Indiana University Athletics
Comfort key for Indiana in return trip to NCAA's
5/22/2015 11:01:00 AM | Women's Rowing
The Hoosiers are back in the NCAA Championship for the second straight year
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Steve Peterson can teach his rowers just about everything he knows about rowing technique, training and strategy.
But Indiana's head rowing coach could never teach what it feels like to compete at the NCAA Championships.
The Hoosiers learned the growing pains of being a new team on rowing's biggest stage last season, having competed in the NCAA Championships for the first time. They've seen the other top schools, they understand the formats and they've felt what it's like to be on the starting line of college rowing's most important races.
That familiarity is comforting to Peterson as his team readies for the NCAA Championships taking place May 29-31 at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif.
"There's an element of comfort that comes having gone through it once already," Peterson said. "It can be intimidating, but to have last year's under our belt is great. That helps us take unfamiliarity out of the equation, and we can focus on what we need to do."
At this point in the season, Peterson said there isn't too much speed left to be gained. He said every team in the field has a fairly strong understanding of how fast each crew is.
However, Peterson said there's still time left to be gained through changes in race strategy of potentially even personnel.
Considering that the top-three Varsity Eight boats in the Big Ten were separated by just four seconds, every tenth is going to matter come race day.
"It's going to be the little things that you do in between practices that's going to make the difference," Peterson said. "Are you resting enough? Are you eating right? Are you getting enough sleep? When it comes to the race plan, how are you approaching it? At this level, everything matters just a little bit more."
The added stress on perfection is all the reason Peterson is confident in his now-experienced crew.
He said one of the first battles NCAA teams face is being able to maintain routine when they're out of their comfort zone.
The days leading into the NCAA Tournament are filled with travel, hotel visits and adjusting to rowing on unfamiliar waters with teams from around the country alongside.
"All the little details add up," Peterson said. "We need to be on top of things and be able to get to work like we need to be."
When it comes to race expectations, Peterson said it's hard to pinpoint specific goals. He goes into every race with the mindset of trying to win, but predicting finishes on race day is oftentimes difficult, especially at the NCAA Finals level.
He did, however, say the biggest thing he wants out of his team is improvement. The Hoosiers finished in 11th place overall last year and want to continue to build on their success that's been a decade in the making.
All that's really left to do is race.
"I'm happy for everyone in that room that's on this team," Peterson said. "They've worked their butts off this year. It's just nice for them to get rewarded and be able to go up against the best in the country."
Media Contact: Nathan Wiechers, nwiecher@indiana.edu
