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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Rowers face tough test in Indy regatta

After winning the Lubbers Cup Title last weekend, the Irish will travel to Indianapolis this Saturday to compete in the Indiana Invitational. In the first match of the day, the No. 13 Irish will race No. 15 Wisconsin. Later in the day, Notre Dame will take on Indiana and Purdue. Although only one of the opponents is ranked, Irish coach Martin Stone views each team as tough competition. "I think that all three crews that we face will present challenges," Stone said.After a shift from their usual lineups during last Saturday's regatta, the Irish plan to return to the original crews used earlier in the season. The reason for the changes, Stone said, was to allow younger players to gain more racing experience.Even though the lineups were different, the team performed well in last weekend's regatta, winning the varsity-four, second varsity-four and second varsity-eight races. The varsity-eight, novice-eight and second varsity-eight boats all finished second. Saturday's competition marks the second race of the season for Wisconsin. In their first competition, the Badgers' varsity and second varsity crews went undefeated against Indiana. Stone said that Wisconsin was an especially swift team, having finished in the top 20 last season. Last weekend, Indiana competed in Cincinnati. The Hoosiers swept away the competition, winning races against Dayton, Eastern Michigan and the Bearcats. The Indiana Invitational is the fourth outing of the spring season for the Irish. They will compete in the Windemere Real Estate Regatta April 14-15 in Redwood Shores, Calif.