Thunderstorms forced IU rowing to wait an extra day to compete in the Dale England Cup in Bloomington, but delays did not seem to faze the Hoosiers. IU won the cup for the first time since 2010.
Graduate student Emily Fekete has only been on the IU rowing team for one year, but in her short tenure she said she has learned the importance of preparing for rain delays.
“It can certainly be nerve-wracking but I think my crew handled it very well,” Fekete said. “We were ready to race at the drop of a hat and put down our best race.”
The event is named after Dale England, a significant financial supporter of IU rowing. England’s daughter was one of the first rowers at IU and later went on to become a coach with the Hoosiers.
“The constant emotional support that he provides to our team and IU athletics is what every coach hopes to have,” IU Coach Steve Peterson said. “It just goes to show what a family it is.”
IU, Duke, Notre Dame and San Diego all competed. IU edged out Notre Dame by 12 points for first place. Duke finished third, and San Diego finished in fourth place.
With the Big Ten and NCAA Championships approaching in the next few weeks, Fekete said IU needs to be at its best for the next two regattas.
“We have a lot of speed behind us,” Fekete said. “This is certainly the fastest boat that I have ever been in.”
The first of those, the Big Ten Championships, will take place at the Indy Racing Club in Indianapolis on May 13-14. How IU performs in Big Tens will determine if they will be selected into the NCAA Championships. IU has been selected to row in the NCAA Championships for the past three seasons.
The winner of the Big Ten Championship will be an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championships.
All of the other teams that do not get an automatic bid from winning their conference will have to receive an at-large bid in order to compete in NCAAs.
Peterson said if IU finishes in the top three or four at Big Tens he is confident his team will be selected to NCAAs. The situation gets a little murkier if IU were to finish fifth or lower. Peterson said that would put IU squarely on the bubble.
“That’s going to be a dogfight,” Peterson said of the conference meet. “Somebody could easily win as as they could easily finish in sixth place. The schools are all getting faster. There’s a lot more parity.”
