Rows 9, 10 full of surprises

The excitement of the Little 500 race has arrived. The crowd will see the sweat glisten on the foreheads of riders who have trained for hours on end, every day, pushing themselves harder and harder. They'll sense the tension and nervousness among the riders, asking themselves if they have what it takes, after all those practices, to ride their best. They may even see some riders collide and be sent toppling over on the track, with others whizzing by, with a slight attitude change for either the better or the worse.\nMost of the teams in Rows 9 and 10 had different expectations for a qualifying time. But they still have time to surprise themselves, and the crowd on race day.\nRow 9\nNO. 25 Sigma Delta Tau (3:20.83)\n"Last year we were all rookies, this year two of us are experienced," sophomore Sigma Delta Tau captain, Laurel Wood, said about senior Megan Herman's and her own experience on last year's team. The two rookies on the team, sophomore Lisa Axelrod and freshman Jill Layton, started training before this semester in order to better prepare themselves for the race. This year the team has a "more competitive" drive, despite the fact they don't have a coach; veteran riders are helping the team out.\n"Right now it would be more helpful if we had a coach…we're having a lot of trouble with the start," Wood said. \nBut even with that in their way, the team's athletic abilities and its intent on building stronger strategies for racing gives them reason to keep their positive attitude.\nno. 26 Army ROTC (3:21.972)\nThe attitude for Army ROTC's team has changed since last year. The team is made up of the same women as last year: seniors Adrienne Barker, Emily Birck, Rosemarie Hirata and Christina Sandoval. \n"We wanted to have a more gung-ho attitude this year," Barker, the team captain, said. That attitude is opposed to last year's, when the team just wanted to see what capabilities were needed to succeed in the Little 500. They discovered racing was a "whole team effort," and everyone needed to train hard and polish her strategies. \n"We knew each other's strengths and weaknesses pretty well since we've worked together in ROTC and rode together last year," Barker said. "We've been trying to do the best we can in training." \nBy focusing on improving strengths even further, Barker said they feel more ready for the race this year.\nno. 27 Delta Sigma Pi (3:26.502)\nSenior Erin Mahoney is working with three rookies in this year's race: senior Mitzi Wilson and juniors Sarah Vohden and Lindsay Jenda. Despite higher expectations and a disappointing qualifying time, Mahoney doesn't speak negatively about the team. \n"(Wilson, Vohden, and Jenda) have an athletic mentality that helped a bit," said Mahoney, who is helping coach the team.\nIn hopes of doing better in the race, Wilson and Vohden are focusing on increasing their speed, while Jenda is hoping to further improve her endurance. The team is also focusing on "holding lines" and perfecting changes. The team's optimistic take on an unexpected qualifying time has just made them work harder, especially since, for three riders, this is their first time in the race. This hard work will continue right up until the race, when the team hopes the hard work will pay off and expectations will be met. \n"There's only so much you can perfect in a week," said Mahoney. \nRow 10\nno. 28 Alpha Omicron Pi (3:27.374)\nAlpha Omicron Pi's team this year is all rookies. Since the riders, senior Rebecca Huffman, sophomore Erica Hursh and juniors Lindsay Ruggiero and Meredith Fitzpatrick, have never been in a race, or even trained for one, is this a big problem? \n"Our motto is 'make every obstacle an opportunity,'" Huffman said. "The more we put into this, the more we can get out of this." \nThey began training later than most of the other teams. Huffman admits it was hard for them to adjust to their intense training schedule, which only gave the team Sundays to rest from their hard work all through the week. Every practice is something new and a "learning experience." \nThe team also switched coaches to help their chances in the race. Huffman feels the team's strength is its positive outlook on its qualifying time and how they will finish in the race. Since this year's race will be a first experience for all the riders, they don't have their expectations set too high. \n"We're eager to ride and show everyone that even though we're a team of rookies. We can still do this."\nno. 29 Alpha Epsilon Phi (3:35.833)\n"Being (qualified at) 29th has not affected our attitude," senior Julie Robbins, the captain of Alpha Epsilon Phi, said. Though Robbins is a rookie, she was chosen as captain because of her seniority and her dedication. Despite the team placing 29th in the qualifications, Robbins said the Little 500 experience will still be "incredible." \nAlso on the team are riders Tracy Wertheimer, Erielle Reshef, Sara Csillag and Cassie Feldman, another newcomer. Unfortunately, the team has endured some hardships. Their coach left the state, so now they are on their own. \n"It's hard because our team doesn't have very vigorous training," Robbins said. \nInstead of worrying, the team looks to the better teams as their role models. Their friendship with Kappa Kappa Gamma, who qualified on the pole, has helped them have fun while focusing on strategies for the race.\nLast year's team also qualified 29th, but did not finish the race. But last year's results aren't discouraging to this year's team. Besides keeping an optimistic attitude and having fun, Robbins said a very important goal is to "finish the race with no injuries."\nno. 30 Delta Zeta (3:08.791)\nLast year, Delta Zeta qualified second and placed 12th in the race. This year, its place in the qualifier proved to be a disappointment.\n"We were hoping to qualify a lot higher," sophomore Katie Brownell, a veteran rider and the team's captain, said. With the exception of one other veteran rider, senior Keri Schindler, the rest of the team -- Renee Luzadder, Rachel Christoff and Erin Bedwell -- are rookies. During the team's practices, they have been focusing on strength, speed and toning. They even practiced during the fall. \n"Since we didn't expect this qualifying time, we have to start playing catch-up," Brownell said.\nThe rookies have been "catching up" well to the two veteran riders of the team. Brownell says Luzadder, Christoff and Bedwell are "just as skilled" as experienced riders, they just haven't ridden in a race.\nThe team hasn't taken a pessimistic attitude as a result of their qualifying time. Instead, it has given them more reason to be more competitive. \n"With our place, we can only do better, and we intend to," Brownell said.