BERKELEY – The Cal women's rowing team will take a novice crew to compete at the Head of the Lagoon Regatta on Saturday at the Foster City Lagoon.

The Bears will have one boat race in the Collegiate Novice 8+ and a pair of boats row in the Collegiate Novice 4+.

While Cal's freshmen competed two weeks ago with the rest of their teammates at the Head of the American on Lake Natoma, Saturday marks the first time they will have come together for a regatta as freshmen only. 

"This is the first opportunity for them to really step up and create the culture they want, and start creating their legacy," Cal assistant and freshman coach Maggie Cheek said. "It comes down to who shows up and who adapts, and how we come together and show up for raceday. We are looking for attitude and how we represent Cal – how we carry ourselves around the course."

Greta Weil will serve as coxswain for the 8+ boat with Carly Wright, Sophie Failero, Caroline Fagg, Isabella Nazzal, Moka Gagnon, Charlotte Kaplan-Pettus, Anna Stahlschimdt and Nyan Morgan rowing for her. Wright, Kaplan-Pettus, Stahlschmidt, Gagnon and Failero were part of the winning crew in the Freshman Eight race at the Head of the American.

Kaitlyn Turner will cox one of the 4+ boats and will be joined by Wright, Stahlschmidt, Fagg and Morgan. Weil will be the coxswain for Cal's other 4+ and will have Jameson McKenna, Melissa Wright, Grace Gervais and Kathryn Zaloom. Turner coxed the Freshman Eight to the Head of the American victory.

Cheek has competed several times at the Foster City Lagoon as both an athlete and coach and says the coxswain's role is magnified in this competition.

"It's really a coxswain's course," she said. "There are lots of twists and turns in it. The challenge for the coxswain is to be prepared in advance so they are not figuring it out on raceday."

The Collegiate Novice 4+ race goes of at 9:35 a.m. on Saturday with the Collegiate Novice 8+ beginning at 8 a.m.