In its first regatta of the year, Stanford women’s rowing swept all four of its races against UCLA and San Diego State on Saturday morning in Los Angeles to start the season on fire.

Every winning boat claimed its victories by large margins. The third varsity eight opened up the day with a victory over the opposing schools, finishing the race in 6:57.5, a full 14 seconds ahead of the UCLA boat.

Stanford’s varsity four boat won its race as well, striding down the river in a speedy 7:34.0 minutes. This victory came six seconds ahead of UCLA’s time and almost 30 seconds before San Diego State crossed the finish line. The second varsity eight pulled out a time of 6:47.7 during its race, crushing opponents by 12 seconds.

The largest victory of the day was taken by the first varsity eight boat, which completed the race in a mere 6:27.2 minutes. The Cardinal rowers finished 16 seconds ahead of the next closest boat.

This was the first regatta of new head coach Derek Byrnes’ career. Previously the head coach of the women’s lightweight team, Byrnes has had great success with that team over the past two years and looks to continue growing with the women’s rowing program this year.

The Cardinal will open their 2017 home races on April 1-2, as they host opponents Michigan, Virginia and Ohio State at Redwood Shores.

Contact Bobby Pragada at bpragada ‘at’ stanford.edu.