IU hosts 2nd straight home match

The IU rowing team will host its second home regatta this season when the Hoosiers take on Dayton and Eastern Michigan at Lake Lemon on Saturday. With every race inching closer to Big Ten play, the rowing team is trying to gain more speed and experience each weekend.\n“I think the team is better prepared since we’ve had a couple weeks of good practices on our water,” IU assistant coach Fran O’Rourke said.\nWith two races already completed, the Hoosiers are ready to identify and use their strengths while spending time trying to eliminate their weaknesses. \n“After today’s practice, we will feel more confident in our race plan,” O’Rourke said. “Our team has a lot of parity right now, which is great and really exciting. This means that lineups may change frequently over the course of the season as people step up and continue to push each other. This can only make us better and faster as a whole team.”\nThe team’s coaches believe it is better to focus on smaller goals each week and improve on them before rowers get worried about winning or losing the next regatta. \n“It is very important for the athletes to keep focused on the small weekly goals they have and not to get too caught up in winning or losing each week,” IU coach Steve Peterson said in a statement. “If they can do that, we should have a solid race plan that will get us from start to finish as fast as possible in time for the Big Ten and NCAA Central Region Championships.”\nLast Saturday, the Hoosiers had to endure a substantial amount of wind and rain. Regardless of the conditions, the team will go on the lake and do its best to defeat its competition, increase its speed and its experience.\n“Our goal for the weekend is to put together a solid 2,000-meter piece,” O’Rourke said.\nAssistant coach Carmen Mirochna said last week the team was focused on the start of the race, and now the rowers have to deliver at the end of the race.\n“Everyone has done a great job training, now we need to do it,” Mirochna said last weekend.