It was Washburn versus Washburn on Saturday, May 26 at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship as Tabor Academy was edged out for first place by Phillips Academy Andover.

The Seawolves in the first boat, led by coach Taylor Washburn, were defeated by the Andover team headed by Peter Washburn, his father.

The boys finished the race with a time of 4:26:516, falling short of Andover’s time of 4:26:283.

The girls varsity crew also finished strong in the New England grand finals. The girls in the first boat placed fifth with a time of 5:19:481.

“It really was a phenomenal effort from my guys. And while they did not ultimately win the race, they were involved in a race that they will always remember and something they should be proud of,” Taylor said.

As for any father-son rivalry, Taylor said any competition between the two is all for fun.

“For my dad and I it was a pretty special day. We are competitive, but it is fun and at the end of the day we are both very proud of each other,” he said.

Saturday’s match was not the first time the two Washburn coaches went head-to-head.

Tabor and Andover last met on May 12, which resulted in another close race. However, Tabor emerged victorious on that day beating Andover by 0.4 seconds.

“I honestly could not script it any better than to have our two boats be in a race that close, and for it to happen twice in a span of three weeks is pretty special,” he said.

While the number one ranked Seawolves may have placed second, the boys are not letting defeat get in the way of their next race.

In June, the team will head to the U.K. as one of 11 high schools competing in the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.

“They are excited to get back to work and feel that there is still significant speed to be gained,” he said. “It is a very motivated group, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to focus exclusively on rowing.”

After their race overseas, the boys in the first boat will say farewell to the five seniors on the team.

“Losing the seniors from the program will be difficult as they have provided strong leadership and instilled an ethic of hard work and selflessness in the program,” he said. “There are a number of guys in the program, though, who have the ability to step up and fill that void and I am excited about that. I also expect that, just like this year, there will be some athletes who I do not expect that will step up and surprise me next year.”