April 21, 2013
GOLD RIVER, Calif. - Ninth-ranked Stanford women's rowing closed out its weekend at the Lake Natoma Invitational by tying for third place after competing in the A group.
The Cardinal, rowing in the top-seeded group with No. 1 USC and No. 2 California, finished third in each class, the I Eight, II Eight and Four Sunday.
Stanford will compete at the Oregon State Classic in Eugene, Ore. next Saturday, April 27.
"The highlight of the regatta was definitely the showdown in the varsity eight between USC, Cal and Stanford," said Stanford head coach Yasmin Farooq. "The race really lived up to its billing and all three crews came out swinging. Our varsity eight is made up of nine girls who really just love to pull hard, and they got the race off to a quick start. I'm confident they are up to the challenge of backing that up with a stronger second 1,000. There's a lot of motivation moving forward. We also made steady progress in our varsity four and novice eight this weekend with some pretty young athletes. Every year we get a little deeper and it's starting to show. The second varsity eight results can be better. That has traditionally been a strong event for us and it can be again. We couldn't have asked for better competition this weekend."
The I Eight, facing off head-to-head with top-ranked USC and No. 2 California for the first time, took an early lead off the line Sunday. The Cardinal held a slim lead on California by the 1,000-meter mark, but USC would make its attack and surge into the lead. By the 1,500-meter mark, the three boats were making their pushes but it would be USC that would find open water and cross the line with a winning time of 6:20.4, ahead of California's 6:24.0 and Stanford's 6:25.9.
In the II Eight competition, the Cardinal fell behind in a race that ended up coming down to USC and California. California would take the win in 6:31.3, edging USC by 1.9 seconds and finishing 15.1 seconds ahead of Stanford's time of 6:46.4.
The Cardinal Four would engage in a tight race with its USC and California counterparts. California would prove fastest, clocking a 7:16.1 ahead of USC's 7:20.0 and Stanford's 7:22.2.
In Novice Eight action, the Cardinal entry would capture the petite final Sunday morning with a time of 6:52.
"I'm very pleased with how our boat progressed throughout the three races this weekend," said senior Lindsay Meyer, a member of the Cardinal I Eight. "It's exciting to know what we need to improve on going forward. I think we learned a lot and we're all ready to get back to work and see how much speed we can gain in the next few weeks."
Stanford Boat Lineups
I Eight
Naomi Cornman (coxswain)
Lindsay Meyer
Anna Dawson
Daphne Martschenko
Caitlin Byrnes
Amanda Lorei
Sarah Bolmer
Kristy Wentzel
Christina Bax
II Eight
Katie Lopez (coxswain)
Julianna Kapjian-Pitt
Claire Grover
Filippa Karrfelt
Katie Toothman
Alix Chrumka
Valerie Frank
Alison Fauci
Chierika Ukogu
Four
Liza Gurtin (coxswain)
Courtney Carrabino
Nancy Miles
Simone Jacobs
Meredith Fischer
Novice Eight
Autumn Turpin (coxswain)
Kay Rusher
Katerina Gregoriou
McKayla Taaffe
Taylor Burdge
Lilly Smith
Hope Sheils
Aishwarya Vardhana
Ellie Parker
II Four
Molly Horwitz (coxswain)
Elise Guinee-Cooper
Maddy McCartney
Nicole Gilmore
Anja Young