Crew team finishes season strong, begins training

The rowing team concluded its fall season with a strong finish in the last race, but there is no room for relaxation as the team enters the winter training season.\nCrew received second place finishes from the varsity eight team and the varsity four A squad last Sunday at the Head of the Elk Regatta in Elkhart, Ind. The 2.5 mile race held on the St. Joseph River featured teams such as Notre Dame, Miami (Ohio), Purdue, Michigan State and reigning Big Ten champion, Michigan. Officially, the varsity eight finished five seconds behind Purdue in a time of 13:27, while Michigan finished in 13:40. The novice eight A finished third behind Purdue and Michigan.\nThe win against conference rival Michigan was one for the Hoosiers, who are only in their second year of varsity status. Coach Mark Wilson said instead of stacking their boat, Michigan raced multiple even lineups with intentions of placing first and second in the regatta.\n"What Michigan did was similar to what we did the previous week at the Head of the Eagle," Wilson said. "That is a chance you take as a coach, and I don't think they expected our boat to do so well."\nSenior co-captain Joanna McCallister stroked the second varsity eight boat, which did not place in the top 10. Though she said she was disappointed with her boat's performance, she was upbeat about the overall performance of her team.\n"We went out and had a solid row in our race on Saturday," McCallister said. "We felt we could have done better, but we were very happy with the finish of the varsity A boat."\nThis race marks the completion of the fall season, in which IU competed in five regattas in four weeks. In each race, IU placed in the top two in the varsity eight or novice eight, which are the two major events in the fall races. Wilson said he was was delighted with the performance of his young squad.\n"We raced hard and I think it shows a lot of character to compete every week while trying to learn." Wilson said. "The girls really stepped up and did a great job, I couldn't be more pleased."\nSophomore varsity rower Emily Rumschlag said the team did well because everyone works well with each other.\n"We started to feel comfortable and worked together to become a better team," Rumschlag said. "Especially toward the end of the season, we were no longer individuals, we became united as a team."\nThe team now enters the winter training period, which will last until the beginning of the spring season in late March. During this training, the team will spend six days each week on the water leading up to Thanksgiving. As the lake turns cold, the team will move off the water and into the stadium where they will run during the week. The training will also consist of swimming, intensified lifting and personalized lifting programs for the varsity rowers.\nMcCallister has been through winter training before and realizes the importance it carries for the team. She said it is a long season in which the team must focus on getting stronger, faster and encourage each other constantly.\n"Winter training is good because it gets us into great physical condition," McCallister said. "But it is hardcore physical training all of the time."\nThe novice team has been impressive all year posting first place finishes at the Lemon Head and the Chicago Chase, and senior co-captain Katy Ostertag recognizes that the rowing team is full of young talent. She is not only focused on training for the upcoming spring season, but is thinking about the success of the program in the more distant future. As a third-year rower who began when crew had club status, she knows what it takes to win at this level of competition.\n"Some of the girls are needing a wake up call this winter," Ostertag said. "It is the novice who is going to be here next year and they are going to be so important to the program in the future"