UW’s eight, with sophomore Rielly Milne at coxswain and junior Philip Walczak serving as stroke, rallied to win by roughly a half-boat length, 5:39.290 to 5:40.648, on a cool, overcast morning with calm water and a modest quartering headwind.
Employing a new-look lineup thin on varsity experience, Washington men’s rowing coach Michael Callahan called Saturday’s season-opening varsity eight win over No. 6 Brown on Montlake Cut, “a great first step.”
After winning an unprecedented fifth straight national championship last June, top-ranked Washington competed Saturday with just one rower, junior Ezra Carlson (seventh seat), who rowed with last year’s championship V8.