Humboldt State women’s crew team will host the Blue Heron Redwood Sprints Regatta on Saturday, where some of the best teams in the west will take to the balmy waters of Humboldt Bay, including Mills College, Cal Maritime, Seattle Pacific and the University of Oregon.

With a number of high-caliber crew teams participating at the regatta, this weekend will serve as a measuring stick to indicate how the HSU team might fare in nationals.

Adding to the excitement surrounding the event, the Lady Jacks currently have their crosshairs set on Division-II rival Seattle Pacific, which foiled HSU’s plans to compete in nationals last year.

“Last spring, Seattle Pacific edged us out for the final spot for nationals, so this year we want to return the favor,” said HSU head coach Robin Meiggs.

This year’s team is one of the strongest that Meiggs has seen, and are led by seniors Hilda Kwan, Heather Macdonald and Pilar Fernandez-Baumann.

The two regattas the Lady Jacks have competed in so far this season have yielded mixed results.

On March 8 at the Behind Ross Island Regatta in Portland, Ore., the team competed well, taking first place in the Women’s Varsity Eight as well as the Women’s Second Varsity Eight.

HSU followed that performance with a decent showing at the Sacramento Invitational, where the women placed second in the Varsity Four A, the Varsity Four B and the Novice Four.

Since the Lady Jacks are accustomed to finishing higher in the standings, however, Meiggs was understandably disappointed with how the team rowed in Sacramento.

“We’ve been working a lot this week on finding our rhythm and putting up more consistent performances,” Meiggs said. “That has entailed mixing up the lineup a bit to figure out who our fastest rowers are.”

Meiggs added that her team has been at a disadvantage historically due to an NCAA rule which prevents athletes from practicing and competing during finals week.

The rule affects HSU since the school is on the semester system, while all of its major opponents are on the quarter system.

Coincidentally, the national qualifier has always fallen on the week following HSU’s finals week, meaning that the team was forced to put forth its best performance after a full week without practice.

“By the time that the girls get done with finals, they are emotionally drained and out of sync, while everyone else is on top their game,” Meiggs said.

Given this situation, Saturday’s regatta is of special significance to HSU.

It has been designated as the first-ever NCAA national qualifier event held in Humboldt Bay.

This means that the event gives HSU has the opportunity to qualify without the restrictive regulations that have historically hindered its aspirations of making it to nationals.

“We feel that we are at an advantage since we will be on our home turf this weekend, but wind, rain and tides are the great equalizers in our sport,” Meiggs said.

In addition to the women’s crew races, Saturday’s regatta will also include juniors and collegiate club events.

The regatta starts at 7:30 a.m. with the national qualifying race at 8:45 a.m.

The best viewing points are at the Humboldt Aquatics Center and along the waterfront.