Robot: Charlie 
Competition: Silicon Valley Regional, Davis Sacramento Regional

This year was a year full of new things, starting off with new co-presidents and organizational skills. Right from the get go, our team was well organized and prepared for anything coming. We had meetings every Tuesday and Thursday, using power points and lectures to train rookie and veteran members. Also, we had team building activities so in a few weeks, everyone knew everyone's name. Even though we were so prepared, no one can actually be fully prepared for what was in store on Kickoff.

Local teams, including us, gathered at UC Davis to watch the Kickoff on January 6th. We were in awe when we saw the new game, Rack 'N Roll. The six weeks of build could not have been any shorter, and we used every second of it. We thought that this year, we would help the community out more, so we mentored a rookie FRC team, 2156 (the Wire Freaks), and we also held a practice day, where 6 local teams came to play on our field for a whole day. After those short six weeks were over, we were ready for our next challenge, competition.

Our first stop was Silicon Valley, which ended up being our 'practice regional.' But for a practice regional, we did great. Of course, we had a fun time living in the hotel for a few days, but the competition was just as wonderful. Being able to experience Silicon Valley for the first time for the majority of the team was great. Rookies got a taste of the regional, and our robot and drive team got a taste of the competition in store. We made it to quarterfinals, being invited to the 4th Alliance by 1070 (Royal Robotrons) and 254 (the Cheesy Poofs) as their third alliance partner. Unfortunately, we lost in quarterfinals 2-1. Despite the loss in Silicon Valley, we had high hopes for our next regional, the Davis-Sacramento.

There is really only one phrase to describe how the Davis-Sacramento Regional went: FANTABULOUSLY SPLENDID! Okay, so we did not win, but that is not the point. Going into the regional, we had high expectations for ourselves and we intended on making our expectations come true. After 10 qualification matches, we were at 2 wins, 8 losses, our hopes just a skosh bruised but still high. Despite our low seed, we were able to still show that we were a good team and had a good robot. We were invited to join Alliance 3, composed of 1351 (TKO) and 1280 (the Raging Seabiscuits). We were so ecstatic to go on to the quarterfinals! We won 2-0, so on to semifinals we went. We were faced against a tough alliance, all strong ringer-scorers. Despite our wonderful alliance and great strategy, we lost 1-2 (to learn more, read "Can't Defeat Fate" in the "Fembot Stories" section). In Davis, we were able to woo the judges with our wings and we received the Judges Award on Friday. We may have gone home without the big regional champion's trophy and banner, but for sure, we felt like total winners.

This year, our team was able to become its full potential, and next year, we will grow better even more, we are positive of it. We do not know what lies ahead, but we do know that whatever it is, we will take the challenge and prove to everyone who doubts that we can do it - even if we are girls!