The Alabama rowing team continues its spring schedule in Sacramento, Calif., this weekend, a markedly different setting than the Southeast, which has been home to the last three events for the Crimson Tide.

Much of head coach Larry Davis’ motivation to take the Crimson Tide to California has to do with the race site and its significance for NCAA competition.

“The race course we’re going to be on at Lake Natoma is one that’s been used quite frequently by the NCAA committee to have the national championships on,” Davis said. “I wanted the girls to have a chance to get out there, see what it’s like, get a feel for the area and see what it’s like to row on a championship course.”

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Another reason is the level of competition from the teams, which compete against Alabama in Conference USA.

“Two of the teams will be in the conference championship – San Diego State and Sacramento State – this year,” he said. “One of the reasons I wanted to get out there is to get a chance to see them early, see what they’re like and how fast they’re moving, as well as the fact that as a program, when we grow, our goal is to make it on a regular basis to the NCAA Championships.”

St. Mary’s is the third team Alabama will face.

Last weekend at the Oak Ridge Invitational, the Crimson Tide’s second Varsity 4, or “D” boat, carved out a victory over Tennessee in a Saturday session. The third Varsity 4, or “E” boat, finished just four seconds behind Minnesota for second place in Sunday’s race.

Davis said the strong showings from the lower-tier boats reflect the progress made by some of the underclassmen.

“The seniors have done a good job, but it helps to have a few more than one or two leaders, and there’s a number of the girls on the junior team who have stepped up, and we’re proud of that,” he said.

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Davis also mentioned the elements he’s recently added to the overall game plan and said he hopes to see his rowers execute that this weekend.

“Part of that race plan is to try to get more comfortable and fluid, I guess you could say,” Davis said. “In certain cases, that will be important for us as we get into the latter part of our racing season going into the conference championship.”

Much of that, he said, will pay dividends when Alabama welcomes SMU and Eastern Michigan on April 5 and the rest of the season going into the conference championship.

“We’ve been pretty aggressive in being good competitors, but I want to see us get a little more boat speed,” Davis said. “Some of that’s going to come not necessarily working harder but working more efficiently with a better rhythm.”

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