IU expects strong field in regatta

The women's crew team will be looking for more consistency when they hit the water this weekend against Dayton and Cincinnati. The regatta, which is being held in Dayton, Ohio, will be the second race for all three crews. Coach Mark Wilson said he expects another tough race this weekend.\n"I think we'll see some very good things," he said. "We're not going to see Louisville or West Virginia, but Cincinnati is a good team and Dayton has surprised us before. Right now, we're all on the same tiers because this will be the second race for all the teams."\nSenior Stephanie Mast, a member of the varsity eight, agrees that the competition will be tough.\n"We're pretty evenly matched with the other crews," Mast said. "I don't think we'll see a blowout. It should come down to the last second."\nAfter a disappointing performance last week, the varsity eight looks to have a strong race. In practice this week, they have been working on being more aggressive. They also hope that a new boat will help them. Wilson said he has been stressing to the team that it needs to be more aggressive this weekend.\n"We talked about being more aggressive and more assertive," Wilson said. "We got a new boat, and we're hoping it will help us feel faster in the water. We've also been working on increasing the stroke rating a bit."\nThe novice eight also looks to improve upon their third place finish last weekend. Despite finishing only a few seconds behind Notre Dame and Purdue, the Hoosiers look to rebound against Cincinnati and Dayton. Freshman Laura Anderson said she thinks the team is ready after an intense week of practice.\n"In practice this week, we've been breaking down the stroke a lot," she said. "We've been doing lots of drills, and we've been working on being precise. We've also done a lot of longer pieces and intense workouts."\nWilson said he wants the team to stay consistent and row a solid race.\n"I want them to focus on their race plan," he said. "It's important to have a plan and stick to it. We can't afford to get rattled early in the race. They need to feel confident and use their composure to help move the boat more effectively and efficiently."\nThe team feels more confident heading into this regatta with one race already under its belt. They've had a week to work out some of the kinks, and they're anxious to hit the water. Wilson said he feels confident about this weekend.\n"I feel as confident as always. Any team can win," he said. "We need to make sure we go 100 percent on every stroke. There are no easy races on our schedule. It's going to be hard."\nThe racing this weekend starts at 10 a.m. Saturday with the varsity eight race and ends with the varsity four race at 11:15 a.m.