Cal Dual: University of Washington vs. University of California, Berkeley

On 20 April, the 108th edition of the Cal Dual took place on our home course in Seattle.

In the 2,000-metre (our race distance), we went up against the second freshmen eight three times. To find the fastest combination, we changed the line-up several times between from race to race. The last 2,000 was the fastest and our coach Samuel Dommer – competed in 2016 Olympics – then had the line-up for the coming week. On Friday evening, our coach had prepared a video for us where former Washington rowers wished us good luck and cheered us on. They gave us a “1, 2, 3, HUSKIES!” that was so loud the alarm went off in the trophy showcase.

On our race day we were mentally very well prepared:

Right from the first warm-up everything worked perfectly, and at 9:00 o’clock we realised that we would win the race if we risked go all in right from the start. After the first minutes of the race, we were already a boat’s length ahead of our opponents. We arrived at the finish with a lead of almost four seconds – the first highlight of the season was thus a very successful one for my team.

Over the course of the day, we went on to win the third, second and first eights and carried a perfect sweep. We rang out the pleasant and successful day with a small team celebration on Saturday.

The next regatta is the Windermere Cup. Also held in Seattle, this regatta is sponsored by the real estate giant Windermere and is considered the start of the rowing season.

Our opponents are the reigning world champions of Germany and Boston University