GOLD RIVER, Calif. – A foot. Sixty-nine thousandths of a second. That was the difference as the Washington men's rowing team fell agonizingly short of regaining the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship regatta Sunday at Lake Natoma.
 
Having won national titles in each of their other three races – the second and third varsity eights and the varsity four – Washington fell to Yale by 0.069 seconds in the feature race of the regatta, the men's varsity eight grand final.
 
"I think they had an outstanding race," UW head coach Michael Callahan said of his varsity eight. "It looked like we were in position to maybe do it, but in the end Yale was able to have a better day.
 
"I think Yale has developed a lot of experience," Callahan continued. "They have been winning a lot of close races. They have a lot of veterans in that boat now and it's a tribute to them."
 
The Huskies did regain the Jim Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy as the overall points champion, their 10th in the last 11 years, thanks to national titles in the other three categories. Washington finished with 211 points (points were awarded for the three eights races only), while Yale came in second with 195.  The Huskies' streak of nine straight Ten Eycks had been broken last year.
 
"I think we have a lot of young guys," Callahan said. "Our job this year was to build a foundation and I think we did that from last year. I think we are a much stronger, deeper team. We are still really young. To be in a race like that, you just put that in your experience bank and come back the next year knowing how to win hard races like that."
 
RACE RECAPS:
 
VARSITY 8+ GRAND FINAL
The varsity eight grand final was the final race of the regatta. Having already won their other three finals, the Huskies were vying not only for the national title, but a sweep of the weekend and the Jim Ten Eyck Trophy, which was not yet a sure thing despite the earlier results. The UW had posted the fastest overall time in both the heats and semifinals, but Cal, Harvard and Yale all posed a considerable threat.
 
At the start, Yale took the lead, just ahead of Cal, Washington and Harvard in a tight pack. Yale held its lead at 500 meters, two seats ahead of the Crimson and the Huskies as Cal fell off the pace slightly. The Bulldogs remained in front as the UW took second-place away from the Crimson.
 
At 1,000 meters, Yale continued to hold off the Huskies, who had increased their rate. The Elis maintained their lead into the final 500. Washington began its sprint in the final several hundred meters, edging into the Yale lead with each stroke. In the last three or four strokes of the race, Washington's came ever closer, but the Yale bow ball crossed the finish line mere inches in front of the Huskies', denying Washington the championship.
 
In the end, the Bulldogs crossed the finish line in 5:29.900, while Washington came in at 5:29.969. Harvard edged Princeton for third place, while California finished fifth.
 
SECOND VARSITY 8+ GRAND FINAL
Five of the six boats from the V8+ and 3V8+ were in the six-boat field for the second varsity eight grand final, but the UW entered as the favorite. Washington took the lead with a fast start, establishing itself in front of Cal and Princeton near behind. The Dawgs continued their high stroke rate through the first portion of the race, maintaining their advantage ahead of Princeton, which had moved ahead of Cal into second.
 
Nearing the midway point, the Huskies made a move to try and increase their lead over the Tigers, who did well to answer and keep it close. But Washington continued to stretch the lead over the third 500, leaving it to the remaining crews to fight it out for silver and bronze.
 
Washington earned its 28th Kennedy Cup, and 11th since 2004, winning in a time of 5:38.654. Cal barely edged Princeton for second (5:40.720), with the Tigers taking the bronze medal by the narrowest of margins over Yale as the second-through-fourth-place boats all finished within two-tenths of a second of one another.
 

WOOF!! Washington's Second Varsity Eight are National Champions and take home the Kennedy Cup. pic.twitter.com/AGUAmY8LvG

— Washington Rowing (@UW_Rowing) June 4, 2017

THIRD VARSITY 8+ GRAND FINAL
The Huskies entered the 3V8+ grand final as one of four main contenders, along with California, Harvard and Yale, the last two of whom both posted a faster time in their semifinal than the UW did in its.  Leaving the starting dock, it was Cal who went out to the lead, with Harvard and UW close behind in a tightly-packed field of six. Harvard took over the top spot in the early going, crossing the 500-meter mark in the lead. The Crimson held their lead over second-place UW until the Huskies made an early move and took the lead just before the 1,000-meter halfway point. By 1,500 meters, Washington had established itself as the clear leader with Harvard trying to hold off Yale and Cal.
 
In the end, the Huskies crossed the line in 5:47.289, ahead of Harvard in second at 5:49.357. Cal edged Yale for the bronze medal.
 
The victory gave the Huskies' their second 3V8+ championship in the four-year old event. They also won their 26th Stewards Cup, which is now given to the third varsity eight winner, after having long served as the trophy for the freshman eight.
 

National Champions!! Washington's Third Varsity Eight takes home the Stewards Cup. pic.twitter.com/Adze21xcOX

— Washington Rowing (@UW_Rowing) June 4, 2017

VARSITY 4+ GRAND FINAL
Washington's four entered the grand final as the clear favorite, by virtue of dominating performances in Friday's heat and Saturday's semifinal, where the Huskies eased to wide victories.
 
Sunday, the Huskies and California surged to the lead off of the starting dock, with the UW quickly establishing a slim lead over the Bears in the first few hundred meters. At 500 meters in, the Huskies led by just shy of a boat length. At the midway point, the Huskies began to move further ahead, moving up their stroke rate to take an open-water lead over the Golden Bears. By 1,500 meters, the Dawgs' comfortable lead meant they needed merely a clean race the rest of the way to claim the UW's 11th Eric W. Will Trophy as varsity four national champions.
 
The Huskies held off the late Cal sprint to win by about a half boat-length of open water, finishing in 6:23.811. The Bears were second in 6:28.354, with Brown earning third place. The win was the Huskies' eighth straight victory in the event (2008-17).
 

Washington's Varsity Four are National Champions! They won all three races this weekend. pic.twitter.com/biTAxbXHJ6

— Washington Rowing (@UW_Rowing) June 4, 2017

 
UW'S 2017 IRA LINEUPS
 
VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Grand Challenger
Cox: Stuart Sim (Melbourne, Australia)
Stroke: Bram Schwarz (Haarlem, Netherlands)
7: Michiel Mantel (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
6: Simon van Dorp (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
5: Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla.)
4: Arne Landboe (Shoreline, Wash.)
3: Ezra Carlson (Eureka, Calif.)
2: Philipp Nonnast (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Bow: Guglielmo Carcano (Mendrisio, Switzerland)
 
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Rielly Milne (Woodinville, Wash.)
Stroke: Viktor Pivac (Belgrade, Serbia)
7: Pietro Zileri Dal Verme (Florence, Italy)
6: Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash.)
5: Tennyson Federspiel (Bellevue, Wash.)
4: Madison Molitor (Moses Lake, Wash.)
3: Samuel Halbert (Redmond, Wash.)
2: Jake Zier (Orcas Island, Wash.)
Bow: Eric Benca (Mercer Island, Wash.)
 
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT
Shell: Chuck Holtz
Cox: Braedan Daste (Redmond, Wash./Interlake)
Stroke: Max Rennie (Deniliquin, Australia)
7: Mason Pollock (Los Angeles, Calif./The Gunnery School (CT.))
6: Alexander Vollmer (Hamburg, Germany)
5: Luca Lovisolo (Torino, Italy/Licei Scientifico P. Gobetti)
4: Kieran O'Sullivan (Seattle, Wash.)
3: Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis.)
2: Oscar Golberg (Vancouver, Wash.)
Bow: Sam Goertz (Bellevue, Wash.)
 
VARSITY FOUR
Shell: Lou Gellermann
Cox: Lia Roberds (Kirkland, Wash.)
Stroke: Luke Khoury (Long Beach, Calif.)
3: Matthew Medalia (Edmonds, Wash.)
2: Sean Kelly (Princeton, N.J.)
Bow: Elijah Maesner (Duvall, Wash.)
 
 
UW's National Championships
 
Varsity Challenge Cups (MV8+)
1923, 1924, 1926, 1936, 1937,
1940, 1941, 1948, 1950, 1970,
1997, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015
 
Kennedy Challenge Cups (M2V8)
1925, 1926, 1927, 1935, 1936,
1937, 1938, 1940, 1948, 1949,
1950, 1953, 1956, 1964, 1972,
1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2015, 2017
 
Stewards Cups
(Given to MF8+ 1900-2016; 3V8+ 2017-)
1931, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937,
1939, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950,
1951, 1953, 1961, 1969, 1997,
2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010,
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,
2017
 
Eric W. Will Trophies (MV4+)
2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011,
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,
2017
 
Third Varsity Eight (M3V8+)
2015
 
Freshman Four (MF4+)
2008
 
Ten Eyck Trophies (Men's Points Champion)
1953, 1959, 1964, 1970, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2017