Syracuse women’s rowing finished third of four in three team meets last season. By all accounts, the rowers and coach weren’t happy. So head coach Kris Sanford evaluated the situation and tried to figure out the root of the problem.

During Winter Break, Sanford introduced a new training program that was less intensive and focused more on heart rate than number of strokes.

‘We felt like we needed a switch,’ Sanford said. ‘In coaching you always look for new ways to do things. We were slow (last year); our training did not work for us.’

This spring brings a new beginning. The women’s rowing team travels to Ithaca Saturday to face Cornell and Yale. It will be SU’s first race after its forgettable 2006 season. It’s also a chance for the Orange to show off its new training regimen in efforts to knock off those extra seconds.

This year some of the rowers went out and bought heart rate monitors. Sanford wants them to focus more on the monitors than the odometer.

‘It’s provided a little more fun,’ Sanford said. ‘Rowing odometers can be very tough mentally. If you miss a stroke, it tells you.’

The key to controlling your heart rate is to stay calm, which is one of the main strategies going into this year. Sanford does not want her team to be focused on what others are doing or get stressed about other boats.

‘We need to stay within our own boat,’ said Katie Schneider, a senior tri-captain. ‘We need to row our own race, be less concerned with everyone else and just do what we know we can do and make it happen’

The training started in the winter and has progressed throughout the spring. The Orange traveled to Oak Ridge, Tenn., during Spring Break and competed with Buffalo in a scrimmage. The heart monitors must have been working, because SU swept the Bulls in both races by more than five seconds.

The scrimmage was the first time this season the team had the opportunity to practice on open waters. Most of the water in Syracuse was frozen until only a couple of days ago.

The scrimmage went well, although SU rowers admitted topping Buffalo isn’t a significant achievement. It was a step in the right direction, though.

‘Last year was a rough year,’ Sanford said. ‘We keep saying it takes time, we need to take baby steps.’

The Orange is also taking small steps out of the water as well. Sanford is monitoring the training to make sure her rowers do not run out of gas at the end of the year. She wants the team to peek just in time for the Big East Championship on April 29, as well as the Eastern Sprints on May 13. Two days after the Eastern Sprints, the Orange will find out whether it made the NCAA tournament.

Contending for all three championships are long-terms goals for Syracuse. For now, SU can only hope to improve on last season – and a few upsets along the way wouldn’t hurt.

‘Every weekend we face top-20 crews,’ tri-captain Allison Doodeman said. ‘We’re not ranked in the top 20 right now. So it would be great to go after them, because I don’t think they would be expecting us.’

Published on March 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm