Washington suffers big setback in rowing rivalry

The Washington men's varsity eight knows the annual clash with California isn't just another dual regatta.

Not when the Bears are ranked second in the nation and the Huskies are ranked third. Not with bragging rights at stake. And certainly not with 102 years of history on the line, with the 95th chapter in the rivalry to be written by 16 athletes in a span of six minutes and 2,000 meters.

That's why yesterday's loss hurt so much.

After crossing the finish line at the west end of the Montlake Cut three seconds behind Cal, the Huskies slumped in their boat in a state of exhaustion and disappointment.

The loss ended a tough day for Washington, which also lost the women's varsity eight and five of the day's seven races. Only UW's women's varsity four and the men's junior varsity eight were victorious.

The Schoch Cup, named after former Washington rower Delos Schoch (1934-36), will go home with the visiting team for the fifth year in a row. Washington leads the series, which started in 1903, 66-28-1.

Cal jumped to an early lead of three to four seats, then held off every Huskies attack before finishing in 6 minutes, 6.1 seconds.

"This is as big as it gets, Washington-Cal," said Huskies senior Kyle Larson. "That's the biggest rivalry there is. Starting as freshmen we know that, so yeah, it was a tough loss.

"This should be a turning point. Now we show up with a purpose and know exactly what we need to do. It's not a good thing, but maybe it can bring good things."

While the Huskies now will look ahead to the May 15 Pac-10 championships for a shot at revenge, California coach Steve Gladstone looked back on last year's conference championship as the possible difference-maker in yesterday's race.

"Washington last year at the Pac-10 championships just ripped our heart out," he said. "They got through us in the last 20 strokes of the race. When you experience that it marks you, and maybe gives you more incentive."

In the women's varsity eight, the second-ranked Bears jumped ahead early and never relented, easily winning in 6:51.8, nine seconds better than the No. 11 Huskies.

"I'm disappointed, more in the fact that our crews didn't race to their potential than I am having been beat by a good team," said Washington coach Eleanor McElvaine. "Our goal was to come out and have the best race that we could, and we didn't feel like we accomplished that."

While the Cal women have won the last two duals between the schools, UW still holds a 22-7 lead in their rivalry.