The regatta is one of the biggest events of the season for Sacramento State as it serves as the team''s conference championship. Saturday''s regatta (April 30) will consist of 45 races (22 on the women''s side, 23 on the men''s side) beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing to approximately 4:40 p.m. Sunday''s competition (May 1), which includes the grand finals for each event, consists of 25 races (13 on the women''s side, 12 on the men''s side) beginning at 8 a.m. and running until the awards ceremony at 12:45 p.m.

This year marks the first season in which each of the Hornets'' top three boats have each received a seed no lower than second. Last season, both the Hornets'' varsity eight and second varsity eight entered the event with a No. 1 seed, while the team''s novice eight was seeded fourth. Sacramento State, which placed first in the second varsity eight grand final last year, and second in both the varsity eight and novice eight competitions, is seeking its first sweep of the three events in school history.

The women''s varsity eight competition will begin Saturday with three heats at 1:30 p.m., 1:40 p.m. and 1:50 p.m., respectively. The grand final will take place on Sunday at noon. A total of 18 schools will compete for the women''s varsity eight championship, comprising of No. 1 seed San Diego State, No. 2 Sacramento State, No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 4 UC Davis, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 6 Loyola Marymount, No. 7 Western Washington, No. 8 Puget Sound, No. 9 San Diego, No. 10 UC Irvine, No. 11 Saint Mary''s, No. 12 Santa Clara, No. 13 Lewis and Clark, No. 14 Pacific Lutheran, No. 15 Humboldt State, No. 16 UC San Diego, No. 17 Oregon and No. 18 Mills College.

Sacramento State''s varsity eight has already defeated UC Davis, San Diego, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, Saint Mary''s and Humboldt State in different competitions this year. In early April, top-seeded San Diego State was crowned Cal Cup champions at the San Diego Crew Classic, finishing a little more than two seconds ahead of the Hornets in the grand final. The Hornets'' varsity eight is seeking its first gold medal at the WIRA Championships since 2001.

Sacramento State''s second varsity eight earned the No. 1 seed for the second-consecutive season after winning last year''s WIRA Championship and posting a 10-0 dual-meet record over the last two years. The Hornets'' novice eight, which is currently 10-0 in dual meets this year, is off to its best season in school history heading into the weekend. In fact, the Hornets'' varsity eight (8-0), second varsity eight (6-0) and novice eight are a combined 24-0 in dual meets this year.

At last year''s WIRA Championships, Loyola Marymount won the gold medal in the varsity eight grand final for the second-consecutive season, finishing ahead of Sacramento State, Gonzaga, UC Davis and Puget Sound to round out the top five. Gonzaga won the WIRA crown in 2002 while Sacramento State was the champions in both 2000 and 2001.

Other women''s grand final times this Sunday include the second novice lightweight four (8 a.m.), novice four (8:20 a.m.), pair (8:40 a.m.), second novice eight (9 a.m.), lightweight four (9:20 a.m.), varsity four (9:40 a.m.), novice eight (10 a.m.), second varsity eight (10:40 a.m.), lightweight eight (11 a.m.) and varsity eight (noon).