In its first competition since sweeping the Pac-12 Invitational, Stanford women’s rowing traveled to San Diego to compete in the San Diego Classic Regatta on Saturday and Sunday.
Each boat raced on a 2,000-meter course. In beautiful San Diego, the sun was ablaze and the wind was present. According to freshman Eva Nates, who rowed in the third varsity eight boat this weekend, the Cardinal team rows on waters that were a bit different from San Diego’s. Stanford’s rowers had to acclimate to the much more windy and choppy waters compared to their relatively serene home course.
On Saturday, the team was off to a strong start. All four varsity eight teams, along with the varsity four team, placed in the top two of their race. On Saturday, the first varsity eight team placed second in their heat with a time of 6:25.930. The Cardinal finished just behind the race-winning time of 6:24.206, clocked in by Washington. The second varsity eight team placed first in their heat with a time of 6:43.192. Stanford’s third varsity eight team (7:02.300) finished second behind Cal’s race-winning performance (07:14.751). The fourth varsity boat rounded out the day’s events with a time of 7:33.398, which brought them to first place in their heat. By the end of day one, after putting up strong times, Stanford had positioned itself very well for the final races the next day.
On Sunday, the first race was a battle for the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup. The Stanford varsity four glided into second behind Washington’s team, with a time of 7:19.127. While Stanford’s varsity eight boat saw a drop in time (6:40.040) from their qualifying race on Saturday, it only brought them to a fourth place finish, with Cal securing the top spot with a time of 6:33.434. Stanford’s second varsity eight asserted its dominance, putting down a winning time of 6:39.198, beating Washington (6:41.980) and Cal (6:44.386).
Concluding the action at the regatta, Stanford’s third varsity eight boat finished the final race in second place (7:16.198) behind Washington’s winning time 7:08.392.
The Cardinal will be competing next weekend in the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold River, California.
This past weekend, Stanford sailing won its second straight competition, finishing first at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC). Stanford finished the regatta with an impeccable 15-0 record to give the Cardinal its 12th straight PCCSC title.
Stanford won the first two round robin events and was the ultimate victor in the final four. Cal Maritime came in second at the end of the regatta (11-4) and Santa Barbara third (10-5).
The next sailing regatta will be the Navy Spring regatta scheduled for April 13-14 in Annapolis, Md.
Contact Nandini Naidu at nnaidu ‘at’ stanford.edu.