University of Washington
Class Day Regatta
Senior Women, Junior Men Win UW Class Day Races
March 26, 2016 | Women's Rowing
SEATTLE – The junior class overcame both the freshmen and seniors to claim the George M. Varnell Men's eight while the senior class chased down the freshmen to take the Seattle Times Women's Eight at Saturday's 115th Washington Rowing Class Day.
In the men's race, the freshmen eight led through the midway point of the 2,000-meter course on the Montlake Cut. And while the senior boat initially overcame the deficit, it was the juniors who surged to the win, less than two-tenths of a second in front of the seniors.
"It was a barn-burner," said UW men's head coach Michael Callahan. "I thought the freshmen would lead. They've had that pattern where they really push the pace early. When the seniors finally got on terms with the freshmen, I thought they were going to take it. The juniors, since they were back in the first third of the race, I didn't expect them to catch up. It was an astounding performance by them."
The women's eight race was won by the class of 2016 for the second year in a row, as this year's senior class also won as juniors last seasons.
"It was an epic race," Husky women's coach Conor Bullis explained. "The freshmen set high standards. They really wanted to do it. They made a last-minute lineup change to try and get faster. They were out in front until the senior, who are the most determined group in the boathouse right now, were able to push through.
Here are recaps of Saturday's four races:
Women's Varsity/Novice Challenge
In the first race of the day, a boat comprised of upperclassmen beat a second freshman eight. The varsity group entered the cut with an open-water lead of about a half of a length and managed to maintain that lead the rest of the way, winning in a time of 6:37.153, roughly seven seconds in front of the freshmen.
Men's Varsity/Freshman Challenge
In a race featuring two freshmen boats and once group of varsity, the freshmen in lane two took the early lead, just a head of the varsity rowers through both the first 500 and 1,000 meters. Past the halfway point, however, the varsity boat pulled in front and extended its lead to a full boat-length at the finish. The varsity posted a final time of 5:49.318, ahead of the lane-two freshmen at 5:52.629 and the lane-three freshmen at 5:57.827.
Seattle Times Women's Eight
In the women's feature race, the Husky freshman boat, which included four rowers to competed at the Junior Worlds last summer in Brazil, gave the rest of the competition all they could handle. The freshmen led at the 500 and 1,000-meter marks of the 2,000-meter race. But the seniors, who had won the race as juniors in 2015, made their move in the second 1,000, pulling ahead by 1,500 and then crossing the line about a length in front. The seniors, who posted their fourth victory in the last seven years, won the race in 6:21.454, about three seconds ahead of the freshmen (6:24.443). The sophomores crossed the finish line third in 6:28.518 and the juniors were fourth (6:33.279).
George M. Varnell Men's Eight
Similarly to the women's eight, the freshmen took the early lead in the men's eight, crossing both the 500 and 1,000-meter marks in the lead. Their closest pursuers were the seniors for most of the race, but while the seniors passed the Grunties, it was the junior boat that surged past down the stretch, narrowly winning by less than the length of the bow for the fifth win by a junior-class boat in the last seven years at Class Day. The 2017 men finished with a time of 5:39.413, less than two-tenths of a second ahead of the seniors (5:39.609). In the end, the freshmen fell to third place, four seconds off the winning time, with the sophomores fourth.
Following the Class Day Regatta, captains for the 2016 season were announced, along with the Piggott Award winners for most inspirational, and the Schaller Award for the highest GPA on each of the men's and women's teams, listed below.
2015 Team Captains
Women: Danielle Olson
Men: Jacob Dawson Piggott Award - Most Inspirational
Women: Jalyn Stinardo
Men: Kevin O'Connor
Schaller Award – Highest GPA
Women: Jennifer Wahleithner
Men: Luke Khoury
Next weekend, the UW rowers will be busy. Washington will host the Husky Open and a men's dual regatta against Brown while the women travel to Dexter Lake, Ore., for two sessions of racing (morning and afternoon) against Stanford, Oregon State, Central Florida and Oklahoma.
Follow Washington Rowing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_Rowing for updates and information.
About Washington Rowing
Rowing at University of Washington was established in 1901 with support from the local business community. In 1903, Washington entered its first intercollegiate race and defeated California, starting their storied “Cal Dual” rivalry. From this beginning, UW crews became the champions in the nation, winning the Gold Medal in the Olympics in 1936 as described in the New York Times bestseller The Boys in the Boat. UW has continued its tradition of winning championships and Olympic medals, and today is one of the best university rowing programs in the world. With its state-of-the-art training facility located on the UW campus right on the shores of Lake Washington, surrounded by mountains and in close proximity to the iconic Montlake Cut, Washington Rowing attracts the best men and women student-athletes from the Pacific Northwest and around the world. More information at GoHuskies.com, WashingtonRowing.com and @UW_Rowing.
