No. 1 Washington Women Win Windermere Cup Over Cal
The No. 1-ranked Washington men's and women's rowing teams earned a large haul of hardware after winning four men's and four women's races at the 2021 Windermere Cup Regatta Saturday morning on the Montlake Cut.
The Huskies won both the men's and women's Windermere Cups (varsity eights) and Erickson Cascade Cups (second varsity eights) vs. Cal, while also retaining both of the trophies that go to the annual varsity eight winner in the UW-California Dual – the Schoch Cup for the men and Simpson Cup for the women.
Washington also won the men's varsity four and men's fourth varsity eight as well as the women's four and the women's third varsity eight. Cal won the men's third varsity eight and Seattle Pacific's varsity eight women's crew beat UW's second novice eight in the first race of the regatta.
Saturday's regatta was the first intercollegiate rowing event on the Montlake Cut in nearly two years – since the 2019 Windermere Cup/Opening Day Regatta. This year, due to the inability for foreign crews to travel to Windermere Cup, the event played host to the UW-Cal Dual, the most important annual dual in the western United States. California came into the races ranked No. 2 in the nation in the latest men's poll, and No. 7 in women's. Today's races were the first of the year for the Cal men.
"I've been reminding everyone," said Washington men's head coach Michael Callahan, "it's a special year to even get here. You have to commend your competitor every weekend, because we know how hard it was for our students to get here and you know the other side had to do that too."
The two varsity eights races were easily the most competitive of the season for both the UW men and women. Cal's men led at 500 meters before the Huskies caught them in the second 500. Washington won the men's race in 5:44.397, a bit more than a full length ahead of the Bears, who finished in 5:47.045.
"We have a lot of experience, a lot of savvy, and I think it showed," Callahan remarked. "The top two boats were really very patient and then they knew when to take over the race. It's been really fun to coach such experienced student-athletes."
The UW women's winning margin was greater than in the men's race, as the Husky varsity crossed the finish line in 6:28.304, 11 seconds in front of the Bears' 6:39.360/
"They had traction from the first stroke," UW women's head coach Yasmin Farooq said of her varsity eight. "There was a fair amount of emotion in the boat meeting for the varsity eight, and the 2V, before they launched. All of the fifth-year seniors were in those two boats – Molly Gallaher and Dana Brooks in the 2V and then in the varsity, Lark Skov, Tabea Schendekehl and Skylar Jacobson.
"Here are five people who missed their senior year last year now at Windermere Cup, and even though we didn't have the crowds and the log booms and the yachts like we usually do, you could definitely feel the magic out there," Farooq continued "I just don't even know how to describe it. I felt it at the start. I felt it when we went by Fox Point, and then when we entered the Cut, it was like the spirit of this place was alive and well. For those five to be able to have their first and last home race of the year here, even in the middle of this pandemic, it's an incredibly special place."
"This has had a big lead-up because it's the only home race we had this season," said Schendekhl, who will row with the German women's eight in two weeks for a spot in the Olympics. "Cal Dual is always a big deal and to have it on the home course always feels special. To be the last race, together with the Windermere Cup really was intense emotionally. We all just tried to channel that energy and enjoy it."
"You could tell from the moment we launched, but really all week and all season, we've been gearing up for this race," said UW men's team captain Steve Rosts, who rowed in the 2V Saturday. "There's been a lot of excitement, a lot of nerves. Not racing last year for sure added to it."
Next up, the Washington men and women will have two weeks to prepare for the Pac-12 Championships, Sunday, May 16 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif., outside of Sacramento. The Husky men and women have won each of the last three Pac-12 titles, in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The national championships follow two weekends later. The men's IRA Championships Regatta will take place May 28-29 at Mercer Lake in New Jersey, while the women will compete at the NCAA Championships May 28-30 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.
FULL RESULTS
Women's Windermere Cup –Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 6:28.304
2. California – 6:39.360
Men's Windermere Cup –Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 5:42.397
2. California – 5:47.045
Women's Erickson Cascade Cup –Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 6:32.009
2. California – 6:44.547
Men's Erickson Cascade Cup –Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 5:45.817
2. California – 5:51.525
Women's Third Varsity Eight / Novice Eight
1. Washington 3V8+ – 6:40.699
2. Washington N8+ – 6:47.465
3. California 3V8+ – 6:48.857
Men's Third Varsity Eight
1. California – 5:52.647
2. Washington – 5:59.279
Women's Collegiate Varsity Four
1. Washington – 7:13.814
2. California – 7:36.017
Men's Collegiate Open Four
1. Washington – 6:45.853
2. Puget Sound – 7:22.035
Women's Collegiate Open Eight
1. Seattle Pacific – 7:02.504
2. Washington – 7:10.911
Men's Collegiate Open Eight
1. Washington 4V8+ – 5:57.440
2. Puget Sound 4V8+ – 6:05.638
WOMEN'S LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Tenacity
Cox: Nina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills)
Stroke: Ella Cossill (Gold Coast, Australia)
7: Tabea Schendekehl (Dortmund, Germany)
6: Holly Dunford (Tadworth, England, U.K.)
5: Holly Drapp (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest)
4: Lark Skov (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs)
3: Angharad Broughton (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.)
2: Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School)
Bow: Skylar Jacobson (Lakewood, Wash./Steilacoom)
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Dana Brooks (Tiburon, Calif./Redwood)
Stroke: Hallie Jensen (Spokane, Wash./Lakeside)
7: Isabel van Opzeeland (Hoofddorp, The Netherlands)
6: McKenna Bryant (Kent, Wash./Kennedy Catholic)
5: Taylor Buell (Olympia, Wash./Capital)
4: Molly Gallaher (Snoqualmie, Wash./Skyline)
3: Carmen McNamara-Smith (Seattle, Wash./Center School)
2: Joïe Zier (Orcas Island, Wash./Orcas Island)
Bow: Brittani Shappell (Bellingham, Wash./Walworth Barbour)
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: Jean LaFromboise
Cox: Izzy Angulo (Shoreline, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
Stroke: Dimitra Tsamopoulou (Athens, Greece)
7: Fiona Shields (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge)
6: Abby Adebiyi (London, U.K.)
5: Laurel Safranek (Anchorage, Alaska/West Anchorage)
4: Claire Marion (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos)
3: Grace Epp (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
2: Ava Trogus (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest)
Bow: Ellie Bruce (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si)
Varsity Four
Stroke: Katherine Slack (Everett, Wash./Kamiak)
3: Nikki Martincic (Newtown, Sydney, Australia)
2: Sophia Chaffey (Redmond, Wash./Bellevue Christian)
Bow: Jenna Phillips (Dayton, Wash./Dayton)
Cox: Sachi Yamamoto (Seattle, Wash./Franklin)
Novice Eight
Cox: Carina Baxter (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge)
Stroke: Claire Surbeck (Bellevue, Wash./International School)
7: Brooklyn Fehling (Puyallup, Wash./Puyallup)
6: Audrey Tarr (Seattle, Wash./The Northwest School)
5: Haley Stoker (Bellingham, Wash./Bellingham)
4: Renee Rockett (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
3: Grace Vander Griend (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome)
2: Victoria Park (Bellevue, Wash./The Bush School)
Bow: Isabelle Boniface (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs)
Second Novice Eight
Cox: Cece Wendel (Springfield, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy)
Stroke: Mikayla Messinger (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington)
7: Wen Eckelberg (Seattle, Wash./Cleveland STEM)
6: Maddie Murphy (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona)
5: Bridget Savage (Unalaska, Alaska/Unalaska)
4: Katie Dolan (Barrington, R.I./Barrington)
3: Olivia Craig (Portland, Ore./St. Mary's Academy)
2: Maya Flynn (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee)
Bow: Savanna Tucker (Austin, Texas/L.C. Anderson)
MEN'S LINEUPS
Varsity Eight+
Shell: Shoe DaWg
Cox: Adam Gold (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Academy)
Stroke: George Esau (Long Lake, Minn./Orono)
7: Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Grant/Harvard)
6: Jack Walkey (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
5: Peter Lancashire (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
4: Gert-Jan van Doorn (Leiden, The Netherlands)
3: Mattijs Holler (Vienna, Austria)
2: Adam Krol (Toronto, Ont., Canada)
Bow: Samuel Halbert (Redmond, Wash./Woodinville)
Second Varsity Eight+
Shell: Chuck Holtz III
Cox: Zach Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Steve Rosts (Jordon, Ont., Canada)
7: Ian Engstrom (Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury)
6: Felix Reinhold (Cape Town, South Africa)
5: Nils Vorberg (Hamburg, Germany)
4: David Bridges (Portland, Ore./Jesuit)
3: Paolo Bifulco (Portland, Ore./Lincoln)
2: Sebastian Ritter (Regensburg, Germany)
Bow: Chase Deitner (Perth Australia)
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: Chuck Holtz II
Cox: Thomas Wenk (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier)
Stroke: Jeffrey Thiers (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
7: Jack Premzic (Davis, Calif./Davis Senior)
6: Max Mason (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
5: Max Heid (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
4: Chase Barrows (Snohomish, Wash./Archbishop Murphy)
3: Austin Regier (Burien, Wash./Mount Rainier)
2: Pablo Matan (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep)
Bow: Colin Kwiecinski (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier)
Fourth Eight+
Shell: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Nick Dunlop (Sydney, Australia)
Stroke: Robert Pluijmert (Dieren, The Netherlands)
7: Abe Eligator (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck)
6: Blake Bradshaw (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Archie Drummond (Twickenham, London, U.K.)
4: Louis Gallia IV (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit)
3: Gus Altucher (Portland, Ore./Cleveland)
2: Caleb Cowles (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Bow: Luca Unkovic (Paris, France/Redwood (Calif.))
Varsity Four+
Shell: Lou Gellermann
Stroke: Michael Thiers (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
3: Owen Malone IV (Alexandria, Va./Gonzaga College High School)
2: Giulio Acernese (Rome, Italy)
Bow: Chandler Kovacevich (Snohomish, Wash./Monroe)
Cox: Isabel Klein (Seattle, Wash./University Prep)