The Washington men's rowers head to New Jersey this weekend to prove themselves in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (IRAs), the end-of-season tournament in the sport for college men. The Huskies come into the race ranked No. 1 in the nation for the eighth consecutive week, and will be racing against teams that include No. 2 Harvard and Pac-10 rival California.

"I believe we have a good team, needless to say," UW coach Bob Ernst said. "But Harvard's good, Cal will be tough to beat and we have Brown and Syracuse in the heats tomorrow, too."

Ernst, who was just named Pac-10 coach of the year for the 11th time in his career at Washington, will be leading one of only two undefeated varsity eight boats in the championships. The UW and Harvard both come into this weekend with varsity eight crews that have not yet lost this season. But the field of 24 in the varsity eight race is packed with talented crews, including Brown University, the No. 8 seeded team, and the No. 9 seed, Syracuse, both of which will be racing against the Huskies in their heat this morning.

The last time the Huskies came into the IRAs with a perfect record was also the last time they won the varsity eight title, in 1997. The UW's rowers have claimed the title 11 times, but have been unable to defeat California and Harvard in recent years, as those two teams have taken the varsity eight title in the past eight years. The Huskies finished third overall in last year's championships.

The recent Pac-10 championships, in which Washington defeated California in the varsity and junior varsity eight races and finished second in the freshman eight race to claim the conference championship, give the Huskies confidence coming into this weekend's event.

"That was a great race [at the Pac-10s]," Ernst said. "Cal came in really focused to have a tough race, and our guys responded and raced accordingly. It was one of the best crew races I've seen in a long time."

Husky crews will also be competing in the junior varsity and freshman eight divisions as well as the open four races. The freshmen come in as the defending champions, having broken Cal's three-season, undefeated record with their win in the 2006 IRAs. This year, the freshmen will look to avenge losses to California in both a dual race and in the Pac-10 championships.

The Huskies have also taken the title in the past four years in the open four races. The UW rowers have claimed victory in at least one event for the past six years and look to keep that streak alive as they aim for the title in this weekend's races.

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