox), Nicole Coton (stroke), Katie Liston, Laura Jones, Elizabeth Young, Cassady Bethel-Thompson, Jenny Schepper, Andrea Francis and Brittney Paulk (bow) picked up a 3.5-second victory over Cincinnati's crew. The Hoosiers' second novice eight of Stephanie Lindeman (cox), Lara Spaw (stroke), Sara Haraughty, Megan George, Justine Maxey, Adair Ahlers, Sarah Lintner, Chere' Hunter and AnnElyse Gibbons (bow) finished third, while Eastern Michigan was fourth and Dayton finished fifth.
"Obviously we are happy with the results," Peterson said. "The goal with every regatta is to go into it expecting to sweep all the events, but that is a very hard thing to achieve. So accomplishing that today was a great team victory. Perhaps one of the biggest thigs we as a staff are excited about is the fact that all of the crews are proving to be faster than our crews from previous years, even though we are very young team. For example, in the varsity eight, six of the eight rowers were from last year's freshman/novice Big Ten silver-medal winning eight, and even more astonishing is the fact that in our second varsity eight, six of the rowers are true freshmen."
The Hoosiers return to action on Saturday, April 7, when they will take on Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Purdue in Indianapolis.
