First novice 8 boat wins silver medals

Age is no barrier for setting school records. \nAnd that's precisely what IU's first novice 8 boat proved this weekend at the Big Ten Championships in St. Paul, Minn. At the conclusion of its heat, the nine-member crew successfully earned silver medal honors and eclipsed IU's highest previous ranking of fourth in 2004. \nWith seven of those rowers in the freshman class, the record-shattering victory was even sweeter, said IU coach Steve Peterson.\n"This has been our first medal ever," Peterson said. "We knew the freshmen were good. This bodes well for the future of our team."\nThe young IU crew completed its race in 7:15.1, just shy of Wisconsin's 7:06.5. Taking third was host Minnesota with 7:18.6, and Michigan State rounded out the top four in 7:22.5.\n"The novice held their own in the varsity races, and that definitely says something about the depth and potential this team has," assistant coach Fran O'Rourke said.\nThe Hoosiers' first varsity four missed sixth place by the width of a fingernail. The all-freshman crew of Shelby Jacobson, Rachel Bernhardt, Stephanie Horvath, Laura Fuhrmann and Allison Parman clocked 8:42.8, while its rival to the west, Iowa, sealed sixth place with a time of 8:42.7.\nAdditionally, IU's second all-freshman varsity also garnered a sixth-place finish with a time of 8:58.7, behind Michigan's 8:20.9 and Iowa's 9:14.6.\nBoth varsity eight teams finished in seventh place. "Could've, should've or would've, you can't change what happened," Peterson said. "The varsity eight sat on the line before the race and got over-excited. What's upsetting is the night before, they practiced so well and were really together."\nHe added that this season has been a building year, and as a team, the varsity has been inconsistent in its rowing. As far as the novice competitors are concerned, he said, they showed that they really have a great future ahead of them.\n"Any win we have in a boat reflects on the entire team," assistant coach Carmen Mirochna said. "We did a lot more this year than we've ever done before as a team."\nCollectively, the Hoosiers finished the Big Ten Conference in seventh place, concluding the day with 34 points. Defending champions Michigan State settled for third, one point ahead of fourth-place Wisconsin. Minnesota grabbed silver with 121 points. Ohio State was crowned the 2006 champion, nabbing the gold with 130 points.\nHowever, IU still found a few individual all-conference honors to celebrate. Senior Laura Lazaridis made the First Team All-Big Ten, handing her the title of first three-time All-Big Ten selection in program history. Additionally, Hibbard sealed herself a spot in the Second Team All-Big Ten, and junior Stacey Young merited a sportsmanship nomination.\nReflecting back upon the strides they made as a group, the coaches summed up the season in one word: progress.\nO'Rourke said that more essential than improved wins next season, the coaches cannot wait to see what speed the girls will bring. \n"Even small progress is progress," Mirochna said. "The entire novice stepped it up -- they had their right race at the right time"