IU rower invited to U.S. camp

The most accomplished rower to pull an oar for the cream and crimson has added another item to her athletic resumé. This achievement, however, is for the red, white and blue of the United States.\nLaura Lazaridis, IU's first and only two-time All-America rower, is attending the Under 23 National Training Selection Camp June 5-29 at the University of California in Berkeley. \nShe is one of two dozen rowers vying for a spot in the eight-woman plus coxswain crew that will represent the United States at the World Championships in July in Belgium.\n"This is a great opportunity for Laura to take her rowing career further than the collegiate ranks," IU rowing head coach Steve Peterson said. "She is perhaps the best rower to ever wear an IU uniform, and she is one of the best collegiate rowers in the country."\nThe athletes were invited by the United States Rowing Association, or USRowing, the sport's national governing body. The criteria included a coach's recommendation, performance in competition and performance on the rowing machine. \n"She is definitely strong enough and talented enough to row at this level," Peterson said.\nLazaridis thinks she might have been the last of the IU rowing community to hear the news. \nThe English major was in seclusion on campus preparing for a final exam last month when Peterson received word from USRowing and e-mailed his rowers. \nNearly eight hours later, Lazaridas got a congratulatory call on her cell phone from team captain Elisabeth Benoit. She ventured to the nearest computer at the Indiana Memorial Union. \n"I was in a public place, so I couldn't act really excited," Lazaridis said in a phone interview. "But I told my boyfriend and called my parents." \nLazaridis said practices consist of two hours of rowing at 7 a.m., an hour of rowing at 10 a.m. and "erg(ing) or something else on land" at 4 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.\nRowers arrive at the boathouse at 7 a.m. for two hours on the water and return at 5 p.m. for an additional hour and a half every Tuesday and Thursday. They also are on the water for a couple of hours Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, with the balance of the weekend for personal time. \n"It's been a lot more physically demanding because of all the practices," Lazaridis said. "I've been asking a lot more of my body."\nTen of the 24 rowers at the camp will head to Princeton, N. J., where the final eight will be named for the trip to Belgium. \nDespite the highly competitive atmosphere among the country's best collegiate rowers, Lazaridis said "our coach (University of California women's head coach Dave O'Neill) made a big point of having everyone work at bringing each other up rather than beating each other down." \nIn less than a week, Lazaridis said she has learned "a lot of technical things about" handling an oar. \n"I'm working on being smoother all the way through the stroke," she said. \nAt the start of her senior year, Lazaridis talked with Peterson about her options at elite-level rowing after graduation. Peterson, himself a veteran of similar camps when he was a world champion and Olympic rower, explained what it would take. \nHer teammates observed the transformation.\n"She definitely took it up a notch this year," Varsity 8 bow seat Lanie Deppe said. "It's been amazing to watch her work ethic, determination and attitude completely change." \nRegardless of the outcome at the camp, Lazaridis will return to Bloomington and train full-time under Peterson's guidance. \n"My goal is to row on the national team," she said.