REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – The No. 5 Stanford women’s rowing team started its 2015 season with dual races against No. 16 Washington State and No. 2 Virginia on Saturday at Redwood Shores.
“We are always excited for the first race of the season and having it at our home course Redwood Shores makes it extra special,” said head coach Yasmin Farooq.
The varsity eight showed their enthusiasm throughout the day, securing a pair of victories. The first came in the morning over Washington State. It was a convincing open water win by 6.1 seconds to give the Cardinal a win in its first race of 2015. The second was a showdown between two top five squads in Stanford and Virginia.
“The first race we are all just excited to see what we could do,” said junior Meredith Fischer. “We got the nervousness out of the way and were focused on going as fast as we could and sticking with the race plan against Virginia.”
The plan worked. Even though the Cavaliers got out to a good start and had a two-seat lead on Stanford, the Cardinal showed some fight and started to take seats until they gained the lead themselves.
“The coolest part of the race for me was walking on them when we were two seats down,” said Fischer. “I think it showed our solidarity as everyone was pulling hard and sticking to the plan.”
After Stanford gained the lead just past the midway point of the race, they never looked back and were able to extend the advantage to a 4.2-second victory with a time of 6:20.9.
Well that sure was fun. Varsity eight defeats No. 2 Virginia for second win of the day. 2-for-2!
— Stanford Rowing (@StanfordRowing) March 28, 2015
“We knew the varsity eight race with Virginia would be a battle and it was great to come away with a victory,” said Farooq. “We showed some great composure and maturity in sticking with our race plan and coming out on top. We saw some good progress from the morning to the afternoon races with all of our boats.”
The Cardinal 2V8 and varsity four each dropped races to Washington State and Virginia, while the second varsity four was also defeated by the Cavaliers.
With a shortage of coxswains available for this regatta, Farooq turned to freshman Devin Norder to fill in. Norder, a rower in the U-23 World Championships last summer, had previously been a coxswain in middle school and was unable to row this weekend due to a foot injury. Circumstances led to Farooq coming up with the idea of putting her in the coxswain seat.
“When I asked Devin if she could cox her answer was ‘no problem’,” said Farooq. “She made great calls and had a pulse on the race. To have a rower not only be willing to step in and fill in where she could to help the team but to be able to jump in and do that makes her an outstanding teammate.”
Norder slid her 5’11” frame into the body of the bowloader like she was a natural, although she did have to take the protective boot off of her foot to fit inside. She ended up being the coxswain for the varsity four against Washington State and the second varsity four against Virginia.
“I was nervous at first but I figured if it would help the team I would be willing to do it,” said Norder. “It was kind of fun because there are certain things as a rower that you want to hear so it was nice to see things from the coxswain point of view.”
Devin Norder as a coxswain. Whaaaaaat?
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Crew (@stanfordwomenscrew) on Mar 28, 2015 at 11:04am PDT
Stanford has one more race this weekend and Norder is expected to be the coxswain for it once again. The second varsity four will compete against Washington State tomorrow at 10:10 a.m.
Pac-12 Women’s Challenge
Redwood Shores, Calif.
March 28, 2015
Results vs. Washington State
Varsity Eight
1. Stanford – 6:27.8
2. Washington State – 6:33.9
Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington State – 6:34.6
2. Stanford – 6:39.2
Varsity Four
1. Washington State – 7:31.5
2. Stanford – 7:34.4
Results vs. Virginia
Varsity Eight
1. Stanford – 6:20.9
2. Virginia – 6:25.1
Second Varsity Eight
1. Virginia – 6:32.5
2. Stanford – 6:36.5
Varsity Four
1. Virginia – 7:18.8
2. Stanford – 7:26.9
Second Varsity Four
1. Virginia – 7:24.6
2. Stanford – 7:38.4
Lineups vs. Washington State
Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Naomi Cornman
Stroke – Ellie Parker
7 – Kay Rusher
6 – Meredith Fischer
5 – Simone Jacobs
4 – Katie Toothman
3 – Alie Rusher
2 – Ruth Narode
Bow – Nancy Miles
2V8
Coxswain – Madi Kist
Stroke – Amanda Lorei
7 – Emily Grundman
6 – Lilly Tinapple
5 – Callie Heiderscheit
4 – Courtney Carrabino
3 – McKayla Taaffe
2 – Hope Sheils
Bow – Reilly Hayes
Varsity Four
Coxswain – Devin Norder
Stroke – Karen Munyan
3 – Karli Kirk
2 – Anya Miller
Bow – Nicole Gilmore
Lineups vs. Virginia
Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Naomi Cornman
Stroke – Ellie Parker
7 – Kay Rusher
6 – Meredith Fischer
5 – Simone Jacobs
4 – Katie Toothman
3 – Alix Chrumka
2 – Ruth Narode
Bow – Nancy Miles
2V8
Coxswain – Leigh Warner
Stroke – Amanda Lorei
7 – Emily Grundman
6 – Lilly Tinapple
5 – Alie Rusher
4 – Courtney Carrabino
3 – Callie Heiderscheit
2 – Hope Sheils
Bow – Reilly Hayes
Varsity Four
Coxswain – Madi Kist
Stroke – Helen Stroheker
3 – Karen Munyan
2 – McKayla Taaffe
Bow – Anya Miller
Second Varsity Four
Coxswain – Devin Norder
Stroke – Tracy Roberts
3 – Karli Kirk
2 – Celeste Turner
Bow – Nicole Gilmore