The Washington rowing teams start postseason competition this weekend with the Pac-10 Championships, held at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma, this Sunday. The men’s team will face some strong competition, as they will need to beat Pac-10 rivals No. 7 Stanford and No. 8 Cal to repeat last year’s win.

“The goal is to win the Pac-10 Conference for the University, but we understand that it is going to be extraordinarily difficult and that no one is going to give us anything easy,” said Ben Fletcher, the assistant men’s coach.

The men’s team enters the tournament ranked No. 1 overall, after completing a perfect season last year, capped off with a Pac-10 Championship and an Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship. The team has yet to lose a regatta this year as well.

“We’ve been working for nine months to get to this point,” sophomore Simon Taylor said. “We’re really excited and really pumped for this weekend.”

The women’s crew will look to capitalize on the momentum gained from their Windermere Cup win. The Huskies will face an equally tough group, as they will square off against No. 1 California, No. 10 Stanford and rival No. 4 WSU.

“I think the varsity girls are definitely going to do well,” freshman Ana Stoudt said. “They’re fast and they work well together. UW will look to dethrone the No. 12 USC crew, who was last year’s champion.”

The overall winner will be decided based on a point system, which accounts for the winners of the varsity eight, junior varsity eight, freshman or novice eight and varsity four races.

The Huskies look to be prepared both physically and mentally for the Pac-10, and they are taking inspiration from all avenues.

“Muhammad Ali once said, ‘You earned the right to dance under those lights, long before the fight,’” Fletcher said.