The Huskies will gain a newfound respect for salmon this weekend. A Washington men's crew will row upstream, competing in an unconventional event called The Great Race.

The UW eight leaves the relatively placid waters of the Montlake Cut to compete Saturday on the raging Waikato River in Hamilton, New Zealand. Not only will they be rowing upstream, they'll be doing it for nearly 2 ½ times the distance of a traditional 2,000-meter course.

The Huskies compete against host Waikato University in the fourth Gallagher Great Race. The nearly three-mile (4,800-meter) race annually features Waikato against a foreign crew.

The current flows from side to side, constantly changing directions and drastically slowing boats.

"It's a unique race and really a big deal in New Zealand, where it is televised nationally," UW coach Bob Ernst said of the event that will also be broadcast on radio and is expected to draw 20,000. "The course is different than we are used to, but it's still rowing and we'll train hard to put on a good show."

To prepare for the event, the Huskies' crew practiced a few days last month on choppy water in the Everett area.

Other Washington sports

Pick of the week


Cross country

Emerald City Open, at Lower Woodland Park, 10 a.m.

The scoop: Seattle U. hosts meet that includes runners from Seattle Pacific, Western Washington and Central Washington.

Men's soccer: Senior midfielder Mike Chabala (Fresno, Calif.) nearly equaled his career total for goals in the Huskies' first two matches at the Nike Portland Invitational last weekend. Chabala, who entered the season with three goals, scored a goal against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Creighton.

Women's soccer: The Huskies (0-2-2) are winless after four games for the first time since 1997, when they opened the season with five losses. Getting this year's first win won't be easy this weekend as UW plays at a tournament in Portland against 25th-ranked West Virginia and No. 21 Wisconsin.

Volleyball: No. 2 Washington has held opponents to a negative hitting percentage (kills minus errors, divided by total attempts) in three out of four matches this season. Opponents are hitting at a minus-.006 percent while the Huskies are hitting .478.

Seattle Pacific

Men's soccer: With five goals in his first five games, junior Andy Willis (Gig Harbor) already has matched his totals from each of the last two seasons. The No. 5 Falcons' 4-0-1 record is the best start in 14 years.

Women's soccer: No. 7-ranked Seattle Pacific's (3-0) defense, which has allowed one goal, remains stiff, but the attack appears much more dangerous, scoring 14. Senior Heidi Jacobson (Cedar Park Christian of Bothell) and junior Carolyn Nason (Lafayette, Co.) have scored in each game.

Volleyball: No. 24 SPU (5-3), which has faced four teams now ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 25, hosts No. 18 Chaminade tomorrow before starting conference matches. Sophomore Angie Wodrich (Richland) had team highs of 50 kills and 20 blocks in four matches, including a career-high 18 kills in an upset of No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney.

Seattle U.

Women's soccer: Seattle University (5-0), off to its best start since 1997, already has scored 19 goals after scoring 40 in 23 matches all of last year.

Men's soccer: The loss against UC San Diego on Sunday ended Seattle U.'s 13-match home win streak. The shutout was also the first for Seattle in 27 matches.

Volleyball: The Redhawks (1-8) are struggling through a tough nonconference schedule. SU's eight opponents are a combined 54-10.

Washington St.

Volleyball: Natalia Owens (Lima, Peru/Shoreline CC) and Jen Barcus (Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls) made the all-tournament team at the UC Davis Invitational last weekend. The Cougars (2-2) host the four-team Baden Cougar Challenge on Friday and Saturday.

Cross country: Sixteen of 18 on the men's team are from Washington, and 10 of the 17 women also hail from the state.

Western Washington

Football: In three career starts, including the first two games this season, junior quarterback James Monrean (Sehome of Bellingham) has thrown 12 TD passes. The Vikings (1-1) meet St. Cloud State (2-0) in their home opener Saturday at 6 p.m. at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.

Women's soccer: Sophomore forward Rosie Zadra (North Kitsap of Poulsbo), a transfer from Olympic CC, scored two late game-winning goals in 1-0 wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Bakersfield, helping WWU to a 3-1 start.

Other colleges

Central Washington: Senior middle blocker LeAnne McGahuey (Wenatchee) yesterday became the first volleyball player in school history to earn National Player of the Week honors.

Eastern Washington: Senior wide receiver Eric Kimble (Franklin Pierce of Tacoma) became the school's career leader in receptions after catching nine passes for 118 yards in EWU's season-opening 35-24 loss at San Jose State. Kimble has 175 catches and holds four school marks.

Evergreen State: The women's soccer victory over cross-state rival Central Washington 3-1 in Ellensburg last Tuesday was the first time since Sept. 29, 1996, that the Geoducks have topped the Wildcats. Evergreen is 3-0 and ranked fifth in NAIA Region I.

Gonzaga: Christine Soma (Portland) and Cristin Leverson (Richland) each have two goals as the women's soccer team has started 2-0-1, its best start in program history.

Funeral services for former Gonzaga athletic director and head men's basketball coach Hank Anderson will be Friday in Gig Harbor. Anderson, who coached the Bulldogs from 1952 to 1972, died Monday of an aortic aneurysm at Manorcare Health Services in Gig Harbor.

Northwest: The Eagles' volleyball team (6-0, 2-0 Cascade Collegiate Conference) broke Albertson's 16-match home win streak dating back two years. Senior Beth Geise (Medford, Ore.) was NAIA Regional Player of the Week for her 20 kills last weekend.

Pacific Lutheran: Sophomore Mike Ferguson (Auburn Riverside) scored four goals, including two game-winners, in a pair of wins and was named NWC Offensive Player of the Week. Ferguson had nine goals in 20 games last season.

Puget Sound: Senior Sarah Orzell (Alameda, Calif.) broke a Fort Steilacoom course record by 23 seconds in winning the UPS Open in a time of 20 minutes, 1 second.

Saint Martin's: First-year volleyball coach Phil Ibarra remained winless in five matches through last week, but two of those losses were against No. 13 UC San Diego and No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino last weekend.

Whitman: Sophomore Lydia Hayes (Boise, Idaho) was named Northwest Conference Player of the Week after collecting 54 kills while hitting .330 in leading the Missionaries to victories in two of their first three matches.

Whitworth: Whitworth opens its football season Saturday by hosting Redlands, the first time in three meetings the teams have played in Spokane. They were scheduled to play in September 2001 at the Pine Bowl, but the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 forced it to be rescheduled as the final regular-season game. It was never played after the Pirates tied for the NWC title and played in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Sports-information directors

contributed to this notebook