Hoosiers head to Cincinnati for 4-team regatta

The IU women’s rowing team will head to Cincinnati this weekend to compete against Cincinnati, Dayton and Eastern Michigan in what the Hoosiers hope is a promising race. \n“Without sounding too overconfident going into this race, we are the favorites to win,” coach Steve Peterson said. “We’ve won this race the past few years, and I would expect this year to be no different.” \nThe Hoosiers will race their first and second varsity eights, two varsity fours and two novice eights this weekend. After a disappointing loss to Wisconsin last weekend, the team spent the week tinkering with line-ups to find the fastest possible combination of rowers for their first varsity eight.\n“We have a lot of people that are really similar speed, so there’s a lot of intra-squad competition going on to get on the first boat,” Peterson said. “There are probably going to be a couple of people moved from the first boat down to the second one.”\nIn addition to determining who will comprise the team’s ideal varsity eight, the Hoosiers focused on perfecting technique during practice this week. \n“We have to get our blades in earlier so we can optimize the time that our blades are in the water,” said freshman Molly Sinks. “We have a lot of power, but we really have to work on our technique to get the most out of it.”\nLast year the Hoosiers swept the Cincinnati regatta, winning four of their five races. Based on what it knows of the other crews’ seasons and their own ability, the team is expecting similar results this year.\n“The biggest challenge this weekend will be adjusting to our new line-ups and going after it from the start,” Sinks said. “I know we are capable of beating all of the teams this weekend – we just have to race our race and put the pressure on early.”\nThe main thing the Hoosiers have been working on throughout the season is staying focused during the race. \n“The key thing for us is really going in and executing our race plan and rowing well technically,” Peterson said. “The bottom line is, if we row the way we should, we will win.”