Oct. 25, 2012

LOS ANGELES - The USC women's rowing team will head to California State Park in Gold River, Calif., for the 2012 Head of the American, this weekend. The annual regatta, which takes place on the banks of the American River at Lake Natoma, will test the Women of Troy for the first time this season. The one-day event set for Saturday (Oct. 27) is hosted by the Sacramento State Aquatic Center and features a number of top West Coast rowing programs.

"The fall head race is an opportunity for us to gain experience as a team," said 11th-year head coach Zenon Babraj. "We have a lot of talented young freshman as well as returning experienced athletes so we are focusing on development and unifying our technique as a team. We are going to race in multiple races including small boats. We're not looking for the fastest combinations, but for lineups suited to reinforce technical changes that we are working on at this time of the year."

The Trojans return the services of second-team CRCA All-American port Vineta Moca to this year's lineup, but will need to replace two other All-Americans with the departure of first-team selection Lenka Vrecnikova and second-teamer Helen Tinkus. Last spring, Moca, Vrecnikova, and Tinkus helped the Varsity Eight to a bronze-medal finish at the NCAA championships. The Trojans finished sixth overall at the championships as a team.

USC will race several eight-rower boats including a Novice Eight, which kicks off the day at 10:15 a.m. PT. The women's collegiate pairs will hit the water at 10:45 a.m. while USC's Varsity Eight gets its turn at 1:45 p.m. For more information on the Head of the American, please visit www.SacStateAquaticCenter.com.