University of Washington
Head of the Lake
UW Women's Crew Perfect At Head Of The Lake
November 08, 2015 | Women's Rowing
SEATTLE – UW women's crew did not drop a race at the annual Head of the Lake regatta, sweeping all three eights events and taking the top three spots in the fours to cap off a highly productive fall season.
“Well we never expect to win all our races, but we were really pleased that today was such a successful day for us,” head coach Bob Ernst said. “The conditions were great and made for fair racing and we were really happy that we had so many quality crews come to make this into a tough field.”
The UW women's varsity eight set the tone early, winning the Championship Women's 8+ Sponsored by Pocock Racing Shells with a time of 17.49.502. Second-place WSU finished in 17:55.230. The Huskies' varsity eight built off a strong showing at the Head of the American on Oct. 24, where UW finished first in a strong field that included four of the top-five teams in the Pac-12 from last year's conference championships.
The second and third varsity eights each dominated their events, as the second varsity eight took first in the Women's Collegiate JV 8+ with a time of 18:09.419. The Huskies' third varsity eight completed a sweep, winning the Women's Collegiate 3V8+ in 18:17.293. The second-place WSU crew was nearly a minute behind the Huskies, finishing in 19:10.515.
“When you look at the results from today's regatta, you'll see that we have really good depth on this team,” Ernst said. “This is the most exciting group I've had to work with.”
The Huskies had tremendous success in the fours, sweeping the top three spots of the Women's Collegiate Open 4+. The first-place boat finished in 20:19.835, just three seconds faster than the second place Husky boat that finished with t a time of 20:22.782. The Huskies rounded out the top three, with the third-place boat finishing in 21:01.184.
“This is like the last page in a chapter,” Ernst said. “From when school started until now, we've been working and training in pairs and rowing with the eights was a reward. Now, we move on to focusing on getting stronger and more fit. We want to find weaknesses and fix them. We want to work on certain skills that we need to improve on.”
UW women's crew begins its 2016 season on Saturday, March 26, with the annual Class Day Regatta on the Montlake Cut.
For more updates on Washington rowing, follow the Huskies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and @UWHuskyCrew.
