UW Beats Harvard & Stanford On Day One At IRA Sarasota Invitational

Friday, March 29

Sarasota, FL

TBD

University of Washington

IRA Sarasota Invitational

UW men's rowing team photo at Nathan Benderson park sarasota, Florida 2024

Photo by: AWORTHYPHOTO

UW Beats Harvard & Stanford On Day One At IRA Sarasota Invitational

March 29, 2024 | Men's Rowing

UW Race Results Full Regatta Results Photo Gallery

SARASOTA, Fla. – The No. 3-ranked Washington men's rowing team won both of its races Friday at the IRA Sarasota Invitational, beating crews from No. 5 Harvard and No. 8 Stanford on the first day of the two-day regatta at Nathan Benderson Park.

After the UW's second varsity eight won its race, the Husky varsity took on the Crimson and the Cardinal. Harvard led the V8+ race much of the way, passing the 750 and 1,000-meter marks in the lead. However, by about 1,250 meters, the Huskies had drawn even, and by 1,500 meters, the UW eight had the lead by about three seats.

The Harvard crew gave the Huskies a challenge in the home stretch, but Washington pulled away at the end for a six-seat victory.

Washington's top crew crossed the finish line in 5:53.38, about a second-and-a-half ahead of the Harvard shell (5:54.82). Stanford finished in 6:03.77.

The wins over Harvard and Stanford earned the Husky eight two trophies: the Tom Bolles Cup, for the Harvard-UW race, and the Andrea and Everett Peter Paup Cup, given to the UW-Stanford winner. UW and Harvard hadn't raced in a regular-season dual race since the 1970s, so the Cup had not been contested in decades.

"It was great to get to face Harvard again after all of these years," said UW head coach Michael Callahan. "Tom Bolles was a national-champion Washington oarsman and the freshman coach for 'The Boys In The Boat' before he became Harvard's head coach and eventually athletic director, so we have a lot of shared history. It's great that we were able to renew this race and I hope it continues.

"That was a very strong Harvard crew that battled us the whole way," Callahan continued. "They were in front for a while, but we were able to get the lead and hold on to it. Our crew will draw a lot of confidence from this result, both for tomorrow and for the season."

The Huskies' second varsity eight raced in a seven-boat event, with three crews each from UW and Harvard (the second, third and fourth varsity eights), and the Stanford second eight.

In that one, the Huskies' second eight led the entire way and won the race by nearly five seconds over the UW's third varsity eight, which finished second. Harvard's second and third eights took the next two spots, head of Washington's fourth varsity crew, in fifth. Stanford's 2V8+ was sixth and the Harvard 4V8+ came in seventh.

On Saturday, Washington's four crews will each row in separate races vs. crews from Harvard and Stanford, as well as No. 4 Yale, No. 6 Northeastern and No. 7 Brown.

Here is that schedule:

Saturday, March 30
11:50 a.m. ET/8:50 a.m. PT – Fourth and Fifth Varsity Eights
12:03 p.m. ET/9:03 a.m. PT – Third Varsity Eights
12:16 p.m. ET/9:16 a.m. PT – Second Varsity Eights
12:29 p.m. ET/9:29 a.m. PT – Varsity Eights

Friday Video Replay (UW races begin at about 2-hour, 49-minute mark)