No. 1 Washington Tops No. 2 Cal in Men's Rowing Dual

Cal falls short in the race between the top two varsity eight crews in the country, but the Bears will have more chances against Washington

Cal varsity eight | Photo by Zach Franzen

The top two men’s crews in the country went head-to-head on Saturday morning at Redwood Shores, and Washington’s No. 1-ranked varsity eight barely beat No. 2 Cal in the featured event of the day.

This was the 114th meeting between the two West powerhouse rowing squads, and it may have been a preview of the IRA national championships to be held May 29-31 in Sacramento.

Washington or Cal has won each of the past five men’s national rowing championships, with Washington’s varsity eight winning in 2021, 2024 and 2025, and Cal taking the title in 2022 and 2023.

But the Huskies had the upper hand in Saturday’s matchup between the two longtime rowing rivals, with Washington winning the matchup between the two top varsity eight boats by 1.4 seconds.

Washington finished in a time of 5:37.2, with Cal close behind in 5:38.6.

With its victory, Washington takes home the Schoch Cup, which goes to the crew that wins the top varsity eight race between Cal and Washington.

The outcome also makes Washington the favorite to win its third straight national title.

That was the Saturday matchup that mattered most, although Washington and Cal went against each other in four other eight-man races.

Washington’s second varsity eight defeated the Cal second varsity eight by three seconds, Cal’s third varsity eight defeated its Husky counterpart by a mere three-tenths of a second, Cal’s freshman boat defeated the Huskies’ freshman eight by a whopping 14.5 seconds, and Cal’s fourth varsity eight beat Washington’s fifth varsity eight by nearly four seconds.

The Bears’ top varsity eight boat will try to make the adjustments they need to get past Washington next month.

Cal faces Stanford in the Big Row next Saturday at Redwood Shores before competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship May 16-17 at Lake Natoma in Sacramento. Cal and Washington are the favorites in the MPSF event and are expected to go head-to-head again for the title.

The IRA national championships will take place two weeks after that at the same Lake Natoma site.