Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Michigan State, Michigan
Second Varsity Four Picks Up Win at Big Ten Duals
4/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 14, 2007
LAINGSBURG, Mich. - Indiana's rowing team fell to Michigan and Michigan State at the Big Ten Duals on Lake Ovid on Saturday, April 14, with the Hoosiers' second varsity four picking up IU's lone win on the day.
Indiana rowed against Michigan in the morning and Michigan State in the afternoon.
The 2V4 of Stephanie Lindeman (cox), Stephanie Hamilton (stroke), Marla Alexander, Stephanie Horvath and Laura Fuhrmann (bow) topped Michigan State in the afternoon session, battling a strong headwind to turn in a time of 8:44.57 to crush a pair of Spartan crews. Michigan State's 2V4 "A" crew finished in 9:08.77, while its "B" crew posted a time of 9:32.47.
In the morning's first race, IU's novice eight of Monica Idstein (cox), Nicole Coton (stroke), Elizabeth Young, Andrea Francis, Jenny Schepper, Cassady Bethel-Thompson, Brittney Paulk, Lara Spaw and Sarah Haraughty (bow) took third behind a pair of Michigan crews in 7:50.30. Indiana's N8 also finished second to Michigan State in the afternoon race.
The 2V4 finished second in a race with two Wolverine crews, turning in a time of 8:19.30 to edge Michigan's "B" boat, which stopped the clock in 8:23.50.
Indiana's first varsity four of Michelle Marchese (cox), Sarah Tinsley (stroke), Elaine Deppe, Colleen Ryan and Stacey Young (bow) finished second to the Wolverines in the morning session in 8:18.40, and was runner-up to Michigan State in the afternoon, turning in an 8:56.40 effort.
"The first varsity four worked a lot on technique, staying long and patient on the drive," assistant coach Fran O'Rourke said. "In the morning, their job was to keep that length and row very patient and long, and they rowed about two or three beats lower than they could have. In the afternoon, their goal was to keep that length, but add more speed, to be more aggressive, and they did that fairly well. Our next step at practice will be to gain confidence and make that base speed feel more comfortable."
The Hoosiers' second varsity eight of Madison Spruell (cox), Molly Sinks (stroke), Emily Kasavana, Brittaney Norris, Katie Feckler, Faye Sparks, Katie Liston, Dana Powell and Rozzie McHenry (bow), which includes six freshmen, posted a pair of runner-up finishes on the day. IU fell to Michigan in the morning with a time of 7:19.50, then succumbed to the Spartans in the afternoon with a time of 8:02.65.
Indiana faced its toughest competition in the varsity eight races, which featured the Hoosiers going up against a pair of ranked opponents. IU's Betsy Hibbard (cox), Jenn Maslanka (stroke), Jamie Spoto, Ashley Johnson, Laura Stebbins, Courtney Valerious, Kourtney Beckham, Kiri Crane and Kelsey Kapral (bow) took second to No. 11 Michigan in the morning, posting a time of 7:05.86, just eight seconds off the Wolverines' pace. In the afternoon session, the Hoosiers turned in a time of 7:37.64 to fall to the No. 20 Spartans, who turned in a 7:24.94 effort.
"Obviously we're disappointed with losing to Michigan and Michigan State," Indiana head coach Steve Peterson said. "But I feel like the women rowed well. The conditions were challenging, but we handled them well. We need to learn how to attack more and respond to other crews when we're racing, but that will come with experience. We got out to fast starts against both but Michigan and Michigan State, but when they attacked, we weren't able to respond. Having a large group of sophomores in the varsity and freshmen in the second varsity, we just have to become more race savvy. The more and more we race, the better we're better we're going to get."
The Hoosiers will now have a couple of weeks off before competing at the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis., on Saturday, April 28.
Players Mentioned
