With the sun finally beginning to peek out from behind the clouds, the UW men’s and women’s crew returned from spring break this past weekend to resume competitive play.

Saturday’s 108th annual Class Day Regatta marked the start of the spring season, and a variety of races pitted different classes of Husky rowers against their fellow teammates.

“We’re off and running,” women’s head coach Bob Ernst said. “This is Husky crew season now.”

The regatta, held on the Montlake Cut, saw strong performances by all UW boats, with the women’s junior class and the men’s freshman class taking the women’s and men’s eights, respectively.

This was the second year in a row the freshmen men won on Class Day, which men’s head coach Michael Callahan sees as a promising sign for this year’s crew.

“The fact that they’ve done it three times in the last four years shows the level of athlete that’s coming in to the University of Washington,” he said. “The future of this program looks extremely bright.”

The overall performance by the women showed why expectations are higher than ever for the upcoming season. Ranked fourth in the latest Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll, the UW women are reasonably expected to make some noise in the Pac-10 and NCAA championships.

As for the men, a historic race at Oxford University earlier this month set the stage for what could be a very special season. On March 1, the Husky men’s crew became the first American university eight to race Oxford on its famed Boat Race course. While Oxford was victorious in the race, the Huskies put up a strong fight.

“We feel like we learned a lot abut boat racing here,” Callahan said. “I believe strongly that they helped us prepare for our ultimate goal at the end of the season.”

With eight world champions on both teams combined, the UW crew looks to build upon where it left off after a solid fall season, but will have to navigate through a difficult schedule along the way.

In preparation for the Pac-10 Championship in mid-May, the Huskies row against some of the best teams in the nation, including in-state rival Washington State and longtime Pac-10 foe California.

The Huskies’ competition starts this weekend, including races Saturday in the Husky Open on the Montlake Cut, and Saturday and Sunday on Mission Bay in the San Diego Crew Classic.

Reach reporter Scott Eisen at sports@dailyuw.com.