The No. 4 UW men’s crew altered its season’s course this Saturday, upsetting No. 1 California on the Montlake Cut in the men’s varsity eight to win the 99th race between the two schools.

Despite losing to Cal earlier this season, the Huskies took an early lead in the race and never looked back, winning by a solid two-second margin.

“You beat a No. 1-ranked team on your home course in front of a couple thousand people in a historic race that’s gone on for over 100 years. It’s definitely satisfying,” men’s head coach Michael Callahan said.

The varsity crew never allowed Cal to pull ahead at any point in the race and strategically made a move early on, taking 10 powerful strokes at the 650-meter mark, moving from about one seat up to five seats up.

“I think today happened as a result of a lot of work that’s been done before and a lot of dedication by our coaches and by ourselves every day down at practice,” varsity seven seat Simon Taylor said.

In addition to the varsity victory, the UW men swept the Golden Bears in three other races, including a dominating win in the freshman eight. This success is a testament to the Husky crew program on all levels.

“At Washington, the whole team is very important,” Callahan said. “I feel like we have one of the best coaching staffs in the United States, and everybody stepped up.”

The UW women competed against Cal in four races as well, but finished with mixed results. After winning the four and novice races, the No. 7 Huskies fell to their No. 1-ranked Pac-10 rival in the two varsity matchups.

“Cal is outstanding, especially their varsity, and we’re not outstanding. We’re just regular,” women’s coach and program director Bob Ernst said. “We’re going to keep training and hopefully keep getting faster. We have a lot of potential.”

Next weekend marks opening day of the yachting season and the Windermere Cup, one of the biggest regattas of the year for the Huskies.

Reach reporter Scott Eisen at sports@dailyuw.com.