April 26, 2003

SEATTLE - The second-ranked Washington women's varsity eight avenged an early-season setback with a victory over No. 1 California while the Golden Bears won the men's varsity eight race Saturday during the annual dual regatta on the Montlake Cut.

Washington won three of the four featured races, including both junior varsity events. The Husky men's JV boat turned the tables on Cal, a three-second victor earlier this month. UW registered a five-seat victory, completing the 2,000-meter course in 6-minutes, 5.9-seconds to Cal's 6:07.8.

UW's junior varsity women clocked a time of 6:50.2 to finish one boat length ahead of the Bears who finished in 6:53.2.

A strong finishing sprint secured the women's varsity eight win for Washington. The race was even after 1,500 meters before UW gained a six-seat advantage over the final 500. The Huskies' time of 6:41.9 was nearly three seconds superior to Cal's 6:44.6.

Washington claims the inaugural Simpson Cup trophy, donated by longtime Husky Crew supporters Hunter and Dottie Simpson whose daughter, Anne, rowed at Cal. The Simpson Cup replaces the Big Oar trophy that was retired after 22 years.

"We were very determined the last two weeks to get ready to come out, row our race and really kick it," UW coxswain Anne Hessburg said about preparations for the race against the Bears who were declared winners in this season's first meeting after a photo finish April 6 at the San Diego Crew Classic.

"Going from losing by .08 seconds to winning by eight seats, I'd say we made some progress. We just hit it for 500 meters and took it to them."

The Huskies' triumph should vault them past California and back into the No. 1 ranking they enjoyed in the preseason polls.

"I have a strong opinion about polls," explained UW women's coach Jan Harville. "I think they're good for publicity and they put our sport out there, but I also know it's just voting. That in itself doesn't mean anything, but we'll take the publicity."

Saturday marked the 93rd all-time meeting between the varsity eight men of Washington and California. It was the 100th anniversary of the Huskies' first collegiate crew competition, a three-length win over a Cal four on June 3, 1903 in Seattle. Despite winning for the fourth time in the last five tries, Cal trails the all-time dual-race series by a 65-27-1 count.

The top-ranked Golden Bears gained a measure of revenge against third-ranked Washington. The Huskies' Schoch Cup win in the 2002 dual at Redwood Shores was Cal's only loss since June of 1998. The Bears won the last four IRA championships.

"You have to have so much respect for the California crew. They are still a great team with four Olympians in that boat," said UW Coach Bob Ernst. "We've got only one senior and four sophomores in the varsity boat. We've had three tough races in the first month, but I hope we learn from it."

Like in San Diego, Cal built a comfortable early lead with a powerful start over the opening 300 meters. Unlike the previous meeting, Cal sustained the margin the entire race to finish in 5:59.2 with a 1 1/2-boat length victory. UW's time was 6:04.0.

"We had a very good race today. We raced better and kept the boat going, rowing a little bit more efficiently than we did in San Diego," said California men's coach Steve Gladstone whose varsity eight won the Crew Classic with a three-seat win over UW.

While Washington won three of the four premier events, the Bears were equally dominant in the other four races. California won the men's freshman and women's novice races along with a convincing two-length triumph in the women's varsity four. The Husky men were victorious in the varsity four race.

The entire Husky fleet returns to action Saturday, May 3 with the 17th annual Windermere Cup. The men's field includes 10th-ranked Northeastern and the national team from Poland. The women's competition includes a national team from Belarus and the University of Notre Dame. Racing begins at 10:20 a.m. on the Montlake Cut.

Washington-California Dual Regatta
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Montlake Cut; Seattle, Wash.
(all races were 2,000 meters)

MEN'S RESULTS
Varsity Eight
1, Cal 5:59.2. 2, UW 6:04.0.
UW lineup -- cox: Ryan Marks, Dusan Nikolic, Marko Petrovic, John Lorton, Ante Kusurin, Brett Newlin, Giuseppe Lanzone, Andy Derrick, Sam Burns.
Cal lineup -- cox: Shawn Ghatan, Jeffrey Nalty, Robert Austerman, Ian McGowan, Mladen Stegic, Filip Filipic, Ivan Smiljanic, Cristopher Kennelley, Toby Smith.

Junior Varsity Eight
1, UW 6:05.9. 2, Cal 6:07.8.
UW lineup -- cox: Chris O'Brien, Ian Sawyer, Kyle Larson, Charles Minett, Gints Salaks, Scott Gault, John Taylor, Jeff Jorgensen, Mathew Kopicky
Cal lineup -- cox: Joseph Manion, Robert Deppisch, Rob Curran, Michael Wallin, Jesse Bauman, Magnus Fleming, Brett Winfield, Janic Gasiorowski, Troy Kepper .

Varsity Four
1, UW "A" 6:29.1. 2, Cal 6:31.5. 3, UW "B" 6:40.2.
UW "A" lineup -- cox: Melissa Wengard, Seth Berling, John Kenfield, Ben Fletcher, Evan Galloway,
UW "B" lineup -- cox: Stephen Hertzfeld, Gavin Grant, John Heylin, Nick Hudson, Casey Clingan.
Cal lineup -- cox: Bracknell Baker, Deaglan McEachren, Paul O'Sullivan, Marcel Staedter, Max Frasca.

Freshman Eight
1, Cal 6:13.5. 2, UW 6:15.1.
UW lineup -- cox: Adrian Andrews, Colin Phillips, Daniel Harm, Cooper Rooks, Brodie Buckland, Scott Schmidt, Adam Van Winkle, Craig Tyler, Tyler Smith.
Cal lineup -- cox: Adam Moss, Chris Rubini, Elliot Hovey, Colin Arnold, David Puder, Vaclav Voshoska, Peter Maiden, Gary Champagne, David James.

WOMEN'S RESULTS
Varsity Eight
1, UW 6:41.9. 2, Cal 6:44.6.
UW lineup -- cox: Anne Hessburg, Lauren Estevenin, Carrie Stasiak, Adrienne Hunter, Heidi Hurn, Jessica Harm, Erin Curry, Mary Reeves, Yvonneke Stenken.
Cal lineup -- cox: Shaina Kennedy, Ariana Canova, Martha Helgeland, Kaylan Vander Schilden, Shelle Orem, Laura Terheyden, Khobi Brooklyn, Erin Sanford, Hilarie Martin.

Junior Varsity Eight
1, UW 6:50.2. 2, Cal 6:53.2.
UW lineup -- cox: Megan Mach, Sanda Hangan, Courtney Matson, Alina Tabacaru, Amanda Jensen, Margaret Henry, Gemma Edward-Aron, Signe Johannes, Michael Kohan.
Cal lineup -- cox: Kate Goodman, Ashley Peterson, Elyse Lerum, Teresa Oja, Emily Burkett, Jessica Patak, Karin Clifton, Ona Johnson, Andrea McDermott

Varsity Four
1, Cal 7:21.1. 2, UW "A" 7:28.8. 3, UW "B" 7:41.1.
UW "A" lineup -- cox: Dana Ryan, Lindsay Schwarz, Nicole Mazikowski, Katherine Ramos, Lisa Krikava.
UW "B" lineup -- cox: Katie Peyer, Karen Etsell, Ilia Ash, Eva Hershaw, Alaina Garrie.
Cal lineup -- cox: Remy Hitomi, Jane Griffith, Kelly Tilmanis, Liz Youngs, Hilary Meu.

Novice Eight
1, Cal 7:05.2. 2, UW 7:14.6.
UW lineup -- cox: Eva Anderson, Courtney Mitchell, Kim Matz, Katie Ball, Allison DePalma, Marah Connole, Megan Kalmoe, Jessica Ahlering, Olivia Morrow.
Cal lineup -- cox: Azieb Tesfai, Shawna Walchenback, Erin Reinhardt, Ashley Smith, Megan Reitz, Sabine Zimmerman, Heidi Cole, Nathasha LaBelle, Kelly Segars.