The University of Alabama women’s rowing team begins its season Saturday at the Chattanooga Head Race in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Captain Kristen Iverson summed up the energy of the team at the start of the season with three words – “I feel awesome.”

The team, which finished sixth in Conference-USA last season, comes into the new year with a new way to get things done, courtesy of head coach Larry Davis.

“We adjusted how we approach things,” he said, “Our theme for this year is professionalism.”

For the rowers, this attitude has already shown benefits.

“Something we have improved on is our cohesion,” Iverson said, “Our teamwork has grown exponentially from last season.”

Both Iverson and Davis said that there is only one ultimate goal for this team – to win the “super conference” of NCAA rowing: Conference-USA.

But championships are not won without hard work, both in the water and in the weight room. According to Davis, there are two things that the coaches look for to see improvement in the athletes.

“First is how good they are doing in their conditioning,” he said, “We also go on the water and have competitions to see who is doing well and will be in certain crews.”

Iverson said, “We have a lot of different measurements with all the technology that is available.”

But for her, there is something beyond the numbers that can only be noticed when you are actually rowing.

“You can feel the boat gliding along a lot better and the glide is a lot more stable,” she said.

Although the final goal for this team is established, there can never be a time when you overlook the importance of each meet.

“If we focused on our big goal all the time it would be counterproductive,” Iverson said, “because we would not accomplish the small goals that lead to conquering the main goal.”

Davis sees constant improvement as a big key to the season.

“Obviously, we haven’t got the speed that we want right now,” he said. “We have already accomplished some of our goals on the machines. As a team and as coaches, we have to continue improving to win.”

Nobody can deny that this weekend’s meet is monumental towards gaining momentum throughout the season, particularly due to the competition.

“Our race this weekend is important because Tennessee will be there,” Davis said. “They won the conference and competed in the NCAA Championships last year, so they are a good barometer as far as what we need to do in the future.”

The rowing team has accomplished a lot in its short history, and the Tide hopes it can take the next step this season.