UW Men & Women Headed To Henley Royal Regatta
June 27, 2018 | Women's Rowing
Washington Rowing and the Henley Royal Regatta each boast a proud tradition together, one that dates back 60 years.
While the regatta itself is much older – the event was first held in 1839 – the UW has made history on the Thames more than once. Sixty years ago, Washington's '58 men's crew lost in the final of the Grand Challenge Cup in the UW's first appearance at Henley, but the Huskies gained their revenge over the Trud Leningrad Club later that summer in the historic rematch in the Soviet Union, one of the marquee events in the history of UW athletics.
In 1977, Washington's men won the Grand Challenge Cup, the top prize at Henley, beating the British National Team (rowing as the Leander and Thames Tradesmen). The Huskies were the first American college crew from a non-Ivy League school to win Henley's top trophy.
In 2000, Washington won the first open women's eight race (then called the Henley Prize), a race in which they'll compete again this year under its current name: the Remenham Challenge cup.
The Huskies depart Seattle for England this Friday, June 29, with several members of the women's team joining from their various national team camps on the East Coast and in Europe.
Racing begins on July 4. The schedule for the first day of competition will not be published until July 1. You can find the daily schedule on the Henley Royal Regatta website. The draw will be published on Saturday, June 30. Races will be held July 4-8.
"Going back to Henley is like going back to the roots of modern rowing," said UW head coach Yasmin Farooq, who took three boats to the regatta in 2015, while coaching at Stanford. "It's like going through a time machine when you go there. For the rowers to go into this atmosphere with this knowledgeable crowd and this venue that truly honors our tradition and our sport, it's just really special. When I went last time, the one thing everyone came back and said was, 'I fell in love with rowing all over again.' And they meant it."
Washington's women will bring three boats to England, thanks to the generous support of the 101 Club, a Seattle organization devoted to the promotion of amateur sports.
A UW women's eight will race for the Remenham Challenge Cup, open to all women's eights. This year, a total of 19 boats have entered the competition, including five from U.S. colleges. The field will be culled to 12 during qualifying races prior to the start of the official competition.
Washington won the women's eight competition in its inaugural year, 2000, when the trophy was the Henley Prize. The Huskies beat the University of Victoria by a half-length that year. The women's eight trophy was renamed the Remenham Challenge Cup before the 2002 regatta and has not been won by an American collegiate crew since.
The Huskies' double sculls entry will compete for the newly minted Stonor Challenge Trophy (in its inaugural year) while the UW quad will vie for the Princess Grace Challenge Cup, which was first awarded in 2003. Only one American boat (a national team crew) has won the women's quad sculls at Henley, as the event has been dominated mainly by English clubs. This year, among the 13 entries in the double sculls, Washington's (Klara Grube and Skylar Jacobson) is the only one representing a U.S. college or club.
While the UW women's eight and quad have automatically qualified, the double will have to row in qualifying on Friday, July 29 (those rowers left Seattle before the rest of the UW contingent). Eleven doubles will row for four spots in the regatta.
Due to NCAA foreign tour rules (which generally apply to all NCAA sports), teams may participate in foreign competitions out of season a maximum of once every four years. It's the UW women's team aim to do just that: go to Henley every four years.
"What we do is prepare for the NCAAs; that is truly our pinnacle," Farooq said. "But, we had such a special senior class and I knew this was going to be the only opportunity for them to go. Maybe some of them may go with a national team sometime down the road, but not necessarily. For us to create this opportunity once every four years – which is the plan – is something I want every Washington rower to have an opportunity to do. Hopefully, next time when we go, now that they've added additional women's events, it would be my goal to take Husky rowers in every one of those events."
Washington's men, who will be led by UW assistant coach and former Olympian Sam Dommer, will compete for the Temple Challenge Cup, where they may end up in a rematch with Oxford Brookes, who the Huskies narrowly beat at the Windermere Cup this past May. Brookes has won three of the last four Temple Challenge Cups.
"This is an incredible rowing experience," said UW men's head coach Michael Callahan, who has been to the Henley Royal Regatta once as a rower and four times as a coach, but who will remain in Seattle this time to perform his duties as the U.S. under-23 head coach. "England is one of the centers – if not the center – of rowing in the world. Henley is the epicenter. This is like going to Wimbledon."
"Everyone, at some point in their life, wants to row in this regatta," Callahan added.
Washington won the Temple Challenge Cup, which is open to collegiate crews, in both 2010 and 2012 (in fact, Dommer was a member of the crew that won in 2012). A field of 55 crews has entered the Temple Challenge Cup, including nine American college crews, though the field will be reduced to 32 via qualifying.
2018 Henley Royal Regatta Lineups:
Women's Eight (Remenham Challenge Cup)
Cox – Phoebe Marks-Nicholes '18 (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke – Brooke Pierson '18 (Oak Harbor, Wash.)
7 – Elise Beuke '19 (Sequim, Wash.)
6 – Marlee Blue '19 (Seattle, Wash.)
5 – Tabea Schendekehl '20 (Dortmund, Germany)
4 – Brooke Mooney '18 (Peru, Vt.)
3 – Karle Pittsinger '18 (Lake Chelan, Wash.)
2 – Jessica Thoennes '18 (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Bow – Katy Gillingham '19 (Seattle, Wash.)
Women's Quadruple Sculls (Princess Grace Challenge Cup)
Stroke – Chiara Ondoli '18 (Angera, Italy)
3 – Carmela Pappalardo '20 (Salerno, Italy)
2 – Julia Paulsen '18 (Seattle, Wash.)
Bow – Sara Clark '18 (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Women's Double Sculls (Stonor Challenge Trophy)
Stroke – Klara Grube '21 (Lübeck, Germany)
Bow – Kenzie Waltar '18 (Kirkland, Wash.)
Men's Eight (Temple Challenge Cup)
Cox – Kimmons Wilson '20 (Orlando, Fla.)
Stroke – Sean Kelly '18 (Princeton, N.J.)
7 – George Esau '20 (Long Lake, Minn.)
6 – Peter Lancashire '21 (Port Macquarie, Australia)
5 – Steve Rosts '21 (Jordan, Ontario, Canada)
4 – David Bridges '20 (Portland, Ore.)
3 – Robert Karlen '18 (Everett, Wash.)
2 – Philipp Nonnast '19 (Frankfurt, Germany)
Bow – Alexander Vollmer '20 (Hamburg, Germany)
Huskies at Henley History
Here is a list of UW victories at the Henley Royal Regatta:
1977 – Grand Challenge Cup (men's eight)
1977 – Visitors' Challenge Cup (men's coxless four)
1981 – Ladies Challenge Plate (men's eight)
2000 – Henley Prize (women's eight)
2003 – Ladies Challenge Plate (men's eight)
2010 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2012 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2015 – Prince Albert Challenge Cup (men's coxed four)
Other appearances: 1958, 1973, 1984, 1995, 1997, 2013
While the regatta itself is much older – the event was first held in 1839 – the UW has made history on the Thames more than once. Sixty years ago, Washington's '58 men's crew lost in the final of the Grand Challenge Cup in the UW's first appearance at Henley, but the Huskies gained their revenge over the Trud Leningrad Club later that summer in the historic rematch in the Soviet Union, one of the marquee events in the history of UW athletics.
In 1977, Washington's men won the Grand Challenge Cup, the top prize at Henley, beating the British National Team (rowing as the Leander and Thames Tradesmen). The Huskies were the first American college crew from a non-Ivy League school to win Henley's top trophy.
In 2000, Washington won the first open women's eight race (then called the Henley Prize), a race in which they'll compete again this year under its current name: the Remenham Challenge cup.
The Huskies depart Seattle for England this Friday, June 29, with several members of the women's team joining from their various national team camps on the East Coast and in Europe.
Racing begins on July 4. The schedule for the first day of competition will not be published until July 1. You can find the daily schedule on the Henley Royal Regatta website. The draw will be published on Saturday, June 30. Races will be held July 4-8.
"Going back to Henley is like going back to the roots of modern rowing," said UW head coach Yasmin Farooq, who took three boats to the regatta in 2015, while coaching at Stanford. "It's like going through a time machine when you go there. For the rowers to go into this atmosphere with this knowledgeable crowd and this venue that truly honors our tradition and our sport, it's just really special. When I went last time, the one thing everyone came back and said was, 'I fell in love with rowing all over again.' And they meant it."
Washington's women will bring three boats to England, thanks to the generous support of the 101 Club, a Seattle organization devoted to the promotion of amateur sports.
A UW women's eight will race for the Remenham Challenge Cup, open to all women's eights. This year, a total of 19 boats have entered the competition, including five from U.S. colleges. The field will be culled to 12 during qualifying races prior to the start of the official competition.
Washington won the women's eight competition in its inaugural year, 2000, when the trophy was the Henley Prize. The Huskies beat the University of Victoria by a half-length that year. The women's eight trophy was renamed the Remenham Challenge Cup before the 2002 regatta and has not been won by an American collegiate crew since.
The Huskies' double sculls entry will compete for the newly minted Stonor Challenge Trophy (in its inaugural year) while the UW quad will vie for the Princess Grace Challenge Cup, which was first awarded in 2003. Only one American boat (a national team crew) has won the women's quad sculls at Henley, as the event has been dominated mainly by English clubs. This year, among the 13 entries in the double sculls, Washington's (Klara Grube and Skylar Jacobson) is the only one representing a U.S. college or club.
While the UW women's eight and quad have automatically qualified, the double will have to row in qualifying on Friday, July 29 (those rowers left Seattle before the rest of the UW contingent). Eleven doubles will row for four spots in the regatta.
Due to NCAA foreign tour rules (which generally apply to all NCAA sports), teams may participate in foreign competitions out of season a maximum of once every four years. It's the UW women's team aim to do just that: go to Henley every four years.
"What we do is prepare for the NCAAs; that is truly our pinnacle," Farooq said. "But, we had such a special senior class and I knew this was going to be the only opportunity for them to go. Maybe some of them may go with a national team sometime down the road, but not necessarily. For us to create this opportunity once every four years – which is the plan – is something I want every Washington rower to have an opportunity to do. Hopefully, next time when we go, now that they've added additional women's events, it would be my goal to take Husky rowers in every one of those events."
Washington's men, who will be led by UW assistant coach and former Olympian Sam Dommer, will compete for the Temple Challenge Cup, where they may end up in a rematch with Oxford Brookes, who the Huskies narrowly beat at the Windermere Cup this past May. Brookes has won three of the last four Temple Challenge Cups.
"This is an incredible rowing experience," said UW men's head coach Michael Callahan, who has been to the Henley Royal Regatta once as a rower and four times as a coach, but who will remain in Seattle this time to perform his duties as the U.S. under-23 head coach. "England is one of the centers – if not the center – of rowing in the world. Henley is the epicenter. This is like going to Wimbledon."
"Everyone, at some point in their life, wants to row in this regatta," Callahan added.
Washington won the Temple Challenge Cup, which is open to collegiate crews, in both 2010 and 2012 (in fact, Dommer was a member of the crew that won in 2012). A field of 55 crews has entered the Temple Challenge Cup, including nine American college crews, though the field will be reduced to 32 via qualifying.
2018 Henley Royal Regatta Lineups:
Women's Eight (Remenham Challenge Cup)
Cox – Phoebe Marks-Nicholes '18 (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke – Brooke Pierson '18 (Oak Harbor, Wash.)
7 – Elise Beuke '19 (Sequim, Wash.)
6 – Marlee Blue '19 (Seattle, Wash.)
5 – Tabea Schendekehl '20 (Dortmund, Germany)
4 – Brooke Mooney '18 (Peru, Vt.)
3 – Karle Pittsinger '18 (Lake Chelan, Wash.)
2 – Jessica Thoennes '18 (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Bow – Katy Gillingham '19 (Seattle, Wash.)
Women's Quadruple Sculls (Princess Grace Challenge Cup)
Stroke – Chiara Ondoli '18 (Angera, Italy)
3 – Carmela Pappalardo '20 (Salerno, Italy)
2 – Julia Paulsen '18 (Seattle, Wash.)
Bow – Sara Clark '18 (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Women's Double Sculls (Stonor Challenge Trophy)
Stroke – Klara Grube '21 (Lübeck, Germany)
Bow – Kenzie Waltar '18 (Kirkland, Wash.)
Men's Eight (Temple Challenge Cup)
Cox – Kimmons Wilson '20 (Orlando, Fla.)
Stroke – Sean Kelly '18 (Princeton, N.J.)
7 – George Esau '20 (Long Lake, Minn.)
6 – Peter Lancashire '21 (Port Macquarie, Australia)
5 – Steve Rosts '21 (Jordan, Ontario, Canada)
4 – David Bridges '20 (Portland, Ore.)
3 – Robert Karlen '18 (Everett, Wash.)
2 – Philipp Nonnast '19 (Frankfurt, Germany)
Bow – Alexander Vollmer '20 (Hamburg, Germany)
Huskies at Henley History
Here is a list of UW victories at the Henley Royal Regatta:
1977 – Grand Challenge Cup (men's eight)
1977 – Visitors' Challenge Cup (men's coxless four)
1981 – Ladies Challenge Plate (men's eight)
2000 – Henley Prize (women's eight)
2003 – Ladies Challenge Plate (men's eight)
2010 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2012 – Temple Challenge Cup (men's eight)
2015 – Prince Albert Challenge Cup (men's coxed four)
Other appearances: 1958, 1973, 1984, 1995, 1997, 2013
Players Mentioned
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COX
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