SEATTLE – Washington's senior women and junior men took charge from the start of their respective races on their way to victories at the 117th Class Day Regatta Saturday morning on Montlake Cut.
 
The results went according to recent form as, for the majority of the current decade, crews have won as juniors and then again as seniors. The women's class of 2018 won as juniors last March and repeated Saturday. On the men's side, the class of 2017 seniors took the title last year, giving way to this year's juniors (the class of 2019) to re-start the pattern in 2018.
 
"I thought it was going to be a closer race than it was, but the juniors had a great start and dominated from the beginning," men's coach Michael Callahan said. "The team has really great camaraderie right now, and it's been a great celebration of Washington Rowing this weekend. We're really excited to finally get out of the preparation cycle and into the race cycle."
 
"Last year, I was just coming to understand Class Day, because it was my first year here," second-year women's coach Yasmin Farooq said, "but it really is the best way to kick off the spring season. There's so much pride in each of the classes, and they take this race really seriously. The seniors were out practicing on their own during finals week because they wanted to win it so badly."
 
The Seattle Times Women's Eight
Washington's senior boat featured the exact same lineup as last spring, when the Class of 2018 won the race as juniors. Saturday, the seniors, led by varsity coxswain Phoebe Marks-Nicholes, came off the starting dock and took immediate command of the race. While the other three boats contended for second through fourth, the seniors led from wire to wire, winning in a time of 6:40.641. In the last 500 meters of the race, the juniors took control of second place and held off the sophomores. The juniors crossed the finish line in 6:47.605 with the sophomores close behind at 6:49.221. The freshman class ran fourth in 7:03.451.

VIDEO OF WOMEN'S EIGHT
 
George M. Varnell Men's Eight
With the defending champion boat having graduated, the men's eight race was wide open with no clear favorite heading in. After a relatively close start, the junior men took over early and rowed to a win in a relatively competitive race, as all four boats finished within about 12 seconds of each other. Kimmons Wilson coxed the class of 2019 to a time of 5:46.546, about five seconds ahead of the sophomores (6:01.330). The senior class rowed to a third-place finish in 6:05.080 while the freshmen finished fourth in 6:08.593.

VIDEO OF MEN'S EIGHT
 
Women's Varsity / Novice Challenge
This year's women's varsity/novice challenge featured two fours – one comprised of freshmen and another of upperclassmen. The veteran boat, crewed by four sophomores and a senior, rowed to the win in relatively easy fashion, finishing in 7:34.934. The all-freshman boat completed the race in 8:03.104.
 
Men's Varsity / Freshman Challenge
Two eights rowed in the men's varsity/freshman challenge. The classless boat, which featured five seniors out of the nine spots, opened the regatta with a victory, rowing the 2,000 meters in a time of 6:05.307. Washington's second freshman boat finished in 6:16.373
 
 
As a part of the Class Day weekend, Washington announced its team captains and winner of awards for top GPA and most inspirational. Here are the winners:
 
2018 Team Captains
Women: Karle Pittsinger
Men: Arne Landboe
 
Piggott Award Winners (most inspirational)
Women: Chiara Ondoli
Men: George Esau
 
Schaller Award Winners (highest GPA)
Women: Rachel McGlothlen
Men: Luke El Khoury
 
Up Next
The UW men and women will host the Husky Open while the women's team concurrently takes on Washington State in their annual dual regatta. All of those races will take place on Montlake Cut next Saturday, March 31.
 
About Washington Rowing
Rowing at University of Washington was established in 1901 with support from the local business community. In 1903, Washington entered its first intercollegiate race and defeated California, starting their storied "Cal Dual" rivalry. From this beginning, UW crews became the champions in the nation, winning the Gold Medal in the Olympics in 1936 as described in the New York Times bestseller The Boys in the Boat. UW has continued its tradition of winning championships and Olympic medals, and today is one of the best university rowing programs in the world. With its state-of-the-art training facility located on the UW campus right on the shores of Lake Washington, surrounded by mountains and in close proximity to the iconic Montlake Cut, Washington Rowing attracts the best men and women student-athletes from the Pacific Northwest and around the world. More information at GoHuskies.com, WashingtonRowing.com and @UW_Rowing.
 
Class Day Lineups
 
Race 1 – Men's Varsity / Freshman Challenge
 
Lane 1: Classless (Varsity 2018, '19, '20)
Boat: Alumnus/Swiftsure
Cox: Rielly Milne '18 (Woodinville, Wash./Brentwood)
Stroke: Luke El Khoury '18 (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical)
7: Pau Turina '20 (Portland, Ore./Benson Tech)
6: Mason Pollock '18  (Los Angeles, Calif./Gunnary School)
5: Chris Carlson '19 (Bedford, N.H./Brewster Academy)
4: Carsten Rossen '20 (Seattle, Wash./Cleveland)
3: Robert Karlen '18 (Everett, Wash./Walter Johnson (Md.))
2: David Bridges '20 (Portland, Ore./Jesuit)
Bow: Blake Owen '18 (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington)
 
Lane 2: Freshmen Class of 2021
Boat: Warren Helgerson '52
Cox: Adam Gold (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Academy)
Stroke: Angus Batstone (Newport Beach, Calif./Tarbut V'Torah)
7: Cameron Helgerson (Snohomish, Wash./Jackson)
6: Ian Engstrom (Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional)
5: Sebastian Ritter (Regensberg, Germany)
4: Jeffrey Theirs (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
3: Carter Heikkila (Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka)
2: John Danielsson (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge)
Bow: Stewart Sykes (Seattle, Wash./Kent School (Conn.))
 
 
Race 2 – Women's Varsity / Novice Challenge
 
Lane 1: Freshmen Class of 2021
Shell: Cascade
Cox: Sachi Yamamoto (Seattle, Wash./Franklin)
Stroke: Paige West (Spokane, Wash./Riverside)
3: Mary Fudge (Kachess, Wash./Easton)
2: Elizabeth Benson (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd)
Bow: Laurel Safranek (Anchorage, Alaska/West Anchorage)
 
Lane 2: Classless (Varsity 2018 and 2020)
Shell: Allegra
Cox: Dana Brooks '20 (Tiburon, Calif./Redwood)
Stroke: Anna Porteous '18 (Kingston upon Thames, U.K.)
3: Meg Rutherford '20 (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
2: Lark Skov '20 (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs)
Bow: Katelyn Costanza '20 (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River)
 
 
Race 3 – George M. Varnell Men's Eight
 
Lane 1: Seniors Class of 2018
Boat: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Braeden Daste (Redmond, Wash./Interlake)
Stroke: Viktor Pivac (Belgrade, Serbia)
7: Sean Kelly (Princeton, N.J./South Plainsboro)
6: Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./Citrus)
5: Arne Landboe (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood)
4: Sam Pettet (Seattle, Wash./Garfield)
3: Sam Goertz (Bellevue, Wash/Issaquah/Bellevue College)
2: Luca Lovisolo (Torino, Italy)
Bow: Harry Fox (Melbourne, Australia)
 
Lane 2: Freshmen Class of 2021
Boat: Old Chuck Holtz
Cox: Kira Lewis (Belleuve, Wash./Interlake)
Stroke: Gert-Jan van Doorn (Leiden, Netherlands)
7: Chase Barrows (Snohomish, Wash./Archbishop Murphy)
6: Steve Rosts (Jordan, Ont., Canada/Eden)
5: Peter Lancashire (Port Macquarie, Australia)
4: Jack Sclafani (Newport Beach, Calif./Mater Dei)
3: Paolo Bifulco (Portland, Ore./Lincoln)
2: Chase Deitner (Perth, Australia)
Bow: Nick Everett (Brockville, Ont., Canada)
 
Lane 3: Juniors Class of 2019
Boat: Chuck Holtz
Cox: Kimmons Wilson (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park)
Stroke: Michiel Mantel (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
7: Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./West)
6: Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./Bothell)
5: Tennyson Federspiel (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue)
4: Madison Molitor (Moses Lake, Wash./Moses Lake)
3: Elijah Maesner (Duvall, Wash./Eastlake)
2: Max Rennie (Deniliquin, Australia)
Bow: Philipp Nonnast (Frankfurt Am Main, Germany)
 
Lane 4: Sophomores Class of 2020
Boat: John Jacobi
Cox: Thomas Fuller (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton)
Stroke: Bram Schwarz (Haarlem, Netherlands)
7: George Esau (Long Lake, Minn./Orono)
6: Simon van Dorp (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
5: Alexander Vollmer (Hamburg, Germany)
4: Samuel Halbert (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville)
3: Austin Regier (Burien, Wash./Mount Rainier)
2: Harvey Kay (Nottingham, U.K.)
Bow: Elliott de Bruin (San Francisco, Calif./Lowell)
 
 
Race 4 – The Seattle Times Women's Eight
 
Lane 1: Seniors Class of 2018
Shell: Erickson Family
Cox: Phoebe Marks-Nicholes (Seattle, Wash./Ballard)
Stroke: Brooke Pierson (Oak Harbor, Wash./West Potomac (Va.))
7: Karlé Pittsinger (Lake Chelan, Wash./Chelan)
6: Chiara Ondoli (Angera, Italy)
5: Brooke Mooney (Peru, Vt./Stratton Mountain School)
4: Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista)
3: Kenzie Waltar (Kirkland, Wash./Juanita)
2: Julia Paulsen (Seattle, Wash./The Bush School)
Bow: Sara Clark (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar)
 
Lane 2: Freshmen Class of 2021
Shell: Olympia
Cox: Maddy Cope (Olympia, Wash./Olympia)
Stroke: Sofia Asoumanaki (Athens, Greece)
7: Klara Grube (Lübeck, Germany)
6: Holly Drapp (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest)
5: Tea Federspiel (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue)
4: Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School)
3: Taylor Buell (Olympia, Wash./Capital)
2: Ellie Bruce (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si)
Bow: Jenna Phillips (Dayton, Wash./Dayton)
 
Lane 3: Juniors Class of 2019
Shell: H.W. McCurdy
Cox: Madison Mariani (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si)
Stroke: Marlee Blue (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
7: Katy Gillingham (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
6: Calina Schanze (Behlendorf, Germany)
5: Elise Beuke (Sequim, Wash./Sequim)
4: Jennifer Wren (Seattle Wash./Bishop Blanchet)
3: Nancy MacGeorge (Seattle, Wash./Ballard)
2: Adele Likin (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
Bow: Anna Thornton (Nottingham, U.K.)
 
Lane 4: Sophomores Class of 2020
Shell: Kari Osterhaus
Cox: Marley Avritt (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Valentina Iseppi (Gardone Riviera, Italy)
7: Tabea Schendekehl (Dortmund, Germany)
6: Carmella Pappalardo (Salerno, Italy)
5: Molly Gallaher (Snoqualmie, Wash./Skyline)
4: Tommie De Rooij (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
3: Sophie Anderson-Kundig (S.F., Calif./Sacred Heart)
2: Emma Vagen (Kent, Wash./Kentwood)
Bow: Skylar Jacobson (Lakewood, Wash./Steilacoom)