REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – A rivalry that began in 1904 resumes Saturday when the Stanford and California men’s rowing teams meet in the renewal of the Big Row.
No. 6 Stanford and No. 2 Cal compete for the Schwabacher Cup, which goes to the winner of the first varsity eight race. The 1V8+ race is at 9:20 a.m. and the 2V8+ is at 9:40. All the racing, including the women’s Big Row, is on the Belmont Channel/Redwood Shores Lagoon course, which is the home course for both schools.
Cal has won the past 10 editions and owns a 71-19 all-time series lead, but Stanford is a much-improved squad and is a program on the rise under Ted Sobolewski, the Farwell Family Director of Men’s Rowing.
Overall, the Stanford 1V8+ is 7-2 this season and the Cardinal 2V8+ is 6-3. Among the highlights this season came on April 12, when the Cardinal 1V8 boat beat current No. 4 Brown at Redwood Shores.
On April 30, 1904, Stanford made its intercollegiate men’s rowing debut in a dual against Cal at the Oakland Estuary. In the 120 years since, men's rowing has established itself as one of the great traditional programs among Stanford sports. Stanford was the first West Coast team to enter the IRA Championships, in 1911.
Stanford last won the Schwabacher Cup in 2013 when the Cardinal set a course record of 5:31.2, which stands as a Stanford record.