Originally published Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 8:02 PM

Huskies face rival California again in Pac-10 crew championships Sunday

Washington's men's varsity 8 crew is looking for its third Pac-10 title in four years Sunday on Lake Natoma, near Sacramento.

By Terry Wood

Special to The Seattle Times

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The Washington men's varsity eight will row for its third conference title in four years as the top-ranked Huskies compete in the Pac-10 championships Sunday on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif., outside Sacramento.

The regatta also features No. 2 California and will serve as UW's final tuneup for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships May 27-29 in Camden, N.J. The Huskies will be gunning for their third national title in five years.

Last Saturday, the men's varsity eight, which includes junior Robert Munn (Redmond) and senior Hans Struzyna (Bellevue Christian), zoomed past 11th-ranked Stanford to win the 25th Windermere Cup by more than 12 seconds (five boat lengths).

Two weeks earlier the Huskies defeated Cal by a boat length (nearly three seconds) in the 100th renewal of the UW-Cal dual race on Montlake Cut.

"We're all going to try and figure out where we are at the Pac-10s," said coach Michael Callahan after Saturday's lopsided win. "I think we're in a good spot.

"The need is to continue to improve. I don't think we're there yet, and everyone knows it, too. They (UW's rowers) have to be honest with themselves and say they have to get better if they want to win these championships."

Washington won all four men's races at the 2010 Pac-10s but the varsity eight was upset by Cal in the IRA Grand Final. The opposite happened in 2009, when Cal won the Pac-10 title but was chased down by Washington in a memorable IRA final.

The Washington's women's varsity eight enters the Pac-10s ranked seventh. Cal is No. 1, Stanford No. 3, USC No. 4 and Washington State No. 14. UW's lineup last week included sophomore Madison Culp (Roosevelt) and freshman Erin Lauber (Edmonds-Woodway).

"We know what we need to improve on, being more aggressive in the first part of the race, and we're working hard on it every day," said women's coach Bob Ernst.

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