April 3, 2005
The Stanford Women enjoyed their best ever finish at the 32nd annual San Diego Crew Classic. Both the first and second varsity qualified for the Grand Finals (racing for places 1-6) in Saturday's heats.
In the Grand Final, the second varsity began slightly off the pace of the pack in the first 500 meters of the race. With each stroke the Cardinal picked up momentum and gradually began reeling in the field one boat at a time. In the the final 250 meters the Card drew even and passed USC and Texas falling less than a second off of WSU to finish 3rd over all. This is the best ever finish by the Stanford second varsity in this event.
The varsity eight settled in to their pace at a the 600 meter point in the race in the third position behind USC and California. The Cardinal caught and passed USC at the 1000 meter mark. Despite having the fastest third 500 meters split of the race the Card could not crack into the lead and finished second to winner California. This is the top finish in this event.
For complete results go to www.crewclassic.org. The Cardinal women will compete in the third annual Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic April 9-10 on their home racecourse at Redwood Shores.