UW Men’s Rowing

UW Men take head of the lake in fine fashion

The Washington men’s rowing team wrapped up the fall season with a sweep of wins at the annual Head of the Lake Regatta, winning all five races in which it competed.

The Huskies won all three men’s collegiate eights races, the championship fours and the single sculls.

“Strong racing across all boat classes,” commented head coach Michael Callahan. “We've made a lot of progress this autumn with team depth, and I believe we showed that today on the course.”

The Head of the Lake is an annual head race (time trial) that covers a three-mile race course that begins in Lake Union, moves through the Montlake Cut into Lake Washington, and then turns back into Union Bay before finishing near Conibear Shellhouse.

The UW men opened the morning with a win in the Ben Porter Cup – the Men's Collegiate/Open 8+ race. The Huskies bested a field of five, winning the race with a time of 14:33.800. Oregon State finished second and Washington State was third.

Right behind those crews, in the Men's College JV8+ competition, the Huskies' second eight won, beating six other college crews, with a time of 14:43.376. OSU was again second, with an eight from the University of Victoria (B.C.) taking third.

In the Men's Collegiate 3V8+ race, Washington had three entries, one crew of veteran UW rowers, one of freshmen and one with a mix of the two. They finished in the top three spots, in that order, with the Huskies' third varsity eight completing the race in 14:45.911, well ahead of the other seven boats in the event.

Many of those same rowers who competed in eights moved into fours or singles and raced again.

Washington took the top-three spots in the Championship Men's 4+ sponsored by Pocock Racing Shells, with the first-place four finishing in 16:40.283, about five seconds ahead of the second-place crew.

In the William Tytus Cup, for Men's Single Sculls, UW freshman Giuseppe Bellomo took top honors in a field of eight, finishing in 18:48.915. He was followed by Husky teammate Henry Ramstad in second.

“We need every oarsman and coxswain to elevate themselves and each other to become a championship level team,” Callahan said. “I’m looking forward to the next steps and I know the crew is committed to that mission.”

The Head of the Lake was the final competition of the fall for the UW rowing teams. The 2024 spring season gets underway March 16 with the 123rd annual Class Day Regatta.