LOWELL, Ore. – The No. 11 Stanford women’s rowing team competed for the second this this spring, racing at the Oregon State Classic on Dexter Reservoir on Saturday.
“To have a competitive five-boat race this early in the season is special," said head coach Yasmin Farooq. "You can’t pay for that kind of experience. All of our boats really stepped up.”
The big race of the day for Stanford came in the afternoon when all five boats were in action for the second varsity eight. When Stanford, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan faced each other in this event in the morning, the Cardinal held the early lead only to see the Buckeyes creep past them in the final 500 meters.
In similar circumstances for the second meeting, Ohio State made its move but this time the Stanford boat came together and held off the charge to break a 19-race winning streak for the Buckeye 2V8. The impressive streak came at the hands of the Cardinal who is starting to see the depth in its lineup with big wins in the 2V8 this weekend and varsity four last weekend.
“All of the coaches were following right alongside the race in the coaching motorboat and having heart attacks—it was that close and intense,” said Farooq.
The victory was special for each of the nine in the second varsity eight, but a little moreso perhaps for senior Christina Bax. The victory came on her birthday.
“The best thing about our boat is we have nine people who are very competitive and want to win,” said Bax. “We let them come up on us and pass us earlier in the day, but when they tried to do it this afternoon our entire boat said ‘no, this is not going to happen’. It was a great feeling that we were all united in that effort.”
The day started with three races in the morning against Ohio State and Michigan. The first race for the Cardinal was an exciting one with all three boats staying together throughout the race. In the end, Stanford came in third with a time of 7:24.17.
The two eights fared well against the Big Ten powers. The second varsity eight took second place with a time of 6:33.56, just falling to Ohio State despite a strong charge in the last 500.
The varsity eight was within two seconds of the Buckeyes, finishing second with a time of 6:26.17. The Cardinal held a lead in the first 1,000 meters, but Ohio State was able to overtake them pull out the close win.
The other two afternoon races, featured all five teams in action. The varsity eight tallied another second place finish in its race. Just like the first time around, Stanford crossed the finish line less than two seconds behind Ohio State with a time of 6:26.02. The varsity four tallied a third place finish again with a time of 7:23.74.
Stanford's next races will come at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Sacramento next weekend.
Oregon State Classic
Dexter Reservoir
Lowell, Ore.
April 5, 2014
Results
Morning Session
Varsity Four
1. Ohio State – 7:16.6
2. Michigan – 7:19.08
3. Stanford – 7:24.17
Second Varsity Eight
1. Ohio State – 6:32.1
2. Stanford – 6:33.5
3. Michigan – 6:45.33
Varsity Eight
1. Ohio State – 6:24.7
2. Stanford – 6:26.17
3. Michigan – 6:35.82
Afternoon Session
Varsity Four
1. Ohio State – 7:17.2
2. Michigan – 7:21.22
3. Stanford – 7:23.74
4. Oregon State – 7:30.45
5. Duke – 7:48.46
Second Varsity Eight
1. Stanford – 6:29.21
2. Ohio State – 6:30.44
3. Michigan – 6:39.41
4. Oregon State – 6:52.87
5. Duke – 6:55.02
Varsity Eight
1. Ohio State – 6:24.5
2. Stanford – 6:26.02
3. Michigan – 6:30.95
4. Oregon State – 6:31.73
5. Duke – 6:38.96
Boat Lineups
Varsity Eight
Liza Gurtin (Coxswain), Anna Dawson, Lilly Tinapple, Nancy Miles, Ruth Narode, Filippa Karrfelt, Daphne Martschenko, Ali Fauci, Kristy Wentzel
Second Varsity Eight
Naomi Cornman (Coxswain), Courtney Carrabino, Kay Rusher, Amanda Lorei, Valerie Frank, Katie Toothman, Emily Grundman, Chierika Ukogu, Christina Bax
Varsity Four
Katie Lopez (Coxswain), Ellie Parker, Meredith Fischer , Hope Sheils, Reilly Hayes,