Leah Nash’s story is both remarkable and commonplace. And, the fact that it IS commonplace is also remarkable—at least in the legacy of Washington Women’s Rowing walk-ons.

Visitors to University of Washington athletic facilities may come across signs and posters listing the department’s four “core values:” growth mindset, committed service, humility and grit.

Rowtown, USA was created to embody all rowing in Seattle, both its history and its future, ‘This small city in the Pacific Northwest has produced so many Olympic medals and national championships and we wanted to show U.S. Rowing and the rest of our nation that you can develop Olympic class athletes.

University of Washington student-athletes continued to succeed in the classroom in the fall, achieving a department-wide 3.39 GPA, which matches the highest mark over the past year. For the first time since 2020 and third time in 20 years, all 22 teams earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher.

Sayre, born April 1, 1936, was a member of the Washington crew that beat the Soviet National Team in Moscow, in 1958, shortly after the Soviets, racing as Leningrad Trud Club, had bested the Huskies at the Royal Henley Regatta, the UW’s first trip to that event.

The Washington women’s rowing team closed out the fall season with a successful day at the annual Head of the Lake Regatta. UW won the Championship Eight, Junior Varsity EIght, Four and Pairs races. The Head of the Lake is an annual head race (time trial) that covers a three-mile race course.

The Washington men’s rowing team wrapped up the fall season with a sweep of wins at the annual Head of the Lake Regatta, winning all five races in which it competed. The Huskies won all three men’s collegiate eights races, the championship fours and the single sculls.

Washington’s men’s and women’s rowing teams are back in action this Sunday, Nov. 5, for the annual Head of the Lake Regatta, which gets underway at 8:00 a.m. PT. The annual event, co-hosted by the UW and Lake Washington Rowing Club, features a three-mile course.

In the Women’s Championship Eights, the Huskies had two entries. Washington’s first varsity eight finished in 12th place, seventh among college crews, in the 34-boat field. The UW V8+ time was 16:43.007. A U.S. National Team entry, which included UW alums Nina Castagna, Brooke Mooney and Jessica Thoennes, won the race in 16:11.313.