Washington men edge California to win Pac-10 crew championship

GOLD RIVER, Calif. — Coach Michael Callahan didn't want it any other way. The men's Pac-10 Championship came down to the two best varsity crews in the nation, meaning either Washington or California would be able to claim bragging rights as the league's best program.

This time around, the spoils went to UW.

With the 1.7-second victory in the varsity eight final, the Huskies clinched the 2011 rowing title, the 34th in program history, and the fourth in the past five years for UW. There was little celebration, though, as the Washington crews quickly moved off the water to de-rig boats in face of torrential rains that swept across the Sacramento region.

"I was excited to win the last Pac-10 Championship as we move on to the new phase in the conference's history," Callahan said. "I thought the guys performed really well. I knew we would have some really strong challenges. I knew we had prepared well for (Cal) and I think we're in a good spot heading into IRAs."

The Huskies won the varsity eight final in 5 minutes, 38.2 seconds, about four seats ahead of the Golden Bears, who closed on UW at the 1,500-meter mark to make for a tight sprint to the finish.

Washington moved into position for the Pac-10 title after winning gold medals in the varsity four and the second varsity eight races.

The most impressive UW victory came in the varsity four race, as the Huskies were almost 20 seconds ahead of the Golden Bears, winning in 6:29.6. The Huskies boat had a lot of internal competition for seats after a surprising win by the program's "B" boat in last week's Windermere Cup.

Washington posted an 11-second win in the men's second varsity eight classification, crossing the finish line in 5:41.5. It was also the third-fastest time in an eight-oared boat, perhaps indicative of the Huskies' overall depth.

The IRA Championships are June 2-4 on the Cooper River in Camden. N.J.

The Washington women's crew was fourth overall and won silver in the varsity four and bronze in the novice eight. The varsity eight finished fifth.

The Cougars' varsity eight and varsity four crews each notched their best finishes since 2008 as Washington State women's rowing placed fifth overall.

UW softball hosts NCAA regional

The Washington softball team will host an NCAA regional Thursday through Saturday.

In the Seattle Regional, the No. 12-seeded Huskies (34-14) will face Portland State (34-16) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The regional opens with Auburn (39-17) playing Brigham Young (38-16) at 3:30 p.m.

The championship game of the double-elimination tournament will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Huskies will be making their 18th consecutive postseason appearance.

Baseball

Arizona scored in each of the first four innings and the No. 26 Wildcats defeated Washington State 8-1 to even a three-game Pac-10 series at Bailey-Brayton Field on Sunday.

After the game's start was delayed 46 minutes by rain, the Wildcats scored a run in the first, three in the second and third and one in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead against the Cougars (21-23, 6-1).

• The series between Seattle University and Pacific was canceled by rain.

• The finale between Gonzaga and Portland has been moved to Monday at noon.

Compiled from sports-information reports.