April 8, 2012
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. - Incredibly tight racing across the board was the trademark of the day this weekend as the top-ranked Stanford Lightweights defeated second-ranked Wisconsin at Redwood Shores.
"The racing lived up to the rankings," said Stanford lightweight rowing head coach Al Acosta. "All victories were hard-fought and well earned."
In the first varsity race, Stanford battled it out with a sharp Wisconsin crew through the length of the 2,000-meter course, ultimately pressing out to a narrow 2.1-second margin of victory.
In the II Eight, Stanford capitalized on a strong middle 1,000 meters to hold off a hard-charging Wisconsin crew for a 4.2-second victory. Stanford's novice eight then took on the Badger third varsity, pushing rough in a tight race but ultimately falling to Wisconsin's aggressive pace, finishing 3.0 seconds back.
After a break, both Wisconsin and Stanford broke their first and second varsity eights down into fours. Wisconsin's first four charged back through a strong Stanford crew to edge them out for a one-second victory. In the second four race, the Badgers once again fought through a tight race to come out on top by 2.2 seconds.
Wisconsin's four then took on the Stanford novice eight, which, despite a sharp body of the race, fell off of the Badgers' pace and crossed the line second. In the final two races of the day, Stanford's third four crossed the line 11.3 seconds behind Wisconsin, while Stanford's fourth four pushed out to a 16.6 second victory.