University of Washington
Big Ten Invitational
UW Wins 12 Of 14 Races On Day One At B1G Invitational
April 18, 2026 | Women's Rowing
GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The No. 5-ranked Washington women's rowing team won 12 of 14 races Saturday at a grueling day one of the B1G Invitational at Lake Natoma. Like most of the 19 participating programs, UW competed twice each in seven race categories.
The Huskies took first place in 12 of its 14, including in all seven events (first, second, third and fourth varsity eights; and first, second, and third varsity fours) in the morning session and then won five of seven in the afternoon. In the afternoon, the third varsity eight finished third and the varsity eight, facing rival California for the fourth time this season, suffered its first loss of the year to the Bears.
On Sunday, all seven crews will race once more each. The 2026 B1G Invitational, held on the West Coast for the first time, includes all 11 conference-member programs, plus an additional eight non-conference teams, mainly from the west, including former Pac-12 foes like California, Stanford and Oregon State.
Washington, which swept all seven events at its first-ever Big Ten Championships regatta in 2025, opened the day with wins in each of its first seven races.
The first four events of the regatta featured the Huskies' top two eights and fours, going against Oregon State, Michigan State, Sacramento State and Wisconsin. The Huskies won each of those four by comfortable margins, with the Beavers taking second place in all of them. The closest was in the varsity fours, where UW's edge over OSU was a little over three seconds. The two eights races were decided by roughly seven seconds each.
In the latter portion of the morning session, Washington's third varsity four turned in a top performance, posting a best time for its race category in B1G Invitational history, winning its race in 7:13.364. The third varsity eight race was the closest of the morning session for races involving the Huskies, as the UW crew, made up of all freshmen, held of Indiana to win by about six seats, easily the closest margin of the morning. The fourth varsity eight wrapped up the first half of the day with an open-water win over second-place UCLA in a six-boat field.
After a pause, all seven crews returned for another round of races in the afternoon, mostly against different opponents than in the morning. After opening the session with the third varsity four breaking its own, newly-set event record, Washington finished something other than first in the ninth race of the day, as the Huskies' third varsity eight ran third in its race, behind California and UCLA. Last weekend, Cal's only win in seven races vs. the Huskies in The Dual came in this same race category. Washington got back on top, however, in the fourth varsity eight race that followed.
The Huskies capped the day with their top crews racing vs. Cal, Michigan, Notre Dame and UCLA in the first and second eights, and the first and second fours.
In the second varsity four event, Cal gave the Huskies a solid challenge, keeping contact with the UW shell most of the way, but Washington pulled away for an open-water win. Next the varsity four faced an even bigger challenge from the Golden Bears, but held on for another open-water victory, though by a smaller margin than in the previous race.
Washington's second varsity won its race in the Huskies' next-to-last event of the afternoon, pulling away from Cal at the end to win the race by a full boat-length.
Cal, which had finished behind the Huskies earlier this year, twice at the San Diego Crew Classic and again last Saturday at The Dual, broke from the starting line alongside Washington, and those two crews were neck-and-neck for the majority of the race, though Cal generally held a very small lead.
In the end, the Bears picked up their first 2026 win over their rival, winning the race in 6:10.923, a little over 2.5 seconds and about eight seats over the Huskies.
Racing gets underway at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning, as Washington will once again square off with the Bears, as well as No. 1-ranked Stanford. The regatta will air live on Big Ten Plus.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @washingtrowing on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok; and @UW_Rowing on X, and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Jan Harville
Cox: Izzy Michaelson (Everett, Wash.)
Stroke: Issy Melville (Hamilton, New Zealand)
7: Cait Whittard (St. Catharine's, Ontario, Canada)
6: Jess Weir (London, England, U.K.)
5: Aisha Rocek (Como, Italy)
4: Violet Holbrow Brooksbank (Monmouth, Wales, U.K.)
3: Katie Gardner (Cowbridge, Wales, U.K.)
2: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
Bow: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Perry McLoughlin (Port Washington, N.Y.)
Stroke: Chloe Sheppard (Tewkesbury, England, U.K.)
7: Emily Myers (Oxford, England, U.K.)
6: Grace Worthington (Grand Haven, Mich.)
5: Kalee Verd (Olympia, Wash.)
4: Sofia Suhinin (Adelaide, Australia)
3: Amelia Westbrook (Lincoln, England, U.K.)
2: Jayna Palmer (Truckee, Calif.)
Bow: Margaret Young (San Anselmo, Calif.)
FIRST VARSITY FOUR
Shell: Sam & Raz
Stroke: Carmel Bollag (Seattle, Wash.)
3: Emily Downing (Marlow, England, U.K.)
2: Nienke Overgoor (Bunnik, Netherlands)
Bow: Cami Martin (Seattle, Wash.)
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash.)
SECOND VARSITY FOUR
Shell: Paula Mitchell
Stroke: Sami Tyler (Camas, Wash.)
3: Ella Bayer (Olympia, Wash.)
2: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif.)
Bow: Jane Doyle (New York, N.Y.)
Cox: Taylor Inouye (Kailua, Hawai'i)
THIRD VARSITY FOUR
Shell: Wendell Sykes
Stroke: Audrey Cronin (Roswell, Ga.)
3: Caroline Law (Bellingham, Wash.)
2: Sofie Sand (Rochester, Wash.)
Bow: Victoria Trentin (Melbourne, Australia)
Cox: Morgan Bradley (Portland, Ore.)
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Sloane Roth (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Stroke: Caitlin Woods (Melbourne, Australia)
7: Willow Tzonev (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
6: Scarlett Shelton (Melbourne, Australia)
5: Camille Hutton (Manson, Wash.)
4: Finley Stockstad (Tacoma, Wash.)
3: Makenna Garrett (Renton, Wash.)
2: Grace Sisett (Kelowna, B.C., Canada)
Bow: Claire Rogge (Vancouver, Wash.)
FOURTH VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Jenni Hogan
Cox: Ella Ryter (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke: Liv Ormseth (Vashon Island, Wash.)
7: Katharina Stromberg (Seattle, Wash.)
6: Annelise Hahl (Cary, N.C.)
5: Kayla Coates-Robertson (Redmond, Wash.)
4: Ellen Koselka (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
3: Marin Maycotte (Austin, Texas)
2: Emma Cronin (Roswell, Ga.)
Bow: Carly Lauritzen (Nine Mile Falls, Wash.)
Players Mentioned
