Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Rowing Earns Big Ten Boat of the Week
3/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
March 20, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Rowing's First Varsity 8 crew earned Big Ten Boat of the Week after finishing in a dead heat with No. 16 Clemson in 6:46.21 on Lake Hartwell on Saturday, March 17.
The Hoosiers' top crew comprised of Alex Burkle, Grace Mendel, Asja Zero, Elles Niessen, Cara Donley, Shifumi Terasaka, Madi Shields, Katie Laine and Jackie Riedel built a small margin with Clemson over Syracuse, Iowa and Boston. However as they moved into the second quarter, the Hoosiers and Tigers separated themselves from the rest of the field. As the top two crews moved through the halfway point, Indiana made another big push and started to move away from the ranked Tigers. Throughout that 500 meters, Indiana extended their lead over Clemson to almost three seconds.
However, the Tigers would not go quietly and started to make a furious comeback as the race moved into the final quarter of the race. With 250 meters to go, Indiana still held a seven-seat advantage over Clemson, but Clemson was moving on Indiana. Stroke after stroke the Tigers inched back on Indiana. With about 50 meters to go it appeared as though the Hoosiers had successfully held off the Tiger sprint, when suddenly one of the rowers in the Indiana crew caught (what is called in rowing terms) "a crab." A crab is when the rower does not release the water cleanly at the finish of the stroke and the blade gets stuck in the water, often times slowing the shell down for several strokes until the athlete can get it released from the water. In this case, with only 5-10 strokes left in a very close race, every stroke counts and a crab like that can be the difference between winning and losing. For Indiana, the crab only cost the Hoosier crew one or two strokes, but it allowed the Clemson crews momentum to carry that crew up even with Indiana as the two crews crossed the finish line.
Indiana shares this week's league honor with Minnesota's First Varsity 4 crew.
The Hoosiers return to action on Sunday, March 25 when they take on Notre Dame, Purdue and Louisville in the Indiana Intercollegiate at Eagle Creek in Indianapolis.
Players Mentioned
