Friday, March 27
Sarasota, Fla.
11:40 AM PT
University of Washington
vs
Stanford – Paup Cup
Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures
Husky Men To Vie For Bolles, Paup & Benderson Cups In Sarasota
March 23, 2026 | Men's Rowing
The No. 1-ranked Washington men's rowing team opens the competitive spring season this weekend as the Huskies compete Friday and Saturday at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.
On Friday, Washington will face Harvard and Stanford in a double-dual regatta for the Bolles Cup and Andrea and Everett Peter Paup Cup, competing in four race categories (first, second, third and fourth varsity eights). The following day, those same four UW crews will race in the Sarasota Invitational – with the Benderson Cup on the line – vs. Brown, Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Northeastern.
All six teams were ranked in the top-10 in the preseason JRN Collegiate Poll: No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Harvard, No. 6 Brown, No. 7 Northeastern, No. 8 Stanford, and No. 10 Yale.
Washington participated in this same event the last three seasons, marking the team's first three visits to Nathan Benderson Park, the United States' top rowing venue.
UW Race Schedule
Friday, March 27 – Washington vs. Harvard & Stanford
2:40 p.m. ET/11:40 p.m. PT – Fourth Varsity Eights
3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT – Third Varsity Eights
4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT – Second Varsity Eights
5:20 p.m. ET/2:20 p.m. PT –Varsity Eights
Saturday, March 28 – UW, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Northeastern
10:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT – Fourth & Fifth Varsity Eights
10:50 a.m. ET/7:50 a.m. PT – Third Varsity Eights
11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT – Second Varsity Eights
12:10 p.m. ET/9:10 a.m. PT –Varsity Eights
The Bolles Cup, which goes to the winner of the UW-Harvard dual, is named in honor of UW oarsman and longtime Harvard rowing coach and athletic director Tom Bolles, who rowed in the Huskies' 1926 IRA Championship crew and was the freshman coach at UW who helped coach "The Boys in the Boat" Husky crew that won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics. He left shortly after those Games to become the head coach at Harvard, and eventually served as the athletic director in Cambridge from 1951 until his retirement in 1970.
The trophy for UW-Stanford is named for former UW and Stanford coxswain Everett "Pete" Paup, a U.S. Marine veteran who finished second in the coxed pair at the 1956 U.S. Olympic Trials and went on to become chairman and president of Manson Construction Company.
Paup attended and was a coxswain for both Stanford and Washington and supported both programs during his lifetime. He passed away in December, 2024.
On Saturday, a weighted points system in the first, second and third varsity eights will determine the winner of the Nathan Benderson Cup. The winning crew in the V8+ race will receive 18 points, with three points fewer to each place after (18-15-12-9-6-3). The 2V8+ winner will get 12 points with each place after getting two fewer (12-10-8-6-4-2), while the 3V8+ victor will be awarded 6 points (6-5-4-3-2-1).
Following their trip to Sarasota, the UW oarsmen return home to host the Husky Open, April 4 on Montlake Cut. The weekend after that, the Huskies will face Oregon State in a dual at Lake Vancouver in southwestern Washington.
On Friday, Washington will face Harvard and Stanford in a double-dual regatta for the Bolles Cup and Andrea and Everett Peter Paup Cup, competing in four race categories (first, second, third and fourth varsity eights). The following day, those same four UW crews will race in the Sarasota Invitational – with the Benderson Cup on the line – vs. Brown, Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Northeastern.
All six teams were ranked in the top-10 in the preseason JRN Collegiate Poll: No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Harvard, No. 6 Brown, No. 7 Northeastern, No. 8 Stanford, and No. 10 Yale.
Washington participated in this same event the last three seasons, marking the team's first three visits to Nathan Benderson Park, the United States' top rowing venue.
UW Race Schedule
Friday, March 27 – Washington vs. Harvard & Stanford
2:40 p.m. ET/11:40 p.m. PT – Fourth Varsity Eights
3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT – Third Varsity Eights
4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT – Second Varsity Eights
5:20 p.m. ET/2:20 p.m. PT –Varsity Eights
Saturday, March 28 – UW, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Northeastern
10:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT – Fourth & Fifth Varsity Eights
10:50 a.m. ET/7:50 a.m. PT – Third Varsity Eights
11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT – Second Varsity Eights
12:10 p.m. ET/9:10 a.m. PT –Varsity Eights
The Bolles Cup, which goes to the winner of the UW-Harvard dual, is named in honor of UW oarsman and longtime Harvard rowing coach and athletic director Tom Bolles, who rowed in the Huskies' 1926 IRA Championship crew and was the freshman coach at UW who helped coach "The Boys in the Boat" Husky crew that won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics. He left shortly after those Games to become the head coach at Harvard, and eventually served as the athletic director in Cambridge from 1951 until his retirement in 1970.
The trophy for UW-Stanford is named for former UW and Stanford coxswain Everett "Pete" Paup, a U.S. Marine veteran who finished second in the coxed pair at the 1956 U.S. Olympic Trials and went on to become chairman and president of Manson Construction Company.
Paup attended and was a coxswain for both Stanford and Washington and supported both programs during his lifetime. He passed away in December, 2024.
On Saturday, a weighted points system in the first, second and third varsity eights will determine the winner of the Nathan Benderson Cup. The winning crew in the V8+ race will receive 18 points, with three points fewer to each place after (18-15-12-9-6-3). The 2V8+ winner will get 12 points with each place after getting two fewer (12-10-8-6-4-2), while the 3V8+ victor will be awarded 6 points (6-5-4-3-2-1).
Following their trip to Sarasota, the UW oarsmen return home to host the Husky Open, April 4 on Montlake Cut. The weekend after that, the Huskies will face Oregon State in a dual at Lake Vancouver in southwestern Washington.
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