Varsity eight crews split races at Windermere Cup

May 3, 2015, 12:07 AM

An energetic crowd and cloudless day stamped the 29th annual Windermere Cup as one to be remembered. Add in the dramatic finishes of the varsity eight races and the regatta concluded an exciting day on the Montlake Cut. With the women’s varsity eight winning the Windermere Cup, the Washington crew team won three of the final four cup events. The under-23 New Zealand crew beat out the UW men’s varsity eight in a thrilling race, in which first and second place were never separated by more than three seconds. The men’s second varsity eight and women’s second varsity eight convincingly swept the two Erickson Cascade Cup races. The UW also swept the men’s open four and women’s varsity four events on a beautiful opening day for the Seattle Yacht Club’s boating season. In the men’s varsity eight, the New Zealand crew led for the entire race, but the UW men surged over the final quarter to cut that lead to less than a boat-length, with the Huskies finishing just more than two seconds behind New Zealand’s time of 5:43.4. “[The New Zealand crew] are world-class athletes and they have a big mission ahead of them,” UW men’s head coach Michael Callahan said. “It’s really great competition. I think [our showing] was strong. We’re one of the only universities in the United States that is taking on that challenge. It says a lot about us.” In a thrilling finish against Virginia, the fifth-ranked UW women’s varsity eight managed its ninth consecutive Windermere Cup victory, improving to 21-8 all-time at Seattle’s premier rowing event. The Huskies fell behind early and trailed by two seconds at the halfway mark. They kicked into gear and closed the gap, edging the Cavaliers by more than a boat length in front of a raucous crowd with a time of 6:29.6. “There’s nothing like rowing in front of a home crowd, especially on a day like this,” women’s head coach Bob Ernst said. “If you’re a Husky, this is as good as it gets.” After last week’s loss to California, the women prepared hard to earn this result in front of their fans at the biggest regatta in Seattle. “We had a bit of a disappointment last week against Cal, and we really focused on gaining speed this week,” senior Fiona Gammond said. “Going through the [Montlake] Cut is just one of the best experiences ever. I love this day. The crowd made the biggest impact.” Thousands lined the course to celebrate the opening of boating season and the fans made sure their team got the appropriate home field advantage. “This event is one of the reasons I came here,” junior Finn Schroeder said. “I saw videos of the Windermere Cup, and we don’t have anything like this back home in Germany. That basically sold me.” Under-23 New Zealand National Team coxswain Caleb Shepherd said he could barely hear himself shouting to his teammates when New Zealand and the UW men’s varsity eight made their way through the Montlake Cut to the finish line. “Last night we were saying, ‘One thing New Zealand probably doesn’t estimate is how loud this is going to be,’” Callahan said. “That energy from the fans was really incredible and definitely helped us make that final push, probably in both the women’s and men’s races.” Both teams now have their sights set on the Pac-12 championships in two weeks, hoping to qualify for nationals, with the men vying for their fifth consecutive national title. Reach contributing writer Evan Franklin at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @franklination13

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