The Massachusetts rowing team opens up its spring season this Saturday against Rhode Island in Hadley following more than a four-month layoff.

This will be the first race for the Minutewomen since early November, when they competed in the Green Monster regatta in Dartmouth, New Hampshire to close out their fall schedule. However, that was a novice meet where only freshmen competed, so most of the UMass roster hasn’t raced since Oct. 31.

Nevertheless, the Minutewomen will be ready to go in what will be their only home meet of the spring season, while going against a familiar foe in the Rams.

UMass heads into the second half of its season looking to build off its momentum from the fall and continue to find success heading into championship season in May.

Notable races from this past fall included the Head of the Oklahoma in Oklahoma City and the Head of the Charles in Boston.

In their first meet of the 2015-2016 season, the Minutewomen dominated at the Head of the Oklahoma, claiming 12 medals in the two-day event against national competition. A few weeks later, UMass competed at the historic Head of the Charles and earned two silver medals as a group on a weekend that featured nationally-ranked teams along with brutal weather conditions.

If nothing else, the Minutewomen can look to last season’s results as a source of motivation for the upcoming meets this spring.

Last year, UMass took home first place in the Atlantic 10 championships with 53 points and went on to the NCAA championships where it had its best finish with a second place scoring in the 8+.

The Minutewomen have 11 seniors on their roster, including Sam Kolovson, Krysten Menks and Allanah Rubi-Mooney, all rowers who have experience in big meets. Freshmen Jill McGill and Daniella du Toit also raced with the varsity squad in the fall, and will most likely be counted on this season to help UMass achieve postseason success.

Upcoming regattas on the horizon for the Minutewomen include the Knecht Cup and the Dad Vail Regatta.

The Knecht Cup will be held in West Windsor Township, New Jersey on April 9 and 10 and will feature teams from more than 70 universities, in what will be one of the largest and most important meets for UMass during the spring season.

About a month later, the Minutewomen will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they will compete among the likes of over 100 other schools, ranging as far north as Canada, to compete in the two-day Dad Vail Regatta. This will be the final tune-up for the Minutewomen as the following week is the NCAA championships, which will take place in Sacramento, California at the end of May.

Ryan Ames can be reached at [email protected].