University of Washington
Windermere Cup/Opening Day
UW Men's Crew Fights But Falls To New Zealand In Windermere Cup
May 02, 2015 | Men's Rowing
SEATTLE – UW men's crew hung tough against the New Zealand National Team, one of the top international crews in the world, but ultimately fell as the Kiwis took first to win the 2015 Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut on Saturday, May 2.
“Even though we lost, we saw some significant improvement this week,” UW head coach Michael Callahan said. “Our base rhythm really improved and our guys really raced hard. Of course we wanted to win, but New Zealand also served as a barometer for where we are and how much we've improved. We came off the water feeling good about our performance against one the world's best.”
New Zealand got off to a fast start and tried to pull away from the Huskies near the 1000-meter mark, but UW hung with the 2014 U23 World Champions and even made up ground before ultimately coming up short. New Zealand finished in 5:43.4, roughly six seats ahead of the Huskies, who ended with a time of 5:45.8. Columbia finished third in the Windermere Cup race in 6:04.5.
“To get a world-class caliber team like New Zealand to come to the Windermere Cup is really a privilege,” Callahan said. “We are so grateful for Columbia, taking time out in the middle of their season to come race us here. We really respect what they do as a program.”
Outside of the Windermere Cup, the Huskies went unbeaten in a morning full of races. UW's second varsity eight won the men's Erickson Cascade Cup with a time of 6:10.5, beating Columbia (6:24.2) and Oregon State (6:25.9).
The UW freshman eight and third varsity faced off against Oregon State and Columbia, and the freshman eight and third varsity took first and second, respectively.
Washington took first and second in the college open eight, with the UW A boat in lane one winning in 5:57.6 and UW B in lane three taking second in 5:59.0.
UW men's crew began its day with a win in the open four in 6:22.8, beating two Oregon State boats.
UW men's crew will continue its season in two weeks at the Pacific Coast Championships and Pac-12 Championships on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, both on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Updates can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UWHuskyCrew.
