Hoosier rowers plan to 'empty the gas tanks' against No. 4 Ohio State, No. 19 Minnesota

IU rowers face their biggest challenge of the season tomorrow when they get on the line next to No. 4 Ohio State and No. 19 Minnesota in Columbus. \nHoosier coach Steve Peterson realizes the situation presented by the Big Ten rivals.\n"These people are fast," Peterson said. "They are very, very good crews, and we're really trying to step up and race at the same level. We have to be on the top of our game."\nIU's Varsity 8 -- with a school record 7 wins -- must pull long and strong the entire race to compete with the Buckeyes and Golden Gophers.\n"It will take a solid 2,000-meter performance from the crew to mentally be on their game for us to have a chance of beating either of them," Peterson said.\nLast week against Notre Dame and Louisville, the crew showed the ability to get off the line more forcefully when the flag dropped and the referee barked "Go!" The powerful start also helped IU in the middle 1,000 meters of the race. \nPeterson's aim this week was refining the way his Varsity 8 handles the final 500 meters of the race. Peterson wants "eight people in the boat doing the same thing." More than anything, Peterson needs his crew to deplete their physical and mental reserves. \n"The biggest thing is trying to empty the gas tanks at the end of the race," he said.\nThe second Varsity 8 crew, which hung with Notre Dame for half the race last Saturday, enters tomorrow's tilt with new seat assignments. Assistant coach Carmen Mirochna said selecting sophomore Laura Stebbins stroke led to the revised lineup. \nMirochna moved Stebbins from seven seat because "she has been really aggressive in the drive" and brings an ingredient the boat needs. \n"She has a good rhythm, and we've been looking for a rhythm for a long time," Mirochna said.\nStebbins, who earned four letters at Notre Dame Academy and competed nationally for the Toledo Rowing Club, said she is "a little nervous" as the lead rower. She noticed that the crew improved a little this week but knows the importance of all the seats. \nAfter sliding her oar into place and tightening the gate on her oarlock in the rain Wednesday morning, Stebbins straightened up and averted any presumption about the reason behind the crew's gains. \n"It's not because I'm in stroke," Stebbins said.\nFormer second Varsity 8 stroke Meredith Hanschu, now in five seat, "is more effective in the middle of the boat relaying the rhythm," Mirochna said.\nNovice 8 coach Fran O'Rourke said her crew's first victory, over Louisville, last week raised their confidence. \n"(The win) gave them something to keep shooting for and will keep them hungry," O'Rourke said. "It also gives them a little bit of reward for their hard work."\nHeading into its toughest regatta thus far, IU's Varsity 8 seems prepared to rebound from last week's setback. \n"We're up to the challenge," sophomore coxswain Betsy Hibbard said. "We were a little down, but we'll get back up." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Bill Meehan at wmeehan@indiana.edu.