SEATTLE – It was a day full of tight races but the No. 1 California men's rowing team maintained possession of the Schoch Cup with a narrow victory in the varsity eight matchup against No. 3 Washington at the Montlake Cut in Seattle on Saturday morning.  All but one race was decided by three seconds or less throughout the day, with the Bears also taking the 2V8+, 3V8+ and freshmen 8+ races.
 
"It's always hard to come up here and win on their home course and I'm really happy with how our crews raced and represented themselves," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "There's lots to learn and improve upon as we go forward but I'm happy that the freshmen were able to get the win and that the fourth varsity had a great race. The second varsity really put together a great patient and composed complete race. It took some great races from four of our five boats to come away with the win."
 
The event marked a celebration of the 50-year anniversary of Title IX as the men's and women's crews from each school competed alongside a series of junior and master's women's races.
 
In the varsity eight matchup, both boats got off to a strong start and were even through the first 500 meters. Cal took a few seats lead by the halfway mark and built its advantage to bow to stern just before the final sprint.  Washington made a late push but was unable to overcome the deficit, with Cal finishing a half a boat length ahead in a time of 5:30.018, a little over one second ahead of Washington.
 
"I think they [varsity eight] executed the first section of the race really well and need to be better about what we're doing in that second half," Frandsen said. "I think they managed the race really well and held on."
 
In the second varsity eight race, Cal took a two-seat lead off the start and maintained its lead through the first 500 meters. Washington took a seat back over the next 1,000 meters. The Bears made a push through the sprint and extended their lead to bow to stern to come away with the win with a time of 5:38.618, just three seconds ahead of the Huskies.
 
In the third varsity eight dual, it was fairly even off the start before Washington took a couple seats lead over the first 250 meters. Washington built a half-boat lead through the halfway mark and was able to maintain that position through the sprint to come away with the win, just three seconds ahead of Cal in a time of 5:40.304.
 
In the matchup of the fourth varsity eights, both boats got off to a quick start but Cal built a few seats of a lead over the first 500 meters and extended it to open water by the halfway mark. The Bears were able to cruise to a victory by two boats of open water, finishing in a time of 5:48.331.
 
In the freshmen eight dual, it was fairly even through the first 500 meters before Washington took a few seats lead. Cal was able to make a move and take back a few seats by the halfway mark and build it to bow to stern by the midway mark. Cal continued its push through the sprint and finished with an open water lead, about three seconds ahead of Washington in a time of 5:47.831.
 
Results
 
V8+
1. Cal – 5:30.018
2. Washington – 5:31.202
 
2V8+
1. Cal – 5:38.618
2. Washington – 5:41.589
 
3V8+
1. Washington – 5:40.304
2. Cal – 5:42.809
 
4V8+
1. Cal – 5:48.331
2. Washington – 5:56.885
 
Freshmen 8+
1. Cal – 5:47.831
2. Washington – 5:51.821

Lineups
 
V8+
Coxswain: Luca Vieira
Stroke: Iwan Hadfield
7: Angus Dawson
6: Tim Roth
5: Ollie Maclean
4: Gennaro di Mauro
3: Gus Rodriguez
2: Frederik Breuer
Bow: Campbell Crouch
 
2V8+
Coxswain: Grant Fisher
Stroke: Tommy Barrell
7: Elliott Kemp
6: Tobias Kristensen
5: Fred Roper
4: Balthasar Issa
3: Matthew Gallagher
2: Daton Wolfaardt
Bow: Wilson Morton
 
3V8+
Coxswain: Savannah Adamo
Stroke: Marcus Cameron
7: Christian Tabash
6: Jamie Arnold
5: Dane Halkiw
4: Bret Holt
3: Harry Manton
2: Tyler Kurth
Bow: Josh Anderson
 
4V8+
Coxswain: Iliad Izadi
Stroke: Harry Cox
7: Farley Dimond-Brown
6: Guy Ferrera
5: Schuyler St. Germain
4: Adam Stephenson
3: Leonard Brahms
2: Henry Furrer
Bow: Nicholas Koudriaev
 
Freshmen 8+
Coxswain: Ethan Nghiem
Stroke: Dan Bradbery
7: Matthew Waddell
6: Alexander Baroni
5: Pablo Moreno
4: Thomas Heerding
3: Luciano Andreuccetti
2: Chris Weiss
Bow:  Keith Ryan