Rowing prepares for Rock Regatta

The Hoosiers will be hitting the water Sunday with high expectations after finishing fourth overall in points last year at the Head of the Rock Regatta.\nCoach Mark Wilson has done some adjustments this week in practice to emphasize the power and strength of each stroke.\n"We've continued to work on strength," Wilson said. "We've been doing a lot of low rating-hard stroke type of practices, and we've been rowing in pairs in fours. We're continuing to focus on mental toughness, and I believe we've had a good week of practice so far."\nSenior Erin Koers is a rower in the varsity 8. She said she expects the team to do well this weekend.\n"I'd like to win some races, at least finish top two," Koers said. "I expect us to be more comfortable than last weekend at the Lemonhead, and I'm looking forward to a positive weekend."\nThe Head of the Rock is a head-style race very similar to the Hoosier's first race, the Lemonhead Regatta. The difference is that the Head of the Rock is 2.75 miles, exactly a quarter-mile shorter than the Lemonhead, allowing for some slightly faster times. In addition, the course has a slight curve, but there isn't a turn as there was in the Lemonhead. \nThe Hoosiers will be facing a familiar foe in Purdue. They will also be facing crews like Iowa, Notre Dame and possibly Wisconsin.\nLast year at the Head of the Rock, the varsity 8 finished 14th, the quad placed first, and the pairs finished second, third and fourth. Wilson is expecting a much better finish out of the varsity 8 this year.\n"I'm expecting the first eight to finish in the top five," Wilson said. "We will be facing some good crews. I expect to see Notre Dame, Iowa, Purdue, and I think Wisconsin will be there."\nSenior Stephanie Mast said she is ready to race after a week of tough practices.\n"The practices have been pretty hard and intense," Mast said. "Coach Wilson has been stressing for us to work hard to be ready to row two or three races a day. He's also stressed for us to work on conditioning to increase our course strength."\nMast said the team is prepared to race Sunday.\n"We've already got one race under our belt," Mast said. "Our goal is just to race well. We just have to go after teams as hard as we can"