The Iowa rowing team will head back on the road this weekend for its third consecutive event away from Iowa City of the spring season. The Hawkeyes will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to compete in the Pac-12 Invite.

The Hawkeyes will compete in Group C of the competition on Saturday. Iowa will take on No. 8 Washington, Washington State, and Clemson. On Sunday, No. 4 Stanford and UCLA will join the group.

“It is going to be a great weekend for us,” head coach Jeff Garbutt said. “Taking our team to a place where rowing isn’t traditional in Las Vegas. We will be racing all the Pac-12 teams, some of which are ranked very high in the top ten.”

The Hawkeyes are coming off a successful weekend when Iowa’s First Varsity Four won the grand final in the Sunshine State Invitational in Sarasota, Florida. Iowa’s boat beat second-place Kansas State by over six seconds.

Iowa’s First Varsity Four won Big Ten Boat of the Week on Wednesday after its victory. The team consists of sophomores Livvy Osgood and Jaecee Hall, freshmen Laura Bates and Cara Burns, and junior Heidi Hines.

“I was extremely proud of my entire team, especially my own boat,” Hines said. “To get nominated Big Ten boat of the week two weeks in a row is very exciting. It is impressive the progress we have made in a short amount of time.”

RELATED: Iowa rowing Varsity Four wins grand final at Sunshine State Invitational

This is the second straight week an Iowa rowing team has won Big Ten Boat of the Week. Iowa’s First Varsity Eight boat earned the honor on March 30 after its first-place performance in the Ivy League-Big Ten Invitational.

“I was really excited about our performance,” Garbutt said. “Another week of growth and success for our team. Seeing athletes win their first competition of the season is really exciting and great for team growth.”

This weekend is Iowa’s last meet before it starts conference play later this month. The Hawkeyes’ first conference meet of the season will be the Big Ten Invitational April 15-16.

Iowa is competing in the Pac-12 Invite for the first time since the 2019 season, when it traveled to Redwood Shores, California. The 12th-ranked Hawkeyes fell to the No. 1 UC-Berkeley Golden Bears in 2019.

The Hawkeyes are looking forward to the chance to grow against stiff competition, as Iowa will be in the same group as top-10 ranked Stanford and Washington.

“This weekend gives us another chance to continue to grow and improve this season, especially against some great competition.” Garbutt said. “Another chance to learn about what we are doing and how to get better.”

Following the Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Florida, the Hawkeyes will have two consecutive home meets on the Iowa River. Iowa will host Michigan State and Tulsa on April 23, and welcome Minnesota, Oregon State, University of Central Florida, University of Southern California, and Wisconsin on April 29.

The Hawkeyes’ home meets will serve as the end of the regular season. Iowa will row in the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis on May 15.