Rowing team heads to San Diego for large event

Fresh off their learning experience at the Longhorn Invitational and spring training, the K-State rowing team is set for the San Diego Crew Classic this weekend. This event draws a high volume of fans and has a total of 379 boat entries, marking the team's toughest test of the year.

"There are girls that have been there before and they know what to focus on with their performance," head coach Patrick Sweeney said. "It's always nice to perform in front of big crowds. I think everybody likes to do it. Really though, during the race, you're not affected by the crowds."

With the fine-tuning of technique finally starting to come together for the team, the biggest test now, particularly for the novices, will be how they handle the atmosphere of the event. The San Diego Crew Classic is known to bring out tons of fans. Jumbotrons will be setup, and the girls will be racing against five other teams, instead of just one like the previous three events.

"I would say with the novices, it's all for racing experience," Sweeney said. "Their goal is to learn, learn and learn. It'll be a bit of a shock for them. The second varsity boat, their goal is to get solid racing. They have been affected by the personnel changing the most, so we are trying to consolidate that boat. With the first varsity 8 boat, I think they can make it to the finals if they hit everything right."

K-State had a strong showing during the fall race season. The Wildcats started in October with the Head of the Oklahoma, where the novice boats placed second and third. In the second regatta of the season, the Wildcats defeated the University of Kansas Jayhawks in the annual Sunflower Showdown.

Racing season resumed during Spring Break at the Longhorn Invitational where only one boat out of 16 races claimed a victory. However, all of their opponents had been able to practice on water during the winter months, while the Wildcats were restricted to land and indoor training due to weather.

After the Longhorn Invitational, the team stayed in Austin, Texas, throughout the duration of Spring Break to practice on the water in an attempt to make up ground on the competition they will face in San Diego.

"We continued doing intra-squad racing during the first few days down there," Sweeney said. "A week down there is like a month here on the water. We get a lot of mileage and a lot of work down. The girls are really good and know that if we waste that week, that we have blown it. The two months we lose we try to make up in that week."

The winter weather has continued to cause problems for Sweeney's group. After spending a week on the water, the team came back to Manhattan on Sunday only to find snow on the ground once again, thus forcing them off the water. However, Sweeney predicted it would not be much of an issue.

"We probably won't be on the water [Tuesday]," said Sweeney. "If the weather is a bit better, we will get out on the water [today]. Normally we come back from spring break and we are on the water, so this is new to me. It's too short a break to undo things though, it's just a couple of days off."