The women’s rowing team is back on the water Saturday following a two-week dry spell since the team’s 7,800 foot-long race loss to the University of Oklahoma on Sept. 19.

Saturday’s 4,000-meter race, the Boot of the Oklahoma, features teams from the University of Texas, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Kansas, Central Oklahoma, Texas Woman’s University, Wichita State and Creighton.

In last season’s Head of the Oklahoma regatta, SMU placed three boats in a field of 32 competitors, including NCAA contenders Stanford, Washington State and Radcliffe. The top Mustang boat in the varsity four open finished with a time of 17:21:34, 21 seconds better than their 2007 performance. SMU’s second boat in the category finished two seconds behind with a time of 17:23:41, a 35-second improvement.

Junior Lauren Hadaway will lead the SMU A 8+ boat, while sophomore Laura Benavides will lead the SMU B +8.

The top qualifiers will compete in a head-to-head 500-meter sprint.

The team will depart Dallas at 4 a.m. on Saturday for Oklahoma. The first of the varsity eight boats boat will begin at 10 a.m. The University of Texas will start in the first and second starting spots. SMU will be slotted in the third and ninth spots.

“You’re just racing against the clock,” head coach Doug Wright said. “It comes down to who’s on the race course for the least amount of time; who can cover the distance in shortest time. If you don’t let anyone pass you, and you catch up to a crew ahead of you, it makes you feel pretty good about your performance. It’s a motivational thing.”

Leading the first boat in the Varsity Four race will be junior Catherine Campbell. Hadaway, Benavides and Halley Learned will lead the other three SMU boats. SMU’s double boats will be made up of Meredith Walker and Haley King in one, with Elisabeth Hendrian and Esther Kolkman rowing in the second.

I think we’re prepared mentally and I know we’ve gotten more fit in the last couple of weeks,” Wright said. “I think we’ll be in a good position this weekend to show off our skills.”

In the qualifying round of the women’s eight last year, one of two boats progressed to the finals for SMU, with the A boat pulling in at 15:22:04, good enough for an eighth-place finish. The boat shed 40 seconds off its 2007 time.

In the team’s last event, held at White Rock Lake, the Mustangs finished second in the varsity eight boat race with a time of 29:26. SMU’s second boat in the category clocked in at 30:15. The OU Sooners finished in first with a time of 28:52 over the five-mile course. In the varsity four boat race, SMU finished in third place.

The Mustangs will take a two-week break before competing in the Head of the Charles regatta Oct. 17 in Boston followed by the Head of the Colorado race Oct. 31 in Austin.

SMU will return back to White Rock Lake to celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary as part of SMU’s Homecoming celebrations Nov. 6-7.