Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Rowing Travels to Big Ten Championships in Columbus
4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 30, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana Rowing team will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the 2009 Big Ten Rowing Championships on Saturday, May 2, at Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River. The Hoosiers will compete in several 2,000-meter pieces, beginning at 8 a.m. ET with a morning session of heats. The afternoon session will begin at Noon with Petite and Grand Finals, followed by the awards ceremony at 4 p.m.
"This should be a very exciting regatta this weekend," said Indiana head rowing coach Steve Peterson. "The Big Ten has really been strong as a conference and we will be seeing some of the top crews in the country."
Teams participating in this weekend's championship with the Hoosiers are Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Big Ten boasts some of the top Varsity 8 crews in the country with six teams ranked among the top 20 in this week's Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/USRowing poll, topped by No. 3 Michigan State. The league's six top 20 teams are the most (tied with the Pac-10) out of one conference nationally.
The last time the Hoosiers competed on the Scioto River, IU's Second Novice 8 and Second Varsity 8 crews recorded wins over Minnesota with times of 7:09.07 and 6:38.98, respectively. Indiana's Second Novice 8 crew knocked off the host Buckeyes crossing the finish line in 6:50.30, with Ohio State finishing in 7:03.50.
"We have been making some great progress over the past few weeks as a team," Peterson said. "We have shuffled the line-ups around a bit and we think we have been seeing some good results from the changes. This weekend's results should be a great test for us. Our goal this weekend is to focus inside our boat and put together our best possible race for 2,000-meters. With such great crews in a race like this, it is easy for rowers to focus on the other teams and think about trying to beat them. Instead we have been working on focusing on our rowing, our technique, and what we can control. If we do that, we are good enough to race with these crews.
"I am very excited to see what our student-athletes can do this weekend. It should be some great racing. This will also be our last real opportunity to prepare for our Central Region Championships, which take place in two weeks in Oak Ridge, Tenn. A good performance at Big Tens should really set us up well for that race."
For complete results and a recap of Saturday's Big Ten Championships, visit IUHoosiers.com.
