The senior men and freshman women secured victories in the featured races at Washington’s 125th annual Class Day Regatta on Montlake Cut, held March 21. The freshmen won the Seattle Times Women’s Trophy for the first time since 1990, while the seniors claimed the George M. Varnell Men’s Trophy.
Class Day, which began in 1901, marks the traditional start of rowing season for the Huskies. Crews made up of classmates compete along a 2,000-meter course. Both men’s and women’s teams will begin their regular seasons next weekend.
The senior men’s crew finished with a time of 5:28.577, marking the second-fastest time ever recorded by a men’s crew on Montlake Cut. Michael Callahan, now in his nineteenth year as UW men’s head coach, said, “I feel like this team has been really senior-led this year. They’re in some of the most important seats in our varsity and 2V. So the fact that they performed well today wasn’t surprising. It’s nice to see them go out on top. One interesting piece is they had a freshman coxswain, so there was a lot of pressure for Connor to step into that role and steer them on the course, so congratulations to Connor.” The juniors or seniors have won this trophy every year since 2009.
The women’s freshman crew posted a time of 6:15.124—the seventh fastest ever by a women’s entry—and led from early in their race to finish about two seconds ahead of the seniors. Yasmin Farooq, UW women’s coach in her tenth year, said, “What an impressive effort by a group that has grown so much since the start of the year! They won the start straight up, which says something about raw ability, but they really stuck together to fight off every attack that came their way over the race. That says a lot about them as a class, and I am super proud of them.”
Other events included alumni races and unclassified competitions among current athletes and former Huskies. In one alumni event featuring rowers dating back to the Class of 1967, an older alumni crew called “WOOF” held off other crews to win with a time just over three seconds ahead.
Looking ahead to next weekend’s competitions, Callahan said, “We’re excited to start off the season… We’re going to succeed with them all throughout the season, so it’s nice to see them that started off the right way and get ready for Sarasota next weekend.” Farooq added regarding her team’s upcoming trip: “I think the upperclassman leadership in this group this year has been outstanding… We’ll have a good mix of athletes throughout the boats and I’m excited to see them get after it next weekend.”
