The University of Washington women’s rowing team won two races and finished second in four others on Apr. 19, as the Huskies competed on the final day of the B1G Invitational at Lake Natoma.
The regatta brought together some of the nation’s top programs, including No. 1 Stanford, which Washington faced for the first time this season. Over the weekend, each of Washington’s seven crews raced three times, with the Huskies winning a total of 14 out of their 21 events.
Senior captain Margaret Young said, “I am super proud of my team. From one race to another we were able to define our race identity, but more importantly we were able to find more ways to express ourselves as a team.” She added, “As much as we know how much work there is yet to be done, we all feel incredibly proud of how much we were able to learn and grow from each race. I truly love this group, and believe we will be able to find so much more speed as we head into the championship season.”
Head coach Yasmin Farooq said, “The Big Ten Invitational is an important checkpoint for us, and today was a strong step forward. This was our first look at the rest of the Big Ten, and I was proud of how our athletes handled the intensity of the racing within the conference and against other top teams.” Farooq also highlighted performances across several events: “Our rivalry with Cal continues to bring out the best in both programs… Our freshmen in the 3V8 took a meaningful step forward today… They are the future of this program.” She continued about Stanford’s performance: “Many teams got only a limited comparison to No. 1 Stanford this weekend,” noting that some top rowers did not participate until later rounds.
In individual races Sunday morning, Washington placed second behind Stanford in both varsity fours and second varsity eights events while winning third varsity four by over ten seconds ahead of Stanford. The fourth varsity eight closed out competition with another victory for UW.
Looking ahead, Farooq said: “Now we’ll turn our focus to building rhythm and speed as we prepare for Windermere Cup where we’ll face elite lineups from Great Britain and Canadian national teams… I’m extremely proud of progress we’re making and excited for our next race back home in RowTown USA.” The team’s next competitions include Twilight Sprints on May 1 followed by Windermere Cup on May 2.
