Indiana University Athletics
Rowing Looking For Consistency And Speed
4/28/2016 11:52:00 AM | Women's Rowing
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Indiana rowing has speed. Head coach Steve Peterson is confident in it, too.
The only problem is he's not always sure when he'll see it.
The No. 15 Hoosiers have made building consistency a priority during their three-week break from competition before the Big Ten Rowing Championship in Indianapolis May 14-15. If they can develop it, Peterson said there's a chance for his boats to make some noise in the postseason as IU looks to qualify for the NCAA Rowing Championships for the third consecutive season.
"That's the biggest thing we've talked about since this past weekend is racing to our potential," Peterson said. "Because our potential is pretty good."
Indiana saw that potential firsthand earlier this month when the Varsity 8 boat finished second in their heat at the Clemson Invitational, nearly knocking off No. 8 Texas and beating the likes of Michigan State, Clemson and Oregon State in a 19-team field. It's the type of result that makes Peterson optimistic.
But then came the Dale England Cup just a week later.
Indiana didn't perform poorly by any means. The Hoosiers finished in the top-two of all but one race but ultimately lost to Notre Dame in a tiebreaker after splitting Varsity 8 races.
But the speeds weren't where Peterson would have liked. The consistency wasn't quite there.
"I know we have speed," Peterson said. "I'm a firm believer that if you have speed, you can run that speed again. So I know we have speed but the trick for us is finding a way to produce it consistently."
One variable that could effect that consistency is personnel. Although Indiana's boats have proven to be strong, the crews look much different than the previous two seasons anchored by All-American Meradith Dickensheets.
But while the Hoosiers may lack a true standout rower quite like Dickensheets, senior Rebecca Brougher said the Hoosiers are making up for it with a competitive group of rowers all with similar talent. It's made Peterson's job a little tougher trying to find the right lineups on any given week.
"Our team has done an impeccable job of just working really hard," Brougher said. "We don't have that crazy power, but we have the tenacity that just doesn't stop. We've been up and down and haven't always be the most consistent, but that's what these next three weeks will benefit because I think we've got some really good rowers."
The better part of the next two weeks before the Big Ten Championship (May 14-15) will be arguably the most critical time for Indiana during the course of the season. They won't be finding much else in terms of raw speed, Peterson said all of that gets developed in the weight room during the offseason, what they will find is how quick they are when fully rested.
There's always an exciting element of the unknown at this point of the season when the team gets its final rest before peaking heading into the championship portion of the schedule, Brougher said.
That's the fun part.
"I don't think we really know how fast we are quite yet," Brougher said. "But we'll find out."
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Indiana rowing has speed. Head coach Steve Peterson is confident in it, too.
The only problem is he's not always sure when he'll see it.
The No. 15 Hoosiers have made building consistency a priority during their three-week break from competition before the Big Ten Rowing Championship in Indianapolis May 14-15. If they can develop it, Peterson said there's a chance for his boats to make some noise in the postseason as IU looks to qualify for the NCAA Rowing Championships for the third consecutive season.
"That's the biggest thing we've talked about since this past weekend is racing to our potential," Peterson said. "Because our potential is pretty good."
Indiana saw that potential firsthand earlier this month when the Varsity 8 boat finished second in their heat at the Clemson Invitational, nearly knocking off No. 8 Texas and beating the likes of Michigan State, Clemson and Oregon State in a 19-team field. It's the type of result that makes Peterson optimistic.
But then came the Dale England Cup just a week later.
Indiana didn't perform poorly by any means. The Hoosiers finished in the top-two of all but one race but ultimately lost to Notre Dame in a tiebreaker after splitting Varsity 8 races.
But the speeds weren't where Peterson would have liked. The consistency wasn't quite there.
"I know we have speed," Peterson said. "I'm a firm believer that if you have speed, you can run that speed again. So I know we have speed but the trick for us is finding a way to produce it consistently."
One variable that could effect that consistency is personnel. Although Indiana's boats have proven to be strong, the crews look much different than the previous two seasons anchored by All-American Meradith Dickensheets.
But while the Hoosiers may lack a true standout rower quite like Dickensheets, senior Rebecca Brougher said the Hoosiers are making up for it with a competitive group of rowers all with similar talent. It's made Peterson's job a little tougher trying to find the right lineups on any given week.
"Our team has done an impeccable job of just working really hard," Brougher said. "We don't have that crazy power, but we have the tenacity that just doesn't stop. We've been up and down and haven't always be the most consistent, but that's what these next three weeks will benefit because I think we've got some really good rowers."
The better part of the next two weeks before the Big Ten Championship (May 14-15) will be arguably the most critical time for Indiana during the course of the season. They won't be finding much else in terms of raw speed, Peterson said all of that gets developed in the weight room during the offseason, what they will find is how quick they are when fully rested.
There's always an exciting element of the unknown at this point of the season when the team gets its final rest before peaking heading into the championship portion of the schedule, Brougher said.
That's the fun part.
"I don't think we really know how fast we are quite yet," Brougher said. "But we'll find out."
Players Mentioned
Varsity
/ Women's Rowing
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