While regattas and invitationals are great fun and a method by which to compare many more programmes, the spirit of US collegiate racing is in the duals: two teams line up and it’s best-on-best for bragging rights and ranking points. For that aim, this weekend may have the best showing in recent memory as for both the men and the women national championship contenders will be facing off.
The Dual
With one of the strongest rivalries in college sport, the dual between the California Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies is one of the highest-class events in the business. This year being hosted on the Montlake Cut, these two programmes have a storied history against each other.
On the men’s side, it has been a close affair over the last few years as each has won five of the last ten meetings. Last year, Washington got the better of California on their home water, claiming a course record on Redwood Shores. This year #1 California have returned a larger cohort from the Paris Olympics and will be looking to enact revenge as they travel to Seattle and will look to end the weekend as the only undefeated team on the west coast.
For the women, there is much greater balance in the overall series as #4 Washington have won 26 times to #8 California’s 21. However, this weekend the Huskies will defend home water as significant favourites: they return home having won all-but-one race at the Big Ten Invitational in borrowed boats and finished five seconds ahead of the golden bears at the season opening San Diego Crew Classic. However, California have upset the huskies before and with no Pac-12 Championships this year, they may have just one opportunity to prove they are better than their rivals to the north.
Longhorn Invitational
While there are a few major contenders taking to the water this weekend in Austin, including the fast-rising #16 UCF Knights, all eyes will be on Saturday’s main event as the two biggest programmes of the post-pandemic era hold their second regular-season contest in two years – having previously not dualled since 2005. #1 Texas will once again have home water advantage as their strong supporting crowd will be out in full force in the east of the state capital. Meeting them are the red-hot #2 Stanford cardinal, who come off the back of comfortable victories over Tennessee, Syracuse and Virginia to start their season. While the race will be between the two national contenders for the title of favourites as we enter the national championships, the bragging rights this weekend may go international as Rowing Canada will send a crew to race in the top event as they look to build towards the fast-approaching European racing season.
#5 Tennessee, #10 Syracuse and #15 Ohio State at #6 Princeton
Coming off the back of their first dual loss to Yale since 2009, the #6 Princeton Tigers will be hoping to bounce back into their winning ways. However, they face a tough test on their home water as the #5 Tennessee Volunteers roll into town. Off the back of a strong weekend in the first boat, building on that performance in the lower boats here will be a strong sign of progress for Kim Cupini’s squad as the third and fourth ranked teams at last year’s national championships will face off just over five miles away from the site of this year’s championship. Alongside them will be #10 Syracuse and #15 Ohio State who will also look to bolster their credentials in the eyes of the national seeding committee as the top four conferences in the sport will each be represented.
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