After an arduous pre-season of dedicated training and competition, the Sac State women?s rowing team optimistically approaches the regular season with newly acquired experience and six returning varsity rowers.

Rowing has the longest season of any sport at Sac State and is one of the most demanding. The 50 members of the team practice nine months out of the year, five to six days a week, from 5:45 to 8:15 a.m. on Lake Natomas in Orangevale; all this in preparation for the regular season which begins on March 3.

Head rowing coach Bill Zack, who has coached at Sac State for five years, continues to implement the knowledge and work ethic which has enabled him to assist the 1995 U.S. Pan American Rowing Team and the 1996 Olympic Rowing Team. He has also been a part of four rowing world championships. Zack was named coach of the year by the Western Independent Rowing Association last year.

“This year?s goal for varsity is to win the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association and finish in the top twenty-five in the country,” Zack said.

Led by pace setter Meike Boyton, on scholarship from Australia, and Breanne Hart, winner of the 1999 National Rowing Championship, the team has been successful in their fall pre-season regattas. These races are three to four miles in length and the starting points of the races are staggered between the different colleges competing.

Although it was not rowing season, Sac State competed during the fall semester, as well. The varsity rowing squad traveled to the highly regarded Head of Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass., where they placed 24th out of 57 participants on Oct. 22. This international race is conducted annually and boasts excellent competition including the Denmark, Germany and U.S. National Rowing Teams.

The team also had some strong showings in November races.

“We?ve improved immensely from when we first started,” novice rower Keri Woolery said. “We?re much more in sync with our rowing now because we have had time to become familiar with one another.”

In the pre-season, rowers perfect their rowing techniques together by focusing on blade depth and leg drive for speed. They also handle height and body positioning for balance on the boat.

“The stroke and coxswain are the most vital positions on a rowing team because the stroke sets the pace of the boat and the coxswain steers and keeps the boat set,” assistant coach Laura McFarland said. “Rowing is physically demanding and takes a lot of teamwork.”

Workouts emphasize physical fitness exercises and endurance training with frequent runs on the bike trail and consistent rowing machine use.

“Working hard and building a strong base fitness can only make us stronger as a team,” novice rower Stephanie Brow said.

Sac State will race Humboldt State, St. Mary?s and Mills College to open the regular season in Sacramento on March 3. On March 24, it is matched up against Santa Clara.”We have to take advantage and capitalize on the first couple of regattas against weaker teams,” Zack said. “After them, we face an excellent Stanford team, travel to the San Diego Crew Classic, and then back to the Stanford Invitational.”