The University of Alabama women’s rowing team will host its only home regatta of the season against Central Florida and West Virginia University Saturday. This will be the only time that the Crimson Tide will compete on the Black Warrior River.

Saturday’s race marks the fourth race of the spring season for the Tide. Coach Larry Davis said competing at home should help his team win a majority of the races.

“I think we’re going to do really well this weekend,” Davis said. “If we can win a majority of the races, we might be able to win them all. It’s not going to be easy or simple at all; we’re going to have to fight for every inch of the race court. If we really put our ‘A’ race out there, we will have the opportunity to win. We have the potential, we just have to go out there and do it.”

Previously, Alabama competed in a dual meet against Clemson but fell short in all six races. Davis said the dual meet helped his team maintain composure when competing against a top-20 team, and said he hopes that will be apparent during Saturday’s races.

When comparing Alabama to Central Florida and WVU, Davis said all three teams are very similar. All three teams have had at least two weeks to prepare for the upcoming race, but Davis said Central Florida is slightly stronger than WVU.

“Each team has strong crews in certain areas and I think this will be one of the more competitive home races that we’ve had,” Davis said. “I think we’re all fairly well-matched, but now we just have to go out and execute well. This should be a good conference race for us.”

Over the past few weeks, Alabama has been striving for a more polished and consistent performance. Davis said though his team is young, they are highly motivated to compete and win against both schools.

The Black Warrior River race will be a tribute to both senior day and the Power of Pink event. Davis said his team should have all the motivation and encouragement they need since they are competing at home.

“It’s always nice to have the home court advantage,” Davis said. “We’re hoping, even though there are a lot of activities going on Saturday, that there will be a good crowd at the waterfront. It’s always good to have people cheering for you, especially in the last 500 meters of the race. The team is excited about that and they are excited about competing.”