SARASOTA, Fla. – The No. 3-ranked Washington men's rowing team earned the Benderson Cup with wins in three of four races Saturday morning at the IRA Sarasota Invitational. The Huskies won the second, third and fourth varsity eights races, but were edged out of first by Harvard in the varsity eight race.
 
The event matched six top-10 programs in four races on Saturday, after each crew had also raced on Friday evening, when Washington's top crew beat Harvard in what was also a neck-and-neck competition.
 
"Six boats across is an awesome format," said UW head coach Michael Callahan. "This was a really well-run event and we're thankful for all of the hard work that made it happen, from both Nathan Benderson Park, and from Paul Cooke and his staff at Brown."
 
The Nathan Benderson Cup was presented to Washington based on finishes in the first, second and third varsity eight races. Washington collected 33 total points. Harvard was second with 26 and Brown edged Yale for third by one point, with 24.
 
"I'm proud of our overall team performance," said Callahan. "It's indicative of the depth of the program."
 
On Saturday, Washington led from the start of the featured race, rowing in front of the other five boats through the first half. Even so, it was a close fight throughout, with Brown, Harvard and Yale all tightly packed and close behind the UW shell.
 
The Crimson caught the Huskies in the third 500 and headed into the final stretch with a slim lead, with Yale and Brown not far behind. 
 
The Huskies made a move in the final 100 meters and very nearly caught the Crimson at the finish line, but crossed just a foot or two back of Harvard. The official times saw Harvard winning in 5:27.02 and UW in 5:27.69. Just over five seconds separated the top-five finishers.
 
" I don't think we executed quite well enough to pull it off," Callahan said of the varsity race. "Harvard rowed a great race and we just weren't able to respond."
 
In the second varsity eight race, Washington came off the starting dock very strong, taking an eight-seat lead over the rest of the field after 500 meters. In the second half of the race, the Huskies moved out to an open-water lead, leaving the rest of the crews to battle for second.
 
Washington's 2V8+ won its event with a time of 5:32.69, more than six seconds ahead of second-place Brown, which held off Yale by just two-tenths of a second.
 
In the third varsity eight race, Washington, Yale and Harvard jumped to the front of the pack off of the starting dock, with the Huskies crossing the 500-meter mark with a deck-length lead over Harvard.
 
Shortly after, Brown moved past Harvard into second, but the Huskies remained comfortably in front and rowed to the win with a time of 5:35.25, with Brown second, a little more than two seconds behind and another two seconds ahead of third-place Harvard.
 
In the fourth varsity eight race, the Huskies grabbed the early lead, moving up to a six-seat edge over Yale by 500 meters, with Brown's 4V8+ closing for second position.
 
In the second half of the race, the UW 4V8+ maintained its lead, leaving the Yale and Brown crews to battle for second. At the end, Washington won the race with a time of 5:42.38, about a second and a half faster than Yale.
 
Next Saturday, the Washington men host the Husky Open on Montlake Cut, while the women will compete at the San Diego Crew Classic next Saturday and Sunday.
 
Video Replay of Saturday's Races (UW races begin at about the 3-hour, 44-minute mark)
 

Varsity Eight
Shell: Brett Reisinger '98
Cox: Kieran Joyce
Stroke: Max Heid
7: Archie Drummond
6: Jonathan Wang-Norderud
5: Giuseppe Bellomo
4: Sam Ford
3: Cameron Tasker
2: Harry Fitzpatrick
Bow: Marius Bjørn-Hansen Ahlsand
 
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Chuck Holtz III
Cox: Casey Neumann
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey
7: Povilas Juskevicius
6: Marc Tennesen
5: Ethan Blight
4: Ben Shortt
3: Lyle Donovan
2: Ryan Smith
Bow: Blake Vogel
 
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: John Nordstrom
Cox: Lilly Kurtz
Stroke: Gus Altucher
7: Blake Bradshaw
6: Quinn Hall
5: Ethan Walsh
4: Parker Raines
3: Luke Henry 
2: Ewan Morrow
Bow: Giulio Acernese
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Shell: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Nikita Jacobs
Stroke.: Ryan Martin
7: Louis Gallia IV
6: Oliver Black
5: Finn Griskauskas
4: Billy Osborne
3: Caleb Cowles
2: Alex Gonin
Bow: Hector Guimet