UW Four Comes From Behind To Win Henley Visitors' Challenge Cup In Record Time

HENLEY-ON-THAMES, U.K. – A four-oared Washington men's crew won The Visitors' Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in record time Sunday, coming from behind the final 100 meters to chase down a crew from Tideway Scullers School and Molesey Boat Club to win the race by three feet.
 
The win was the 10th Henley trophy in Washington rowing history, and marked the second Husky victory in the 175-year history of the Visitors' Challenge Cup, as the UW men previously won it 1977.
 
Washington's men's eight fell to Oxford Brookes "A" crew in the UW's other Henley final Sunday – the Temple Challenge Cup.
 
The victorious Husky four was comprised of half of the Huskies' 2022 varsity eight: stroke Jack Walkey, three-seat Logan Ullrich, two-seat Gert-Jan van Doorn and bow Mattijs Holler. 
 
In the Visitors' final, the Huskies rowed stroke-for-stroke with their opponent – a British four made up of Harvard and Yale rowers – at the start of the race. Early on, the UW crew edged in front, but only narrowly.
 
By the halfway point, Tideway and Molesey and had caught the Huskies, moving just in front. The British rowers increased their advantage to a full length in the third quarter of the race, but at the three-quarter mark, the Huskies had closed the gap.
 
Both teams launched into a full sprint as they neared the finish line and, at the end, the Husky bow ball crossed the finish line a deck-length ahead of the British shell's. The offical Henley verdict gave the UW the win by three feet.
 
Washington's time of 6:27 set a new Henley Royal Regatta record for the event, breaking a mark set by Cambridge University & Leander Club in 2019, by one second.
 
In The Temple Challenge Cup final, the Huskies and Oxford Brookes rowed evenly out of the start, with Washington gaining the early advantage. Before halfway, however, Brookes had moved slightly in front. After that move, the local crew moved away from the Huskies and won the race for the fifth time in the last eight Henley regattas. In the Huskies' most recent trip to Henley, UW beat an Oxford Brookes crew in the 2018 Temple Cup final.
 
Washington's eight was one of 75 entries in The Temple Challenge Cup field, which was narrowed to 32 by qualifying races. The Huskies won four straight races over five days to reach the final.
 
In The Ladies' Challenge Plate final, UW alumnus Peter Lancashire '21, stroking the Leander Club crew, beat a University of California eight in the final, by one length.
 
In all, eight UW crews and scullers participated in the Henley Royal Regatta in 2022, along with six Washington alumni, rowing for other clubs. 
 
UW Lineups For Friday Races:
 
The Visitors' Challenge Cup (M4-)
Stroke: Jack Walkey (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
3: Logan Ullrich (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Gert-Jan van Doorn (Leiden, The Netherlands)
Bow: Mattijs Holler (Vienna, Austria)
 
Temple Challenge Cup (M8+)
Cox: Zach Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Quinn Cooney (Kirkland, Wash./Tesla STEM)
7: Blake Bradshaw (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Nils Vorberg (Hamburg, Germany)
5: Robert Pluijmert (Dieren, The Netherlands)
4: Pablo Matan (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep)
3: Harry Fitzpatrick (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Quinn Hall (Chester Springs, Pa./Malvern Prep)
Bow: Max Heid (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
 
Huskies at Henley History
Here is a list of UW victories at the Henley Royal Regatta:
 
1977 – Grand Challenge Cup (men's eight)
1977 – Visitors' Challenge Cup (men's coxless four)
1981 – Ladies Challenge Plate (men's eight)
2000 – Henley Prize (women's eight)
2003 – Ladies Challenge Plate (men's eight)
2010 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2012 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2015 – Prince Albert Challenge Cup (men's coxed four)
2018 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2022 – Visitors' Challenge Cup (men's coxless four)
Other appearances: 1958, 1973, 1984, 1995, 1997, 2013, 2018
 
Note: UW alumni have competed and won at Henley on numerous, rowing for clubs other than UW. The above list includes only those crews who won their trophy under the University of Washington name.