The Washington men’s varsity eight crew defeated rival California on April 25 at The Dual, securing the Schoch Cup in a close race at Redwood Shores.
The event is significant as it features one of the oldest and most prominent rivalries in college rowing. The Huskies, ranked No. 1 and defending national champions, faced off against No. 2 California in a contest that drew considerable attention from alumni and supporters.
Washington’s varsity eight won by just 1.4 seconds over California, finishing with a time of 5:37.2 to Cal’s 5:38.6. “It was an exciting atmosphere at Redwood Shores today and it seemed like the epicenter of college rowing world with the No. 1 and 2 men’s programs racing and the No. 1 and 2 women’s programs racing,” said head coach Michael Callahan.
Callahan also noted the strong support from Husky fans: “We really appreciate the strong turnout by the Husky faithful. We’ve never had so many alumni, family and friends here to support the race at Redwood Shores. It certainly was uplifting for our guys in the last 500 meters… This isn’t our home water, but they made it feel that way.” He added, “We had almost perfectly executed races in the 1V and 2V… I’m really excited how those boats performed.” Washington also won the second varsity eight race while Cal took victories in other events including third varsity eights, fourth varsity eights, and freshman eights.
The rivalry between Washington and California dates back to 1903; this latest win marks Washington’s seventy-ninth victory out of one hundred fourteen meetings for The Dual’s Schoch Cup—named after Delos “Dutch” Schoch from Washington’s class of 1936.
Looking ahead, Callahan said, “It’s certainly not going to get any easier taking on the Olympic champions and Northeastern next week on Montlake Cut… I’m excited to see everyone packing the Cut…and to show all speed Huskies have in front of our home crowd.” Next weekend will feature Washington hosting both international teams for men’s Windermere Cup races.
