As the scorching heat of summer begins to fade into the fall, NCSU Club Crew takes to the water for its fall season in hopes of building upon last year’s accomplishments.

Those accomplishments include winning the gold medal in the men’s four category at the Head of the Hooch Tournament and earning the most overall points in the Augusta Invitational last spring.

The crew club welcomes one of the largest recruiting classes in recent memory and looks to maintain the success of last year’s rowing squad, according to member Rebecca Wood, a sophomore in First Year College.

“This will be my very first time competing in 5K races and all the new novice rowers are going to be a great addition to the team,” Wood said. “Hopefully this will be one of the best seasons of Wolfpack rowing.”

The official start of the club’s season will be this Friday when the team participates in the annual Million Meter Row event. Since its inception in 2004, the event has been used as a fundraiser for the Jimmy V Foundation and has also been raising money for the club.

The event requires members to row a million meters collectively over two days. Members of the crew will take thirty-minute shifts on the rowing machine and row six different shifts.

The event will take place in the Brickyard starting this Friday at 7 a.m. and will end at the flea market at the N.C. State Fairgrounds on Saturday.

The club begins its rowing season by hosting an exhibition match on Sept. 26 at Falls Lake and will be competing against other crews from around the state.

The team then heads to Boston to compete in the Head of the Charles, the largest boat race in the world with over 300,000 spectators on hand.

Other key competitions include the Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, Tenn., and a regatta at Davidson. The Pack ends its fall season at the Head of the South regatta in Atlanta, Ga. on Nov. 14.

Club President Errikos Anagnostopoulos said he would like to see more of the same from the team this year.

“In general, I would like to see the team continue to grow and to have success at the regattas,” Anagnostopoulos said.

Anagnostopoulos said it is satisfying it is for him to see new members earning gold medals at the competitions and allowing the club to grow each and every year.

The club is celebrating its 20th anniversary and continues to focus on competing at a high level at regattas, gaining new membership through events such as the Million Meter Row, and developing the skills of novice rowers.

“Seeing Crew doing better year by year is the most important thing of all,” Anagnostopoulos said.