The No. 1-ranked Washington men’s varsity eight crew held off its biggest rival — No. 2 California — Saturday at The Dual, earning the Schoch Cup at Redwood Shores in Redwood City, Calif. The defending national champion Huskies, who won the same race last year in Seattle but finished second to Cal in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships, fended off each threat to take the Cup by 1.4 seconds, about a half-boat length. The Huskies also won the second varsity eight race, while Cal won the third and fourth varsity eights, as well as the freshman eights. “We really appreciate the strong turnout by the Husky faithful,” coach Michael Callahan said. “We’ve never had so many alumni, family and friends here to support the race at Redwood Shores.” In the finale, UW crossed the line in 5:37.2, while Cal’s final time was 5:38.6. The Husky 2V8+ won its race by nearly a full boat length, in 5:48.4, ahead of the Bears (5.41.4).…