Saturday, the Washington program will get the 2024 season underway with the Huskies' annual tradition: Class Day.
 
The legacy of Class Day goes back to the earliest days of the UW Rowing program, and gives fans and supporters their first look at the newest group of oarsmen and coxswains.
 
Here's a brief rundown of the UW men's team newcomers, which as always includes a wide variety of experience and is drawn from the local area, the wider United States and from overseas.
 
Four of this year's crop of "Grunties" hail from the greater Seattle area. Anton Boudzko lists his hometown as White Rock, B.C., just across the Blaine border crossing, but he attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland and rowed for Sammamish Rowing Association. At SRA, he was a teammate of fellow Husky freshmen Mason Boulter (Eastlake HS) and Will Senenko (Skyline HS), whose father rowed at Boston University. The fourth local is Carter Yagle, who attended Roosevelt High and rowed at Green Lake Crew.
 
Seven states, as well as the District of Columbia, are represented by the other American newcomers. The oldest of that group is graduate student Lucas Woodruff, who comes to UW after having graduated from UC Irvine. He's one of two Californians, alongside freshman Alex Ware, from Piedmont, Calif., in the Bay Area. Ware is the son of Liz Behrens, an All-Pac-10 rower at Cal and U.S. National Team member.
 
Dimitri Chamitoff comes to UW from Austin, Texas, where he competed with Texas Rowing Center. He is the son of NASA astronaut, Gregory Chamitoff, who has spent considerable time working on board the International Space Station.
 
Freshmen coxswains Maggie Gibbons and Chas Knittel come to Montlake from Washington, D.C., and Cleveland, Ohio, respectively. Both have considerable experience at the youth level.
 
Two freshmen rowers join the Husky program from New England. Ryan O'Connor, who has a brother who rows at Holy Cross, is from Southborough, Mass., near Boston, while Mark Platanov makes his way west from Milford, Conn., where he was a highly-decorated swimmer.
 
Brady Shanle lists his hometown as Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, but he finished his high school career at Saguaro High in Scottsdale, Ariz. He has experience at the youth level in both cities, and won gold for the United States in both the junior double and quad at the 2023 CanAmMex Regatta.
 
Eight new Washington rowers and coxswains prepped overseas – seven are freshmen and one is a transfer sophomore. Sam Ford, who grew up in Bath, England and who won the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley in 2022, joins the Huskies from Yale.
 
Two new Huskies are from Italy: Matteo Belgeri and Giuseppe Bellomo. Belgeri won a silver medal in the quad at 2022 World Rowing Under 19 Championships, while Bellomo was a gold medalist in the coxed four at 2023 Under 23s. Both have fathers who rowed for Italy. Alberto Belgeri won a gold medal at the 1986 World Championships, while Sabino Bellomo was a lightweight rower who earned five World Championship medals, including gold at 1988 Worlds.
 
Hector Guimet is from Lyon, France. He won bronze in the French four at 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships. Klas Ole Lass, from Niepars, Germany, is another new Husky with high-level success already under his belt. Lass finished first in the German double at 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships, and also competed at 2017 Juniors and 2022 Under 23s.
 
The lone Australian newcomer is Billy Osborne, from Maffra, in the southeast of Australia. He has a long résumé of success as a club rower, including two trips to Henley and multiple national titles, as well as time in the Aussies' under-19 program.
 
Finally, the group of UW newcomers is wrapped up with two freshmen from England. Coxswain Nikita Jacobs is from London, where he competed for Radley College. Rory McDonnell grew up in the town of Rugby, and has rowed in the British U19 team. His St. Edward's School (Oxford, U.K.) eight won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley last year.
 
Tomorrow, most of the new Huskies will make their official Montlake Cut debut. Racing begins at 10:00 a.m.