SEATTLE – The No. 3 Washington men's rowing team took No. 1 California down to the wire in the featured varsity eight race Saturday morning at the 111th UW-Cal Dual on Montake Cut.
 
Cal, the defending national champion, edged out the Husky varsity crew by just over one second, by a distance of three seats. The Bears, who returned all nine members of their varsity crew from last season, had an advantage of more than eight seconds over the Huskies in the national championship final last spring.
 
On Saturday, the Bears crossed the finish in 5:30.018, while UW's time was 5:31.202.
 
"I've said it before that we are on the right trajectory, and I still feel that way," said UW head coach Michael Callahan. "Of course, when you race against California, you're rowing to win. But they're an incredible opponent, especially considering they returned everyone and added even more depth to their team.
 
"They're really strong right now and that's pushed our guys all winter, knowing the caliber of that team," Callahan continued. "If we want to be the best, we have to be able to rise up to that level."
 
Washington earned a win in the third varsity eight, while Cal won in the second varsity eight, fourth varsity eight and freshman eight races.
 
The second varsity eight race was close most of the way, with the Huskies briefly coming back from an early deficit. Cal pulled away in the final sprint to win by a length, with a time of 5:38.618. UW's time was 5:41.589.
 
In the 3V8+ race, Washington took the lead off of the starting docks and held the edge throughout the first half of the race, with the Bears remaining close behind. At the end the Huskies finished eight seats in front of the Bears, with a time of 5:40.304. The Bears crossed the line in 5:42.809.
 
The Bears won the fourth varsity eight race by a margin of about 8.5 seconds and the freshman eight races by about three and a half seconds.
 
Next up for the Huskies is the Windermere Cup/Opening Day Regatta, May 6 on Montlake Cut, when the UW will welcome men's and women's crews from Australia. The weekend kicks off with the Twilight Sprints the night before, Friday, May 5, at 8:00 p.m.
 
WASHINGTON MEN'S LINEUPS
 
Varsity Eight
Cox: Nick Dunlop (Sydney, Australia)
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey (Brisbane, Australia)
7: Jack Walkey (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
6: Logan Ullrich (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Povilas Juskevicius (Kaunus, Lithuania)
4: Cameron Tasker (Norwich, England, U.K.)
3: Robert Pluijmert (Dieren, The Netherlands)
2: Joel Cullen (Chilliwack, B.C./Sardis/UBC)
Bow: Max Heid (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
 
Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Kieran Joyce (Hamilton, New Zealand)
Stroke: Max Mason (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
7: Luke Henry (Bellevue, Wash./Singapore American) 
6: Gus Altucher (Portland, Ore./Cleveland)
5: Ethan Blight (Auckland, New Zealand)
4: Pablo Matan (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep)
3: Blake Vogel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic)
2: Marius Ahlsand (Oslo, Norway)
Bow: Giulio Acernese (Rome, Italy)
 
Third Varsity Eight
Cox: Zach Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Michael Thiers (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
7: Jonathan Wang-Norderud (Oslo, Norway)
6: Ben Shortt (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Adam Krol (Toronto, Ont., Canada)
4: Archie Drummond (Twickenham, London, U.K.)
3: Harry Fitzpatrick (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Nils Vorberg (Hamburg, Germany)
Bow: Blake Bradshaw (Auckland, New Zealand)
 
Freshman Eight
Cox: Tess Kadian (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield)
Stroke: Ryan Smith (Hannover, Germany)
7: Finn Griskauskas (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette)
6: Max Taylor (Brisbane, Australia)
5: Luke Collins (Poulsbo, Wash./Bainbridge)
4: Marc Tennesen (Seattle, Wash./Lincoln)
3: Lyle Donovan (Milton, Ga./Cambridge)
2: Ryan Martin (Newport Beach, Calif./Pacifica Christian)
Bow: Nick Smyth (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills)
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Cox: Casey Neumann (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Palisades)
Stroke: Quinn Hall (Chester Springs, Pa./Malvern Prep)
7: Louis Gallia IV (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit)
6 Abe Eligator (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck)
5: Caleb Cowles (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
4: Oliver Black (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit)
3: Alex Gonin (Victoria, B.C., Canada/Oak Bay Secondary)
2: Parker Raines (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
Bow. Tommy Igo (Alameda, Calif./Alameda)