GOLD RIVER, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford had its final tune-up before the IRA National Championships on Saturday as they competed at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma.
Stanford raced two boats in the Women’s Open 8+ event during the morning session. The varsity eight put on a show in front of the large crowd. The race announcer at one point said the Stanford A boat was “like a flying fish out of water.”
Despite a headwind slowing the overall times, the varsity eight finished a remarkable 50.3 seconds ahead of the Stanford B boat with a time of 7:04.9. The B boat took second ahead of Colorado with a time of 7:55.2.
“Our mindset for this race was to focus internally on our boat and see what we could do,” said junior MacKenzie Crist. “We wanted to have a race that we would feel confident in heading in to IRA’s. We did a good job of having a steady race to accomplish that goal.”
The win for the varsity eight was the fifth straight and eighth overall this spring.
In the afternoon session, Stanford had three boats race in the two heats of the Women’s Collegiate 4+. The Cardinal had not raced in a fours race the entire spring, but wanted to get a trial run in before racing in the IRA National Championships.
The A boat was in the first heat and took second place behind the USC openweight four. In the first 250 meters, Stanford stood in third place, but then started walking and moved past Sacramento State for the second spot.
“This was our first race as a four and was really a dress rehearsal for IRA’s in two weeks,” said coxswain Allison Nguyen. “I was really happy with our result and am proud of everybody in the boat. We have a great point to work off of the next two weeks.”
The B and C fours competed in the second heat. The B boat finished in second place behind Washington’s openweight and the C boat took fourth overall behind Cal’s openweight.
Stanford will go through its final preparations for the IRA National Championships the next two weeks. The IRA Nationals will be held May 28-31 in West Windsor, N.J.
Pacific Coast Rowing Championships
Lake Natoma
Gold River, Calif.
May 17, 2014
Results
Women’s Open 8+
1. Stanford A – 7:04.9
2. Stanford B – 7:55.2
3. Colorado – 8:20.8
Women’s Collegiate 4+ #1
1. USC – 7:49.1
2. Stanford A – 7:54.3
3. Sacramento State – 8:21.0
4. Washington State – 8:37.0
Women’s Collegiate 4+ #2
1. Washington – 7:24.5
2. Stanford B – 7:37.1
3. Cal – 7:41.5
4. Stanford C – 7:58.4
5. San Diego – 8:00.4
Boat Lineups
1V8: Coxswain Jordan Duval-Smith, Brittany Presten, Martine Johannessen, Christine Cavallo, MacKenzie Crist, Bailey Yuro, Jackie Huddle, Katherine Christel, Alicia Kapjian-Pitt
2V8: Coxswain Amanda Quay, Sarah Hirshorn, Kate Kidd, Paige Watson, Katie Torigoe, Morgan Mahlock, Anja Young, Julia Vazquez, Lauren Joseph
1V4: Coxswain Allison Nguyen, Molly Hayes, Erin Antono, Anna Wietelmann, Brianna Goldstein
2V4: Coxswain Amanda Quay, Jackie Huddle, Bailey Yuro, MacKenzie Crist, Christine Cavallo
3V4: Coxswain Jordan Duval-Smith, Brittany Presten, Martine Johannessen, Katherine Christel, Alicia Kapjian-Pitt