Washington men's crews sweep Cal

The Washington men's rowing team discovered smooth waters at the end of a rough month Saturday morning as the men's varsity eight defeated top-ranked California by more than two seconds on the Montlake Cut.

In the 99th edition of a tradition-rich regatta, first contested in 1903, the Washington men swept their four races (V-8, junior varsity eight, freshman eight and varsity four) while the women split, with Cal winning varsity eight and JV-8 titles. Cal's top-ranked women's varsity eight finished with a gaping lead of nearly nine seconds.

It was a spirit-lifting outcome for the fourth-ranked UW men. The varsity eight opened the season as the nation's preseason No. 1 team but had lost three races earlier in the month to a trio of top-five competitors: Cal (in San Diego), Wisconsin and Stanford (both on Stanford's home waters).

"I always believe in the guys," said men's coach Michael Callahan. "I knew they were going to have a race like this, and I know they're going to have more, too.

"As a coach and a teacher, the most satisfying thing is to see your students do what you think they can do, and they realize that they can do it."

In cool, slightly overcast conditions with virtually no wind, the men's varsity eight gave UW its third straight Schoch Cup by covering the 2,000-meter course in 5 minutes, 48.56 seconds and outdistancing Cal (5:50.86) by nearly a boat length. (Washington leads the all-time series 69-29-1.) The Golden Bears clipped UW by two seats at the San Diego Crew Classic in early April.

What went right this time?

"Believing in each other," Callahan said.

"Being a stronger team by not everyone trying to solve all the problems by themselves, but by trying to solve it as a unit, as a team. The closer we are as a cohesive unit, the more success we'll have."

With Katelin Snyder as coxswain, the UW men's V-8 built a small early advantage through the first 500 meters. Simon Taylor, a New Zealand native sitting in UW's seventh seat, said the Huskies used a burst of energy at 650 meters to take command.

Note

• Washington's seventh-ranked women's varsity eight finished more than two boat lengths behind Cal (6:28.99). The Huskies posted a 6:37.31.

"I knew Cal was going to be really good, and they are," said Bob Ernst, women's coach and director of rowing. "They were just better than we were, and there's nothing we can do about it today. Cal is outstanding, especially their varsity, and we're not outstanding. We're just regular. We're going to keep training and hopefully keep getting faster and try to get invited to the NCAAs."