Men's and women's crews record opposite results against Cal

A small sign under the Montlake Bridge prohibits boats from exceeding seven knots while between Webster Point and Shilshole Bay.

California's varsity eight might have to be reported to the authorities.

The Bears torched the 2,000-meter course in 5:48.5 and defeated the Husky eight by nine seconds. The win set the tone as Cal went on to take the regatta Saturday.

"I honestly don't know how they can get any faster," said varsity coxswain Tim Lewis. "They are extremely clean."

The Huskies were not discouraged, however.

"We are young, and we're learning stuff, so you can't judge based on margins," said men's varsity coach Bob Ernst. "It's too easy to look bad when you race a boat that's that good."

The Bears' success has become somewhat of a watershed for men's intercollegiate rowing. With its alumni and supporters lining the program's pockets, Cal has started canvassing the globe for rowing prodigies.

"It's a matter of money and how much you want to spend in recruiting," said Ernst. "I never went and asked anyone for a quarter of a million dollars (a budget similar to Cal's for scholarships and recruiting expenses)."

But the Huskies make no excuses, and while they were beat with a lot of open water between the two boats, they managed to find a silver lining.

"I'm really satisfied," said Lewis. "Over the past three weeks, we have improved. We were flip-flopping our lineup, but it was set for the last week and a half of practices. We really gelled."

Cal also won the JV eight and varsity four, but the Huskies, aided by a spirited crowd at the finish line, took the freshman eight race by five seconds.

In contrast, as the men dissected their races in search of positives, the women didn't have to look far. They swept all four races and added an exclamation point in their last race with a 16-second victory by the novice eight on their way to an 11th straight victory over Cal.

"We had a couple of flaws, but we were super focused," said women's varsity coxswain Mary Whipple of her race. "The water was choppy in the cut, and it distracted our sprint, but every day we are gaining speed."

The distracting culprit was a boat that was allowed to pass through the cut during a break between races, on the condition that it didn't make a wake. Upon seeing the varsity shells behind it, the boat picked up speed creating rough water.

"The unexpected happens, especially in outdoor sports," said varsity coach Jan Harville. "We do a good job of dealing with that."

Coaches and rowers alike praised the crowd involvement at the races. The pedestrian walkway on the Montlake Bridge was packed, and there was a nice-sized crowd at the finish line as well.

"There were so many people on the bridge, it was awesome," said junior Jenni Vesnaver. "It seems our support is growing, and that gets us fired up."