The Montlake Cut will host some of the best crews in the world in this weekend's Windermere Cup, one of the premier rowing events in the nation. Various crews will compete for both the Husky men and women throughout the morning, culminating with the women's and men's varsity eight races at 11:15 a.m. and 11:25 a.m.

The event, first staged in 1987, gives crew some of its best exposure as a sport. In addition to Husky crew alumni and other Seattle rowing enthusiasts, the cut will be packed with those who come out to see the Seattle Yacht Club Opening Day, which follows the races and is part of the festivities to celebrate the start of boating season in the region.

"Our guys are performers — they know this is a big event, and they know it's our house," UW men's coach Bob Ernst said. "When I was the freshman coach here and I was also coaching the Olympic team, I used to tell guys that racing in the Windermere regatta, they'd be racing against more people than they would be in the Olympic finals."

The Opening Day regatta always draws top-quality opponents, and this year is no exception. The women's novice boat, coming off of a 17-second victory over Cal's freshman boat last weekend, will be racing Gonzaga at 10:54 a.m. They will be followed by the men's freshman eight race, where two Husky boats will compete against crews from Oregon State, Gonzaga and Western Washington.

In the next pair of races, known as the Erickson Cascade Cup, the women's junior varsity eight will take on Gonzaga and Western Washington, while the men will race against another crew from Oregon State.

The Windermere Cup races, the highlight of the event, are at 11:15 a.m. and 11:25 a.m., when the women's and men's varsity eights take on crews from Purdue University and the University of Waikato, New Zealand. The women have claimed the crystal trophy in 11 of the past 15 years, and the men have won 22 of the past 26, but both teams were defeated by the Russian National Team in last year's races.

Victory in the Windermere Cup race would be especially sweet for the Husky men, who were defeated by the New Zealand team in 2005 in an event called the Great Race, hosted by Waikato University. After the defeat, Ernst was determined to get the New Zealanders to Seattle for a rematch.

"It's great to have the Kiwis here," he said. "Seattle deserves the best. They're great visitors, fun people and great sportsmen. They're going to race their guts out."

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