SEATTLE – Second-ranked California captured the Simpson Cup for the 11th time in the past 12 years with the Golden Bears' varsity eight victory over No. 5 Washington Saturday morning on Montlake Cut in Seattle, Wash.  

The Bears and Huskies split the four races overall, with Cal also taking home the crown in the third varsity eight as well. Washington claimed victories in the second varsity eight and varsity four.

“The varsity eight has performed very well all year and it was another great performance for them,” California head women's crew coach Al Acosta said. “It was great to see some of the individuals who lost here two years ago come back here and win. I am happy for our seniors who get to take home this trophy. There was a great crowd here, the magnitude of racing is very good and it was exciting to be a part of it. I felt pretty good about the way we raced overall. The junior varsity and the four will learn from this race, but they are not too far off where we need to be. We will make some adjustments and look to take a big step forward next week with another really tough race against Stanford.”

Cal led from start-to-finish in the varsity eight, pulling ahead of the Huskies early on. The Bears opened a seven-seat lead over UW at the midpoint of the course. Cal extended its lead to a length with 500 meters to go and won by two seats of open water, 6:24.5 – 6:29.8.

With the victory, the Bears' varsity eight remains undefeated for the season with wins over No. 2 Virginia, No. 2 Brown, No. 6 Stanford and now No. 5 Washington.   

Washington won wire-to-wire in the second varsity eight race, jumping ahead by two seats early. The Huskies pushed their lead to four seats before Cal cut into UW's lead at the 1,000-meter mark. Washington extended its lead over the final 1,000 meters and won by about a length over the Bears, 6:30.2 – 6:32.7.  

Cal erased a small deficit to Washington early on in the third varsity eight race and surged ahead a full seat by the midpoint of the course. The Bears opened a half-length advantage heading into the final 750 meters and won by three-quarters length over the Huskies, 6:31.7 – 6:34.0.  

California and Washington opened the regatta with the varsity four, where UW pulled ahead by the midpoint of the course and won, 7:13.2 – 7:18.9.

Cal returns to Redwood Shores next Saturday (May 2) where the Bears will face Stanford in the Big Row. The regatta is set to get underway at 9 a.m. PT.

Varsity Eight
Results: 1. California (6:24.5), 2. Washington (6:29.8)
Cal Lineup: Lindsay Meltz (coxswain), Kendall Chase (stroke), Ingvild Roenningen (7), Caileigh Filmer (6), Mia Croonquist (5), Jacinta Edmunds (4), Dorothee Beckendorff (3), Inger Kavlie (2), Rowan McKellar (bow)

Second Varsity Eight
Results: 1. Washington (6:30.2), 2. California (6:32.7)
Cal Lineup: Hannah Christopher (coxswain), Sarah Schwartz (stroke), Stephanie Kraemer (7), Maddie Wolf (6), Charlotte Passot (5), Charlotte Siering (4), Hunter Deuel (3), Danielle Struck (2), Roisin Duffy (bow)

Third Varsity Eight
Results: 1. California (6:31.7), 2. Washington (6:34.0)
Cal Lineup: Hannah Freeman (coxswain), Victoria Jorgensen (stroke), Bridget Konittinen (7), Hellen Heile (6), Cara Bohmann (5), Lena Kallweit (4), Vanessa Gerber (3), Kendall Ritter (2), Hailey Drangsholt (bow)

Varsity Four
Results: 1. Washington (7:13.2), 2. California (7:18.9)
Cal Lineup: Rachel Lether (coxswain), Katie Kelly (stroke), Camilla Gardiner (3), Lisa Perrine (2), Katie De Haas (bow)