Huskies, Bears battle it out at Pac-10s, men come out on top

The Washington men’s crew team won all of their Pac-10 championship races yesterday in Rancho Cordova, Calif. The men’s varsity eight boat trailed Cal for most of the race, but was able to put forward a winning effort in the final stretch to overtake the Bears and cross the finish line in 5:52.10, just one second ahead of the second place Cal.

“It was a really tough race,” sophomore Simon Taylor said.

The rest of the regatta was just as close, as Washington and Cal finished in the top two in all four of the men’s boat races.

“We have nothing but respect for competition in the Pac-10 conference,” said Ben Fletcher, the men’s assistant coach. “We did our best to represent the alumni and the University.”

The Washington women’s varsity eight didn’t fare as well. The women’s varsity eight crew for the Golden Bears, ranked No. 1 nationally, protected its unbeaten streak with a victory yesterday. The Huskies finished in fifth place with 6:49.60, 10 seconds behind Cal.

“I think that they just got beat by better teams today,” said Bob Ernst, the UW women’s coach. “They didn’t have a very good day today and other folks did. It was a very tight competition.”

Due to the loss, the UW’s women’s crews will not be eligible to compete in the NCAA Championships.

The regatta was scored on a point system, giving points for finishes in the men’s and women’s varsity eight, JV eight, freshman eight and varsity four boats. Washington won the men’s competition with 72 points, and Cal won the women’s competition with 79 points. The UW women finished fourth overall with 57 points.

The UW finished first in the freshman contest with a time of 5:58.60, which was good enough to beat second place Cal by more than six seconds.

The UW and Cal once again finished in the top two in the men’s varsity four race, and the Huskies took the top spot. The UW finished in 6:47.30, edging out the Bears, who came in with 6:52.6. Stanford finished a distant third in 6:58.90.

Cal clearly dominated the women’s novice competition, winning by more than seven seconds with a time of 7:14.20. The Huskies came in second in 7:21.90 followed by WSU, OSU and Gonzaga.

The UW women’s only victory came in the women’s varsity four race, where the Huskies finished in 7:39.60, almost four seconds ahead of second place Cal.

After yesterday’s victory, the UW men will travel to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in June.