ARCATA, Calif. – After spending spring break training rigorously for the remainder of the rowing season, the Humboldt State crew teams travel to Tacoma, Wash., this weekend to compete in the Daffodil Sprints on American Lake.
 
This weekend's draft schedule is peppered with top competition from the Division I, II and III ranks. Rival Western Washington and DI foe Seattle University stand out in the talented pool of challengers. The Vikings placed third behind the Lumberjacks and the Sharks of Nova Southeastern in the USRowing/CRCA Collegiate Rowing Preseason Poll.
 
HSU Head Coach Robin Meiggs said that her coaching staff has worked hard preparing the teams for this weekend's competition. And Meiggs knows the Jacks will have to leave it all out on the water if they hope to emerge from the Sprints victorious.
 
"We are going to have to put it all out there," said Meiggs. "We race twice on Saturday in the V8, and most assuredly we'll race Western Washington. Western Washington, for several minutes at NCAA DII Rowing Nationals last season, was the national champion. Anyone who saw that race thought they were the national champions."
 
Saturday's weather forecast will play to the Green and Gold's advantage with temperatures in the upper 50s. Meiggs cited cases of frostbite and bitter cold at the event in years past.
 
"American Lake is big. It's big water," said Meiggs. "It is a lake that has a lot of pleasure boats on it, and the wake factor is huge. This has traditionally never been a good regatta for us. We have never done well up north after a really tough 13-hour bus ride. Last year it got windy, and you really have to rise up to the elements to be able to perform in a situation like this."
 
The Jacks worked hard during the spring break to improve their technical skills in the water, and Meiggs believes it can pay off for them at the Daffodil Sprints.
 
"I think that if we can take the technical workouts that we performed in Sacramento at spring break training and put them into a race scenario, that would mean trimming 3-4 seconds for us," said Meiggs. "We missed that much water at the catch – I think that will be our focus this weekend. The bigger issue would be if we're 20 seconds behind Western Washington, then I think we're in trouble."
 
Despite the small size of this year's team and the depth of opposing programs like UC San Diego and Western Washington, the Green and Gold have big expectations. And Meiggs knows the Jacks will have a tough road back to Sacramento, Calif., and the NCAA Nationals Championships.
 
"This is a smaller team than last year, and we already thought that last year's team was pretty small," said Meiggs. "We lost some key rowers from last year. We had high hopes for key rowers on the team this year that just didn't come to fruition, whether it was by choice or by accident. So we're doing it the old fashioned way, the way that means you are going to have to put in a lot of miles, a lot of sweat and a lot of tears."