How close was the Men’s Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut?
So close that Lyle Donovan, in the bow seat of the Washington Husky eight, did not know if his team had won Saturday’s race. UW men’s coach Michael Callahan had a good feeling, but he also wasn’t sure.
Then, about a minute later, a huge cheer erupted from the thousands of fans packing the Cut. Washington had won, upsetting defending Olympic champion Great Britain in the closest finish in the event, which dates to 1987.
“It was an ideal race to test our limits, and our guys came out on top, which is amazing,” Callahan said.
Washington won with a time of 5 minutes, 28.083 seconds, .164 seconds faster than Great Britain. The closest previous race was in 1990 when China beat Navy by 0.29 seconds.
Northeastern, which led early in the race, was 6½ seconds behind Great Britain in third.
The Great Britain women, who won a bronze medal in the 2024 Olympics, won the Women’s Windermere Cup, defeating Washington’s purple boat by 3½ seconds. Canada, which won a silver medal in the 2024 Olympics, finished third and the Washington gold boat was fourth.
It was a good performance for the Washington women, but it was the men who stole the show, holding off a late charge by Great Britain. Donovan said he knew Great Britain was closing the gap late.
“I could feel it,” he said.
Donovan credited the crowd with helping the Huskies hold on.
“The last 500 (meters) we really felt the energy, the crowd, the boats, and the people on the shore above us and on the (Montlake) bridge,” he said. “They really fueled us at the end. And we needed everything in the end because it came down to the last stroke.”
Northeastern led for most of the first half of the 2,000-meter race, with UW in second and Great Britain in third. Washington took a short lead at the 1,000-meter mark, 2.1 seconds ahead of Great Britain.
With 500 meters left, Great Britain had moved into second place, 1.5 seconds behind Washington. Its final charge fell just short.
“This was the top competition we’ve ever faced,” Donovan said.
Callahan said it was “definitely an upset” for his team, two-time defending national champions, and said it was a sign of respect for college rowing in the U.S. that Great Britain sent its top team to Seattle.
The Husky coach said it was to UW’s advantage that Great Britain is just starting its season and is looking to peak in August’s World Championships while his team “is in the midst of the height of our season.”
Still, it was a win that will be remembered for a long time.
“We talked to the team about how it would come down to belief,” Callahan said. “Do you believe all the way down, that it can happen?”
It happened.
Washington women’s coach Yaz Farooq was also very happy, with her team having pushed Great Britain while finishing ahead of the Canadians.
“We are on a good trajectory,” Farooq said.
The Husky women had Aisha Rocek in the stroke seat this weekend after it went so well when Farooq put her in that role (the stroke rower sets the pace for the boat) at Monday’s practice.
“The Twilight Sprints (the night before the Windermere Cup) is always a glimpse into the next day and that was the first time we had Aisha stroking,” Farooq said. “It was such a dynamic performance by them (finishing second to Great Britain and ahead of Canada in Friday’s sprint). It was really inspirational for today.”
Rocek, who has rowed for Italy in the past two Olympics, said it was a very positive day for the Huskies’ top boat.
“I felt very supported by my teammates, and I enjoyed it,” Rocek said. “I am very proud of us. It has been six days (since going into the stroke seat) and we did such a good job. We hope to keep going in this direction, and we see what we can do in two weeks (in the Big Ten Championships).”
Notes
In the Washington men’s winning boat was Ryan Smith as the stroke, Klas Lass in the No. 7 seat, Giuseppe Bellomo (No. 6), Sam Ford (No. 5), Cameron Tasker (No. 4), Lucas Andersen (No. 3), Ben Shortt (No. 2), Lyle Donovan (bow) and Nikita Jacobs (coxswain).
In the UW women’s purple boat was Rocek as the stroke, Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank (No. 7), Jess Weir (No. 6), Mira Calder (No. 5), Jayna Palmer (No. 4), Cillian Mullen (No. 3), Zola Kemp (No. 2 ), Cait Whittard (bow) and Izzy Michaelson.