A typical practice day starts around 3 p.m. as about 50 women pile into vans for the drive to Lansing's Grand River. The river is choppy, the trees are bare from the winter's aftermath and houses line the bank leading to the tan and green boathouse adorned with an MSU sign.

As they make their way down the dirt road through a light breeze, members of the No. 10 Women's Crew team think about what practice will be like today.

"(Practices) are pretty rough," sophomore Suzanne Buzzell said. "They work us pretty well. There's a team warm-up and a certain routine the coaches choose for us each day."

The team shares responsibilities that include gathering oars, launches, motor boats and other necessary equipment to transport to the water before putting on practice clothes and stretching.

Meanwhile, head coach Bebe Bryans and assistant coach Matt Weise prepare a 60-foot boat for launching. Bryans' three Australian cattle dogs scurry around with chew-toys and eye the various pairs of shoes lying around the 9,000-square-foot boathouse.

"Line up next to your boats," a coxswain yells, as the team files out of the workout room, group by group.

With immense teamwork, the groups lift their boats over their heads and carry them slowly to the dock, ready to launch for a 90-minute practice.

"Have a good row, guys," Bryans says. "Rock and roll, baby."

The women's crew team isn't as well-known as most sports on campus and doesn't get much publicity - but the work performed and achievements made are no less notable.

"I'm very pleased with the season," Bryans said. "Not just with the outcome, but this is a special team with a special group of women, and it's exciting for me to watch all of their work come to fruition."

The sport, in a sense, has its own language, Bryans said, which could be a reason it isn't always recognized. Terms like coxswain, regatta and novice aren't used in the average person's daily vocabulary.

A coxswain is the person who directs the rest of the crew, a regatta is a boat race and a novice is a beginner or first-year rower.

"We are unique in this sport in that we can take people who have never done it before, teach them how to do it and how to be competitive," Bryans said. "The biggest misconception about the sport is that it's really easy and that it's not a real sport."

Bryans said this misconception springs from the fact that they can take people and teach them how to row competitively - members don't need to have started as a child.

"Like any sport, it takes forever to get great at and it can be an incredibly challenging, physical sport," she said. "I've done most sports and I've never done one harder."

The team is separated into groups of four and eight, which can change periodically, at two levels, varsity and novice.

Each individual race lasts between six and a half and seven and a half minutes, though boats usually are on the water for an hour and a half. The races are about 2,000 meters long on a straight course.

Each boat has an individual race time and points are based on how long it takes the boat to finish the course. The total points of all boats' scores make the team's score.

"It's a pretty demanding sport," junior Julie Springrose said. "But it's worth it when you go compete and race. Everyone always goes out to compete and works their hardest at it.

"We have a lot of fun, we're a really strong team and we all support each other. I just wish people knew how hard we work as a team and how successful we've been."

Bryans said this year's team is a diverse group and that diversity has helped the team come together to work toward like goals.

"Common mission No. 1 is they want to be Big Ten Champions," Bryans said. "Common mission No. 2 is they want this team to be really good and they want everybody to be successful."

Like any team, Bryans said there are issues at times, but the athletes have dealt with them in a mature manner.

"And that's why I have so much pride in them, because they have chosen to put aside all the normal things that you get from putting 50 women together - that's a lot of women in one place.

"They've learned how to put things into the proper place, which is a fabulous lesson to learn and actually do - I've gotten to watch that all season."

The team has enjoyed success this season across the country, including wins in California, Washington and Pennsylvania. Last weekend, the Spartans swept the Indiana Crew Classic, defeating Notre Dame and Big Ten opponents Purdue and Indiana.

"We're really looking forward to Big Tens," Bryans said. "Everybody needs to do well at Big Tens for us to win.

"You can have individual champions, and last year we did, but we want the team championship."

But before the team can make a run for the conference title, it will have to face interstate rival, No. 8 Michigan.

"The team has progressed a lot from last season to this season," Buzzell said. "Last year, we almost beat (U-M) in the Big Ten Championships. We're just a lot stronger and I have a lot of faith in our team; I think we'll perform well."

On Saturday, the Spartans host the Wolverines at Lake Ovid, MSU's home spring racing course, in Sleepy Hollow State Park in Clinton County near St. Johns.

"We're really hoping to beat them," Springrose said. "And we can, because we want it.