April 15, 2007
Redwood Shores, Calif. - The No. 2 Stanford men's team fell to No. 1 Washington on the second and final day of dual format racing at the Windermere Real Estate Rowing Classic hosted by Stanford. The Stanford women's rowing team defeated Louisville in both the varsity eight and four on Sunday to highlight the performances for the Cardinal, while the lightweight eight fell to the nation's top ranked team Princeton.
"Windermere Real Estate of Northern California and the Strides for Life Foundation were instrumental in giving 800 student-athletes the chance to race," said regatta director and Stanford director of rowing Craig Amerkhanian. "We are so grateful for their support."
No. 1 Washington defeated No. 2 Stanford in the men's varsity, second varsity and novice eights.
"Washington proved they're a legitimate No. 1," Amerkhanian said. "They are absolutely a top crew in this country. Anytime you have No. 1 and No. 2 together in the middle of the season you have no losers. We're both racing for the Pac-10 Championship on May 13."
Stanford's varsity lineup consisted of Nate Rooks, Donny Simkin, Kevin Baum, Mark Murphy, Silas Stafford, Ottavio Siani, Dave Creighton, Alex Osborne and coxswain Ariel Dixon.
In the women's varsity eight, Stanford led from start to finish. Stanford's varsity four race was decided in the final strokes with Stanford edging out the Louisville crew at the line.
"What an opportunity to race three very legitimate crews from across the nation in one weekend," said Stanford women's rowing coach Yasmin Farooq. "The opportunity to make adjustments and learn was invaluable. We are already benefiting from them."
Contributors to the varsity women's effort included Kathy Altman, Sophie Aubrey, Kerry Birk, Jenifer Brown, Amelia Carr, Drusia Dickson, Di Eaton, Adrienne Fritsch, Bea Gordon, Alex Hasbach, Lauren Hofmayer, Melissa Hulme, Cassie Kull, Julia Liebner, Elle Logan, Stephanie Morrison, Katie O'Neil, Kerry Pigott, Jessica Reel, Eva Sheridan, Sarah Vick, Lena Wolfe and Carly York.
No. 1 Princeton defeated the No. 7 Stanford lightweight women's eight of Jessica Weigel, Meredith Coleman, Jenny Morawetz, Erin Conlon, Anne Stake, Alex Liptsey-Rahe, Jessica Bryant, Kate Hayes and Olivia Prevost.
"I thought the team did really well," said Stanford head women's lightweight coach Al Acosta. "They got down a bit early, but they held on, stuck together and made up some ground at the end. Anytime you can do that against the No. 1 team in the country you've got to feel pretty good about where you are."
Stanford's lightweight varsity four was victorious against California.
"Our varsity four had an outstanding row," Acosta added. "In a 15-mile per hour head wind they pushed really hard all the way down the course and never let up. We were all really proud to see that."
The Windermere Real Estate Rowing Classic is one of the premier collegiate rowing events in the nation, drawing top crews from throughout the United States in Henley style racing, a one-on-one or two-boat race used for competition at the famous Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.
A total of 24 teams from across the nation competed in 88 races over two days of competition Saturday and Sunday.
For more information on the 2007 Windermere Real Estate Classic, go to event website at jamcotimes.com/2007/windermere.
About Windermere Real Estate
Windermere Real Estate is the leading residential real estate network in the West with over 300 offices and 8,000 associates serving neighborhoods in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Washington and British Columbia. Windermere has been consistently ranked as the largest regional real estate brand in the western United States by REAL Trends, a primary source of industry data. Windermere has a proud heritage of serving communities by way of the Windermere Foundation, which provides funding to social service agencies that offer housing and services to low-income and homeless children and families. Windermere's Web site, www.windermere.com/events, receives over 2 million unique visits per month, and is regarded as one of the leading real estate sites in the country in terms of customer usability. In 2006, Windermere was selected as an Official Honoree of the 10th Annual Webby Awards based on excellence in Web site content, design, functionality and overall experience.