In front of an estimated 2,000 people on the Montlake Cut, the UW crew opened the boating season with a bang Saturday, sweeping all nine races in which they competed, securing the Windermere Cup for both the men and women.

With boats lining the Cut and the Montlake Bridge packed with spectators, the Huskies cruised to victories in every one of their races, beating varsity crews from Oregon State and Miami, as well as the under-23 national team from Brazil.

The No. 2 UW men captured the Windermere Cup in the last race of the day, pulling away from the competition early on and winning by nearly 13 seconds in a time that registered as the third-best in the history of the race.

“It’s a great time,” men’s coach Michael Callahan said. “I think it’s under 5:40. Anyone that follows rowing knows that’s a pretty quick time.”

This victory for the men’s varsity, along with their win over No. 1 Cal last weekend, caps an impressive run that has turned the season back toward fulfilling the expectations held for the team.

“We’ve really come together the last couple of weeks,” varsity five-seat Rob Gibson said. “We’ve really started trusting each other and having more fun out there.”

The No. 8 varsity women won their race without much of a fight as well, winning by nearly 17 seconds. Women’s head coach Bob Ernst sees this as a step in the right direction, with the regular season closing and the postseason two weeks away.

“I think we’re making some progress,” he said. “We’ll see. The Pac-10s are going to be a really good shootout.”

For some of the Huskies, Saturday’s victories were bittersweet, marking the final collegiate races that the senior class will compete in on the Montlake Cut.

“It’s a big deal because we have a large senior class, and three years ago, they provided a real spark and a real shot in the arm for our program,” Callahan said. “It’s nice to see them perform well on our home course in front of our home crowd. That was really pleasing.”

The home crowd provided quite the atmosphere to send these seniors off. Along with the nine races the Huskies competed in, there were 11 others, ranging from high-school competitions to a 70-years-of-age-and-older race.

Callahan believes that the excitement of the crowd helped the team understand what a championship race is like.

“There are a lot of spectators, and you have the feeling that you have to bring your best performance to really do well here,” he said. “It really helps us to prepare for our championships coming up in the next five weeks.”

The Pac-10 championships, taking place in Rancho Cordova, Calif., May 16 and 17, will feature some of the best teams in the nation, with seven teams in the top 20 on the women’s side and four on the men’s.

Reach reporter Scott Eisen at sports@dailyuw.com.