UW Fends Off Great Britain For Epic Windermere Cup Win

Saturday, May 2

Seattle, Wash.

10:00 AM PT

University of Washington

Opening Day Regatta – Windermere Cup

the Uw men's varsity eight celebrates its win over Great Britain in the 2026 Windermere cup, May 2, 2026

Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures

May 02, 2026 | Men's Rowing

Full Results UW Results

SEATTLE – It may have been the best day, in terms of weather, ever for a Windermere Cup. It may have been the strongest field, in terms of international and domestic competition, in the 40-year history of the event. And the Washington men's varsity crew's epic win over Great Britain may have been the most thrilling race ever at the Opening Day Regatta.

The Huskies' narrow victory over the British National Team, gold medalists at the 2024 Olympics and silver medalists at last year's World Rowing Championships, capped a sun-soaked morning on Montlake Cut, where the 40^thWindermere Cup races thrilled a huge crowd that packed much of the length of the 2,000-meter racecourse. The No. 1-ranked Washington men led their race through most of the final three quarters and had to fight off a ferocious comeback effort from the British crew, which included seven athletes who earned medals at the 2025 World Championships.

Washington won the Windermere Cup with a time of 5:29.082, just 0.165 seconds in front of Great Britain (5:29.247). Northeastern University's varsity eight, which led the race at 500 meters, came in third, in 5:35.914.

"It was a hell of a win," said head coach Michael Callahan, who has been on hand for more than half of the 40 Windermere Cups, as a rower and coach. "I don't think we've ever raced two crews of this caliber at the same time here in my coaching career."

Washington, Great Britain and Northeastern crews competed in the men's Windermere Cup, rowing on lake Washington in front of Husky Stadium on May 2, 2026

Washington, Great Britain and Northeastern crews competed in the men's Windermere Cup, rowing on lake Washington in front of Husky Stadium on May 2, 2026

This same crew of British oarsmen, which included Husky alumnus Archie Drummond '24 in the two-seat, will head back to Europe, where they'll compete in World Cup competitions this summer, culminating with the World Championships in Amsterdam this August.

Earlier in the regatta, Washington also won the Erickson Cascade Cup, with Washington's second varsity eight outpacing the UW third varsity eight and the JV eight from Northeastern. The Husky 2V8+ won by nearly five seconds.

Washington also won the Third Varsity Eight/Freshman Eight race vs. Western Washington's top crew, and finished first and third in the men's Open Four, which featured a quartet of entries.

In the last race of the day, the men's Windermere Cup, Northeastern's eight led the race at the 500-meter mark, nearly a second in front of Washington and 2.5 ahead of the British. Washington took the lead in the second 500, and Northeastern sat second at 1,000 meters. In the third quarter of the race, the Brits came on and passed Northeastern, setting their sites on the Huskies.

As the crews entered the sprint, the deafening Montlake Cut crowd saw the British crew essentially catch the Huskies and, at the finish, it wasn't immediately clear which shell's bow ball had crossed the line in front. But, Washington's last stroke was enough to surge the home crew to a win, just 0.165 seconds ahead. It was the closest finish in men's Windermere Cup history, which dates back to a win by the Soviet Union over the UW in 1987.

Washington's men's varsity crew on the podium, raising the Windermere Cup Tropny, May 2, 2026

Washington's men's varsity crew on the podium, raising the Windermere Cup Tropny, May 2, 2026

"It was a great race," said UW three seat Lyle Donovan. "We executed what we wanted to. We knew that we needed strong start building up last week at Cal, and then we really put it down the second 500. That's really where we put our foot down and moved ahead, In the last 500, we really felt the energy of the crowd, the boat, people on shore above us on the bridge, and that really fueled us to the end."

The Windermere Cup and Opening Day Regatta was the final regular-season event of the season for the UW men, who will next compete at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships May 17 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Two weekends later, the Huskies will defend their national title at the IRA Championships, also at Lake Natoma.

For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @washingtrowing on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok; and @UW_Rowing on X, and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.

WASHINGTON LINEUPS

Varsity Eight (Windermere Cup)
Shell: Austin J. Regier
Coxswain – Nikita Jacobs
Stroke – Ryan Smith
7 – Lucas Andersen
6 – Giuseppe Bellomo
5 – Sam Ford
4 – Ben Shortt
3 – Lyle Donovan
2 – Cameron Tasker
Bow – Klas Ole Lass

Washington Gold (Erickson Cascade Cup)
Shell: ShoeDaWg
Coxswain – Anjali Pamurthy
Stroke – Ryan Martin
7 – Marley King Smith
6 – Devan Godfrey
5 – Ethan Walsh
4 – Rory McDonnell
3 – Povilas Juskevicius
2 – Oliver Leach
Bow – Hector Guimet

Washington Purple (Erickson Cascade Cup)
Shell: Brett Reisinger
Coxswain – Connor Eacker
Stroke – Byron Richards
7 – Zach Brownlee
6 – Finn Griskauskas
5 – Marc Tennesen
4 – Matteo Belgeri
3 – Ewan Morrow
2 – Colin Phariss
Bow – Dimitri Chamitoff

Freshman Eight (Open Eight)
Shell: John Jacobi
Coxswain – Victor Bocquet
Stroke – Boden Chapek
7 – Lazlo Davis-Rudin
6 – Callan Ogilvie
5 – Jerry Anderson
4 – Dylan West
3 – Monte Wood
2 – Thomas Fiorito
Bow – Jacob Day

Washington Purple (Men's Open Four)
Shell: George Y. Pocock
Stroke – Tobias Bosnes
3 – Luke Collins
2 – Jed Grieve
Bow – Colin Seng
Coxswain – Tessa Adams

Washington Gold (Men's Open Four)
Shell: Lou Gellermann
Stroke – Crosby LaMotte
3 – Kiefer Law
2 – Billy Osborne
Bow – Galen Hardy
Coxswain – Avery Lowe