Kappa, Teter battle it out at ITTs after last year's dominance by both teams

Two weeks before last year's photo finish in the women's Little 500, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Teter held a preview in the Individual Time Trials. Kappa placed four riders in the top 15 while Teter placed two, the top two spots.\nToday, five of those seven top finishers will return to the track for the 2005 ITTs. And just to make things a little more interesting, two heats will feature a rider from each team.\n"I'm really excited about my heat because it kind of gives you the drive to push a little bit harder," said Teter senior Mia Dragan who finished 13th last year in ITTs. "I like that I am in there because I'm with better people so I can go for the person in front of me."\nDragan joins Kappa senior Kelsey Cooper -- 8th place finisher last year -- in the 9:35 p.m. heat. Just a half an hour before Dragan and Cooper start peddling, two other teammates will take to the track. Kappa senior Meredith Horner and Teter senior Jessica Lindemann will make their run at 9:05 p.m. Lindemann held the second-best time last year behind graduated teammate and ITT record holder Bri Kovac. Horner finished ninth last year.\n"It's definitely nerve-wracking," Horner said. "It can be the toughest event for some people just because you're on your own, you're out there for four laps -- it's a hard event. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you have a bad day, I always just have fun with it."\nThe final member of the Teter-Kappa returning five is senior Jess Sapp of Kappa. Sapp had the third-best time last year, and bested Teter's Kovac on the final lap of the Little 500 last year to secure the victory for Kappa.\nSapp will run much earlier in the day in the 4:20 p.m. heat, joining yet another top-15 rider from last year, Kappa Alpha Theta senior Nicole Vincent.\nSapp's 4:20 run, along with the 9:05 and 9:35 heats, should provide the majority of the fireworks featuring nothing but returning riders -- nine of whom finished in the top-30 last year.\n"ITTs are really just about pushing yourself to the maximum of your ability," Lindemann said. "Drafting has to become more of a rest."\nITTs don't necessarily offer a good representation of race-day performances. Riders generally stay on the track for more than four laps, and ITTs don't offer a chance to draft off other riders. Nonetheless, ITTs warrant an approach all their own.\n"You have to really manage your time when doing ITTs," Dragan said. "The first lap you have to get up to speed. The second you try to chill, but your adrenaline is high so it's hard. In the third you are hurting, and by the fourth you've got to come home."\nITTs officially begin at 4 p.m. with the first men's heat. Heats will continue until 10:20 p.m.\n-- Staff Writer Andy Romey contributed to this report. Contact Sports Editor Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.