SEATTLE – A matchup between two of the top crews in the country once again lived up to the billing, with another thrilling edition of the Cal-Washington Dual on Saturday in Seattle. While the Huskies won the first three races, the Cal' women's rowing team came away with the victory in the varsity eight, winning the Simpson Cup for the sixth consecutive year.

The marquee event of the day, the varsity eight race was a thriller from start to finish. Washington pulled out to an early lead in the first 500 meters but the Bears were able to keep contact with the Huskies, who entered the weekend ranked No. 1 in nation. Cal cut Washington's lead to just a few seats at the 1,000-meter mark and drew even with 500 meters left to go. The Bears carried the momentum through the cut and claimed the lead heading into the home stretch, beating the Huskies by approximately two seconds.

This was the second head-to-head meeting between the varsity eights this year, with Cal also topping its Pac-12 rivals earlier in the month at the San Diego Crew Classic. The Golden Bears and Huskies will likely meet twice again this season, with both the Pac-12 and NCAA Championships on the horizon.

"The highlights from today were our four and the first eight," said Cal head coach Al Acosta. "I thought they handled the conditions and the stress well and of course, keeping the Simpson Cup in Berkeley is the main highlight. I think every boat will take something from today to work on in our training and preparation for our race with Stanford next week, which will be equally as challenging. There's really no backing off from now until NCAAs, but that's what makes this so fun!"

Cal's victory in the varsity eight came after Washington won the first three races of the morning. The Huskies opened the morning with a victory in the third varsity eight, while Cal's third varsity finished second, holding off a late push from Washington's Novice eight.

Washington gained early separation in the varsity four, leading by open water with 500 meters left in the race. Cal put together a strong sprint to the finish, but was unable to make up the deficit, falling just short at the finish with less than two seconds separating the teams.

Cal got off to a strong start in the second varsity eight, which saw the race deadlocked through the first 500 meters. However Washington surged ahead in the second 500 meters and held strong to claim the open water victory.

The Bears return to the Bay for their final race of the regular season, taking on Stanford on Saturday, May 4 at Redwood Shores.

For updates and information throughout the year, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWRowing), Instagram (@CalWRowing), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWRowing).

Results

Third Varsity 8+
1.	Washington 3V	6:59.60
2.	California 3V	7:10.86
3.	Washington Novice 8	7:13.09
Varsity 4+
1.	Washington	7:41.12
2.	California	7:42.81
Second Varsity 8+
1.	Washington	7:01.79
2.	California	7:12.91
Varsity 8+
1.	California	6:40.74
2.	Washington	6:42.93

Lineups
Varsity 8+
Riley Brown (cox)
Charlotte Wesselmann
Kailani Marchak
Juliane Faralisch
Dana Moffat
Sydney Payne
Samantha Lamos
Ellie Howe
Alex Floyd (bow)

Second Varsity 8+
Elisa Forbes (cox)
Lindsay Noah
Maddison Brown
Zoe Feist
Lottie Orr
Chloe Betts
Issy Cassidy
Isabella Marshall
Nadia Negm (bow)

Varsity 4+
Lydia Hancock (cox)
Kendall Fearnley
Jane Perrignon
Sophie Kuehler
Jillian Behrens (bow)

Third Varsity 8+
Natasha Ellis (cox)
Carlie Stipe
Jackie Hendriks
Abby Paiva
Sydney Kend
Sophie Balson
Lucine Ahyi
Nicole Guzhavin
McKenna Bonkowski (bow)