This weekend went a long way in establishing the UW crew teams as national powerhouses and forces to be reckoned with come NCAA championships time.

Competing in two regattas — the Husky Open and the San Diego Crew Classic — the Huskies won an impressive eight out of 11 races.

In San Diego, the Dawgs, racing with their two best eights from the men’s and women’s side and the best freshman eights as well, advanced to the finals of the two-day regatta against elite-level crews from around the nation.

On the women’s side, the No. 4 Huskies battled tough Sunday morning against No. 6 Michigan. In the women’s varsity race, the UW finished in second place behind Michigan, while finishing in first in both the junior varsity and novice races.

“Michigan has a really good team this year,” said Bob Ernst, women’s coach and program coordinator. “We certainly won’t see them again until the NCAAs, so that’ll be something to train for.”

Despite the one second-place finish, the UW women’s crew team has a lot to be proud of, having defeating four top-25 teams in the race.

The No. 1 UW men’s team had similarly tough battles with No. 3 California. In a race loaded with top-ranked crew teams, the Huskies finished ahead of No. 4 Brown and No. 7 Harvard, but lost to Cal by less than a second.

“All in all, I’m very happy with the way we looked out there today,” Ernst said.

Meanwhile, on the Montlake Cut, the Huskies dominated against in-state rivals Washington State and Western Washington in the Husky Open, winning all five races in which they competed.

“We’re proud of all our athletes out there today,” said Colin Sykes, women’s assistant coach.

The Huskies will see more of Washington State this coming weekend as the Dawgs head to the Snake River in Pullman.

Reach reporter Scott Eisen at sports@dailyuw.com.