Lemonhead Regatta kicks off fall rowing season

When the Hoosiers host the fifth annual Lemonhead Regatta this weekend, the squad will be expecting big things.\nCoach Mark Wilson said he is confident his team will do well Saturday, as they have been practicing rigorously every day at 6 a.m. Wilson said they are focused on finishing first in several of the races.\n"I want to win some races this weekend," he said. "We'll be focusing on the novice 4, the open 8, the pairs and the open 4. I really just want to place well and win."\nThe Hoosiers will be facing strong competition from the 11-team field, in particular from rivals Louisville and Purdue. Purdue wasn't at the Lemonhead last year, and the Hoosiers said they have something to prove on their home water.\nSenior Stephanie Mast said she is looking forward to racing against the Boilermakers. \n"We're looking forward to Purdue; they'll give us some good competition," she said. "Coach Wilson has us going into this thinking we can win. When people come to our house, we have to win. We need to show people what we can do."\nThe Lemonhead Regatta is a three-mile long course that is in the shape of a "J". The race is a "head-style" race, where boats race one at a time and are timed to see who can row through the course the fastest. Last year, the Hoosiers best finish was in the quad where they placed 1st and 2nd. They also placed 1st and 3rd in the women's novice 4 race.\n"We need to go after it, go get it, and say a lot about IU," Mast said.\nSenior Line Espedal said she'd be happy just with rowing a good race. \n"We want to win of course, and we want to row our own race," she said. "If we don't finish first, as long as we have a good race, I think we can be happy."\nSenior Becky England said rowing at IU adds to the anxiety of racing. \n"Of course there's more pressure to do well here," she said. "We have family and friends watching so we want to perform well."\nWilson said he expects the competition will be tough this Saturday. \n"Purdue and Louisville are our main competition. Purdue has more depth than we do," Wilson said. "Louisville has 20 scholarships to give out. They have experience and a good quality of kids."\nWhen the Hoosiers take the water for the their first regatta of the year, they said they are hoping to win.\n"I've been stressing for them to get into the flow of the body parts working together and teamwork," Wilson said. "The leadership with the seniors is starting to show. I've been impressed with how they've practiced. They started off slow, but the last month they've done a nice job. I'm just going to tell the girls to pull hard, row well and have fun. That's what competition should be."\nThe competition begins at 8 a.m. at Lake Lemon.