Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Michigan State & Miami (Fla.)
Second Varsity Eight Logs Win Over Miami (Fla.)
4/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 6, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Indiana women's rowing team made its first road trip in Big Ten Conference competition on Saturday, traveling to Michigan State to take on the Spartans along with Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.) on the Grand River. The Indiana Second Varsity Eight defeated Miami (Fla.) in the morning race in a time of 8:04.1, more than 13 seconds ahead of the Hurricanes.
In the morning Varsity Eight race against the Hurricanes, Indiana came up just short at the finish line, crossing six tenths of a second behind Miami with a time of 7:47.2.
"In that varsity eight race, I was not happy with problems off the start," Indiana head coach Steve Peterson said. "The start is something we practice all the time so we should not have faltered the way we did. I think that shows that we were not focused but I was proud of how they recovered and were able to regain the lead. However, if we take that large of a lead (full boat length) in a varsity eight event at that point in the race (1000 meters) you should never give it up.
"Everything that got us that lead in the first 1000 meters is what this crew is able to do in practice every day," Peterson continued, "but the second half of the race is what has happened to us on race day in our first three races of the year."
The morning Novice Eight race saw Michigan State defeat both Indiana and Notre Dame while Miami defeated Indiana in the early Varsity Four race. The Hoosiers time in the Novice Eight race was 8:38.7 and the Hoosiers posted a time of 9:25.3 in the Varsity Four race against the Hurricanes.
In the afternoon, Indiana's Novice Eight put up a time of 8:42.5 but saw Notre Dame and Michigan State finish ahead of them. The next race for the Hoosiers was the Varsity Four, and they came in second with at time of 9:22.3 behind a very strong Michigan State crew. The Spartans also defeated IU in the Second Varsity Eight race with Indiana crossing the line in 8:16.5.
The final race of the day for Indiana saw the Hoosiers line up next to Michigan State. The Hoosiers were not able to keep up with the eighth ranked Varsity Eight boat in the country with a time of 7:57.2.
"As I have said before, the team is stronger than it has ever been, and they are rowing better, when they are focused. But obviously we have not put together the right combinations to produce the results we know they are capable of. So we are gong to take the next few days, weeks, however long it takes to keep testing the athletes to figure out who has the physical and mental ability to take on crews like Michigan State and get us the results we should be getting."
Indiana will return to the Hoosier State on April 12 when they participate in the Indiana Invitational in Indianapolis.
