IU rows into Wisconsin for Big Ten Championships

After two weeks off from racing, the IU rowing team will be back in action at the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis., on Saturday. The Hoosiers will face their toughest competition of the season during the premier conference race.\n“We’re ranked as one of the bottom boats going into this,” said IU Coach Steve Peterson. “Big Ten’s is one of the hardest races of the season, because there are no easy crews. For us there is no room for error.”\nIU will be bringing its first and second varsity eights, first and second varsity fours, and one novice eight. IU’s second novice eight will not be racing due to injuries that will prevent two of the rowers from competing. \nIndiana will be facing Wisconsin, Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State throughout the day. Ohio State, winner of last year’s Big 10 championship, is the highest ranked team in the event. \n“We need to stay focused and not get flustered if we’re next to OSU or another high ranked crew,” Peterson said. “It would be naive to think that we can knock out the fastest boats, but we think we can beat Iowa and Wisconsin.”\nPeterson hopes his varsity crews will leave with a gold in the petite final, but thinks the varsity fours have a chance of making the grand final. Compared to the other teams, IU has a very young crew, with top varsity boats comprised of mostly freshman and sophomores. \n“The more times we go against crews like this, the better it will be for us,” said Peterson. “Our crews are more inexperienced because they’re so young, and that’s definitely the biggest obstacle for us.”\nThough IU doesn’t go into the race with high expectations to win the championship, the crews are pleased with the boat speed they’ve acquired throughout the season. \n“Our crews have definitely gotten faster recently,” said Peterson. “In the beginning of the season, it’s about getting as fast as you can. At this point, we’re working on really sharpening and refining our race plan, and maxing out the power we know we have.”