The Washington men's and women's crews owned the Montlake Cut this weekend, breezing past Oregon State's boats in nine out of 10 races Saturday morning to notch a resounding victory.

The men's varsity four started off strong in the first race of the day as the A boat finished first in 6:44.7, followed by Oregon State with 6:51.3 and then the UW B and C boats.

The UW was dominant in the final eight races of the day, demonstrating the passion and commitment that have come to characterize Husky rowers. After the men's freshman eight A boat came away with a winning time of 5:59.7, the women's varsity four boats lined up for the most crowded race of the day.

With three crews from the UW and two from Oregon State, the lanes were a little cozy going down the Montlake Cut. The UW came out with a one-two finish for the A and B crews, with the Oregon State A boat edging the UW's C boat by a little under two seconds for third.

The women's varsity eight and junior varsity eight races were also tight, but the Huskies emerged victorious in both. After staying close with Oregon State for the duration of the course, the Husky varsity eight boat pulled ahead to a finishing time of 6:50.8, just under three seconds ahead of the Beavers.

The women's crews have been doing some team building this season, and the results showed in Saturday's races.

"We've been working on teamwork, doing rope courses and volunteering." sophomore Rachel Powers said. "We're a lot more united this year."

The men's crews were just as powerful as their number one ranking indicates, particularly in the varsity eight race, in which they defeated Oregon State by 15 seconds. In the last race of the day, the men's junior varsity eight blew past the Beavers with a time of 6:18.5.

With the storied crews from California coming to Seattle next weekend, the Huskies have no time to rest.

"We've been racing Cal for 100 years, so this is a really important race," UW men's coach Bob Ernst said. "In my opinion, this could be the most important Cal-Washington race of all time."

Reach Risa Pavia at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.