The long-awaited day of the spring season’s first official competition began with delays, but it didn’t present a problem for the IU rowing team.
After Kansas crashed with Michigan State, one of its oars broke. The equipment issue pushed back the races, which didn’t faze the Hoosiers, IU freshman Lauren Woodgate said.
“We performed very well,” Woodgate said. “There were a few curveballs thrown at us throughout the week and today. We handled it really well and proved to ourselves we can handle anything.”
The Hoosiers finished in second place out of the four teams that participated in the double dual Saturday. IU beat Kansas during both sessions, but Louisville and Michigan State narrowly edged out IU in the morning and afternoon sessions, respectively.
Points are awarded based on the skill level of the rowers, novice or varsity, and the places they come in. Point values are also calculated based on the number of rowers in the boats.
The week leading up to the double dual was tumultuous for IU. Crew changes, injuries and illnesses were routine, which caused many boats to swap rowers. IU Coach Steve Peterson said all those factors combined to hinder his team’s speed.
“I knew we weren’t going to be at full speed going into this, but it’s the reality of collegiate athletics,” Peterson said. “The bottom line is that we wanted to go faster.”
Peterson said there’s some things to improve on going into the Hoosiers’ regatta next weekend, which will include a series of races in different sessions, similar to the way the races went Saturday.
“We need to be more efficient through the water,” Peterson said. “It cost us a little bit of boat speed. The race plan also evolves as we go through the spring every year.”
IU sophomore Maddie Pierce said the Hoosiers were very excited, which could have affected their nerves.
The Hoosiers were just off the mark for the goal they set in terms of time. The second varsity eight boat rowers with Woodgate and Pierce said they set their goal at 6:40 and were just off the mark at 6:44. Despite barely missing their goal, coming close can provide confidence for the Hoosiers going forward in the season.
Saturday marked Woodgate’s first experience rowing in the United States. She grew up in Australia and said she chose to row at IU instead of Syracuse, Oregon State and other schools because of the coaching staff and camaraderie within the athletic department. Woodgate also said the team has a lot of room for growth in the future.
“We’re really trying to focus on breaking through that second barrier,” Woodgate said. “We need to find that second wind to keep pushing forward and moving forward with the team.”
That second wind would be helpful during regattas because, like the double dual, the event lasts about six hours. That stamina is necessary because it allows all the boats to power through the day, especially when they have two separate sessions.
“When we race twice like this in one day, it can definitely be fatiguing for all the crews,” Peterson said. “We’re finally into the fun part right now, everybody is fired up.”
