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LOS ANGELES - Loyola Marymount rowing has its first opportunity to compete against competition outside of the program this Saturday when the Lions and UC Santa Barbara are scheduled to scrimmage in Marina Del Rey.

"We're really excited to finally get the competitive season underway," said Head Coach Justin Price. "We've been training all year, and obviously it's the first year of our coaching staff, so we've been working really hard to instill some basic fundamentals in our culture."

Price says that the benefit of organizing these scrimmages against different schools before the formal 2000m racing begins on March 18 in Sacramento is bringing other opponents into our training environment to give the team an opportunity to react and learn in a different setting.

"The most important thing for our team is the way we train, the way we race, the way we compete, and the way we carry ourselves on and off the water," said Price. "We're really proud of the work that they've done so far, and we're excited to put it to the test this spring. The athletes have done a great job of buying into the program and buying into the culture that we are trying to develop."

All LMU scrimmages and races are open to the public. Racing will begin at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday in front of the Jane Browne Bove boathouse in the Marina. Viewing for spectators and fans will be available from the boathouse.

"We're looking forward to seeing how hard the athletes compete," said Price.

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