Everything the women’s crew team has been working for the last eight months will be tested Saturday at the Central Regional Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tenn.”This is the pinnacle of the season,” Julie Higgins, co-captain of the varsity eight boat said. “This is what we’ve been working for; it all comes down to our race on Saturday.”There are four NCAA crew regions. Ohio Sate is part of the Central Region which covers all schools between Miami, Texas, Kansas, Michigan and Virginia. “There will be 13 teams competing,” said coach Andy Teitelbaum. “There are more crews in the region, but the ones who feel they don’t have a chance decided not to make the trip.”The Buckeyes varsity eight boat is seeded No. 4 going into the regatta, but in order to be selected for the NCAA Championships it must finish in the top three. “Michigan, Virginia and Michigan State are seeded above us,” Teitelbaum said. “Michigan State beat us by one second the last time. You’ve got to believe that we can beat them the next time. When the boats are all that close it doesn’t matter what your ranked, it’s whoever races the best.”In order to travel to the championships as a program (varsity eight, second varsity eight, and varsity four) the team must also place in the top three.”Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin are the top three programs,” Teitelbaum said. “We need the second varsity to find a way to beat Michigan and Virginia. They are capable of it, but it will have to be their best race of the year. And we’ve made changes in the varsity four.”Teitelbaum explained there will be a new group racing in that boat. “We had a novice four race the varsity four and the novices were faster,” Teitelbaum said. “I think the four that is racing has shown they are able to compete with the other programs,” Higgins said.Higgins said qualifying for the NCAA championships has been the team’s goal all season, but just lately the goal seems within reach.”We lost a lot of people last year,” Higgins said. “At the beginning of the year, not as many people thought we could get there. Especially when we raced Virginia and they beat us. The NC’s seemed out of our hands.”If the Buckeyes advance to the championships they will travel to Gainesville, Ga., May 28-31.