The University of Washington men’s rowing team won its third consecutive Benderson Cup on March 28, following a come-from-behind win in the varsity eight race at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.
The event brought together six top-10 collegiate programs competing across four varsity eight categories. Washington and Harvard both finished with 33 points in the standings, but Washington secured the trophy based on their first-place finish in the varsity eight final.
Washington’s head coach Michael Callahan said, “We always find it valuable to test our speed this early in the season. The competition was excellent and exactly what we were looking for. We learned a lot of lessons about ourselves and looking forward to getting back to work Monday at Conibear.”
In Saturday’s main race, Harvard took an early lead and maintained it through most of the course before Washington overtook them near the finish line. The Huskies finished with a time of 5:45.02, just over one-and-a-half seconds ahead of Harvard (5:46.59). Brown placed third, followed by Stanford, Northeastern, and Yale.
Other races saw close contests between Washington and Harvard as well. In second varsity eights, Harvard narrowly beat UW by less than half a second after holding off a late surge from the Huskies. In third varsity eights, Harvard again came from behind to take first place over Washington.
Washington also claimed victory in both fourth and fifth varsity eights races against crews from Harvard and Brown.
Looking ahead, Washington will host the Husky Open next weekend on Montlake Cut before traveling to Vancouver Lake for a dual regatta against Oregon State on April 11.
