Rowers look forward to Head of Elk regatta

Many coaches will tell their teams to approach each race like it's the most important race of the season. For crew, this weekend's Head of the Elk regatta is the most important race of the season.\nThe 2.5 mile head race in Elkhart, Ind., will feature racing from the all of the Big Ten teams as well as strong non-conference opponents such as Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame and Louisville. \nIU junior co-captain Joanna McCallister said the St. Joseph River course might be a factor in the Hoosiers' performance this weekend.\n"The course has a lot of bends and curves in it," McCallister said, "as opposed to the courses we have been riding this season."\nThis weekend's regatta will be the first chance for the rowing team to square off against Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State, the strongest Big Ten teams. Each team was ranked in the top 15 at the conclusion of last year's spring season. Michigan has been impressive this fall, coming off of their Big Ten championship last spring. Michigan placed fourth overall out of 57 boats and second among collegiate teams in the championship eight race during the weekend at the Head of the Charles in Boston.\nIU is coming off second and third place finishes by the varsity eight teams at the Head of the Eagle last weekend in Indianapolis. Coach Mark Wilson said he was racing a more balanced lineup in hopes of taking first and second. He said he knows this weekend his linup must be as strong as possible.\n"We have not raced the same boat lineup in any race this year," Wilson said. "Other teams will come in with their strongest lineups this weekend, and we have to do the same."\nDue to foggy conditions Wednesday, the team had a difficult time training on the lake. Wilson sent his team on a run, and turned to a different method to motivate them.\n"I sat the team down and gave them a pep talk at the soccer stadium," Wilson said. "I used the men's soccer team as an example of where we want to be down the road."\nSenior co-captain Katy Ostertag said she is excited about the competition the team will face this weekend, and said it will be a good test of how far the team has progressed throughout the season. Her goal is to send a message to other Big Ten schools that the Hoosiers can't be overlooked.\n"I think we could really scare some people this weekend," Ostertag said.\nThe Head of the Elk regatta will be the final race of the fall season before winter training begins. McCallister said it will be the most competitive race as well. She said her experience on the team has helped her realize how important this race is to the program, knowing that focusing too much on what other teams are doing will only hurt IU's performance.\n"The younger rowers didn't understand the importance of this race," McCallister said. "I think we just need to be ourselves and row the best that we can."\nWhile the IU team is in its second year of varsity status, McCallister said that more experienced squads have been building squads at the varsity level for many years. But she is not using that as an excuse not to expect strong results at this weekend's race.\n"Just because other teams have been varsity longer," McCallister said, "doesn't mean they have been working any harder"