Kappa outsprints Teter for race win

Kappa Kappa Gamma was able to edge out Teter in Friday's Women's Little 500 in the closest race in history. \nAfter 99 laps, only two riders were left with a chance to bring home the title. Individual Time Trial record-holder senior Bri Kovac of Teter and sophomore rookie Kappa rider Jessica Sapp were wheel-to-wheel with a quarter-mile left between glory and disappointment.\nAfter 100 laps, it was Sapp and the rest of her Kappa teammates left celebrating a victory and Teter left with the heartbreak of ending up less than a foot away from a Little 500 championship. \n"We're feeling awesome right now," Kappa rider Meredith Horner said right after the win. "It was a tough race; there was great competition out there. We just gave it all we got, and today ended up being our day."\nIt quickly became a four-team race, as Kappa, Teter, Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Gamma Delta were the only teams left on the lead lap. Teter controlled the pace for much of the race, and by the time 80 laps were completed, only Kappa and Theta were able to stick with Teter on the lead lap. \n"Today's race was really a race full of strategy," said Rob Rhamy, the IU Student Foundation Little 500 Coordinator. "Teter wanted to get away all day, and you could kind of see that. They would attack, and as soon as they got caught, they would slow down. Theta and Kappa just marked them all day and were kind of gambling on a sprint finish."\nThe gamble would pay off for Kappa, as it was able to do what Theta could not and stick with Teter until the end and pull off the win in a sprint finish. Kappa coach Bill Naas attributed the win to teamwork and keeping the team in a position to take the lead from Teter in its final sprint.\n"(The team) rode hard when they had to and set up Jess Sapp in the perfect position to go out there and duel it out with Bri," Naas said. "She caught Bri, grabbed her wheel, rested for a second, then held her off and did a great job. It was perfect."\nThe finish wasn't perfect for everyone, though, as Kovac and Teter felt their finish mirrored that of the men's race, where an impeding penalty was called at the finish line. Kovac felt Sapp drifted in front of her, similar to the way Alpha Tau Omega forced Cutters off its line.\n"I wish there was just a little more consistency," Kovac said. "I feel bad for ATO that they can watch that happen Friday and it's OK, then do the same thing Saturday and it's not."\nAll controversy aside, the race still proved to be among the greatest in history. Other than a six-team wreck in lap two that took out top-10 qualifiers Speed, Athena and Alpha Chi Omega, the race remained relatively crash-free. Star riders Kovac and Alpha Gamma Delta's Corey Bitzer dueling for the lead in the early laps, combined with surprise top-10 performances from teams like Delta Gamma and Cycledelics, all provided the perfect set up for the closest finish ever.\nThe win for Kappa was its fourth, tying it with Theta for the most women's titles ever won. But this championship came complete with a storybook finish, as the leadership and teamwork of its experienced riders paved the way for a Little 500 rookie to become an instant hero.\n"I was very shaky at first, but the girls on my team were so encouraging," Sapp said. "They knew I could do it. They set me up so that my body would be able to do it, and I just gave everything I had."\n-- Contact senior writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.