Weather won't phase women's riders in Saturday's qualifying round at Bill Armstrong Stadium

For 178 women, spring begins tomorrow.\nNever mind the 50-degree forecast after a week of peddling in windbreakers. For 178 women, spring means Little 500, and Little 500 season officially begins tomorrow.\nAt 8 a.m. the entire cast of 178 will divide into their 32 teams and hit the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium for qualifications.\nFour riders will run four laps to determine who will lead the first of 100 laps on April 15. Each rider will mount the bike for a lap, which means each rider needs to make an exchange. But it also means each rider has a chance to cost their team precious seconds.\n"I think it's the most challenging and nerve-wracking (event)," Milne said. "There is some room for error, but a lot seems like it has to be perfect.\nMother nature proved herself more challenging than a perfect exchange this past week, limiting practice time and even preventing teams from getting on the track. \nOther teams were ready for this day long before returning to a dampened Bloomington. Teams like Kappa Kappa Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta had a far easier time practicing exchanges in San Diego and Florida.\n"We would have liked to practice for quals a few more times (this week)," said Theta senior Liz Milne. "But spring break can compensate for bad weather."\nTheta, like Kappa, returns three veterans to this year's squad. Senior Kappa rider Kelsey Cooper explained it as a "comforting" feeling having plenty of experience.\n"I've been riding with Meredith (Horner) for three years," Cooper said. "Things have become pretty routine."\nVeteran riders are able to fall back into routine, but when six other riders are fighting for the remaining roster spot, routine breaks pretty quickly, Cooper said. \n"It pushes everyone a lot harder than in the past," Cooper said. "It always keeps everyone in check ... Everyone is in agreement that we want our best riders out on the track, so their's not too much unhealthy competition. It all starts with (Horner) and trickles down."\nSome teams don't have that built in competition. Abby Cooper leads Bella Veloce, a squad of three, into quals without the benefits of a sunny spring break trip or the support of an entire sorority. \n"That's the fun of our team," Cooper said. "We are new and we've had to come from the bottom and start from scratch. We work together as a team and keep each other motivated. All the support from friends and family is really important, too, because we don't have house support."\nBella Veloce spent spring break in Bloomington. They had the track practically to themselves, but even an optimist had to admit the difficulties.\n"It was pretty bad at the beginning and bad at the end, but it was great there in the middle," Cooper said.\nSpring will begin tomorrow at 8 a.m. with highs calling for the fifties, but with rain due, maybe the southern trips won't have been so beneficial.\n"We ride in anything," Cooper said regarding the wet weather due for Saturday. "It'll give us an edge."\n-- Contact Sports Editor Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.