UW, Cal do splits in crew rivalry

A quick start in one race and a strong finish in another yielded a split decision in the key varsity races of yesterday's Washington-California dual crew regatta, the 93rd time in 100 years the two schools have met to determine West Coast rowing superiority.

On a chilly, breezy morning along the Montlake Cut, Cal's veteran men's varsity eight, winner of the last four national championships, claimed an early lead that it never relinquished while rowing to a 4.8-second victory, about 1.5 boat lengths, over a youthful Huskies squad.

The Washington women's varsity eight, two-time defending NCAA champions, used a vigorous sprint in the final 500 meters of the 2,000-meter race to pull away from Cal and win by 2.7 seconds, or six seats.

Both winning teams enjoyed a measure of bonus satisfaction in their victories. Cal's men avenged their only loss in the past five years, which occurred during last year's dual meet when Washington upset the Bears on Cal's home waters.

Washington's women, meanwhile, rebounded from a split-second loss to Cal earlier this month at the San Diego Crew Classic. Cal won that race by a mere .08 second after a lengthy review of a photo finish.

"It's nice to get first place back," women's coxswain Anne Hessberg said. "It's going to keep us inspired and pushing on."

Both Cal's men's and women's crews began yesterday's meet ranked No. 1. Washington's teams were both ranked second.

UW men's coach Bob Ernst believes his young team (four sophomores, three juniors, two seniors), which this month has lost twice to Cal and once to third-ranked Wisconsin, is building toward something good.

"There are at least three really great teams out there," he said, referring to Cal, Wisconsin and fourth-ranked Harvard. "I think we're right on the fringe. Of all those teams, we're the one with the youngest student population.

"I told the guys before the season started that there's going to be a whole lot of learning that needs to be done."

As in San Diego, Cal used a fast start to take command of the race. "I think Cal is more skillful than we are," Ernst conceded. "They certainly got a margin on us in the first 200 to 300 meters. We kind of worked our way back into it, then we got into the cut and kind of wobbled and bobbled on a couple of strokes, and that was the end of the race."

In the women's race, Hessberg, one of five seniors in the UW boat, says it was basically a draw after the first 1,500 meters. "We just hit it for 500 meters and really took it to them," she said. "I know we have a very powerful sprint. That's been a place where we've been strong this season. We were eyes forward, focused. And we took it to them."

Coach Jan Harville was pleased with the outcome. "You lose by 2 inches," she said, recalling the loss to Cal in San Diego, "and you go, 'OK, we know we're not good enough and we have to perform better.' To practice hard and see that take shape this week is rewarding."

Notes

• It was the 13th straight win for Washington's women in UW-Cal dual meets, giving the Husky women a 22-5 lifetime advantage in the series that began in 1977.

• The men first met on Lake Washington on June 3, 1903. The Huskies lead the overall men's series 65-27-1.

• Washington won both junior varsity eight races, the men's by 1.9 seconds and the women's by three seconds. Washington won the men's varsity four while Cal won the women's varsity four. Cal won both the men's freshman eight and the women's novice eight.