BOSTON, Mass. – The No. 1 Stanford lightweight rowing varsity eight came away from the Lightweight Invite with a victory over some of the nation’s top teams.
In the Grand Final of the varsity eight, the Cardinal and No. 2 Harvard-Radcliffe began to pull away slightly from No. 4 Boston University about a third of the way into the race. The two crews gained a half boat length lead on the Terriers.
As the teams approached the bridge, Stanford really started to push ahead and BU closed the gap on Harvard. Approaching the final 500 meters, the Cardinal still maintained the lead and had fought off any comeback attempt by the Crimson thus far. The Terriers fell back and it became a two-team race.
Stanford and Harvard exchanged blows left and right with the Cardinal starting to break away and then the Crimson storming back on them. However, the lead Stanford had built by the bridge gave them the room they needed to win the race with a time of 6:36.10. Harvard was 3.5 seconds behind with a 6:39.6.
Every time Stanford and Harvard get together the races seem to be extremely close. This time around it was the Cardinal eight with the win as they stay undefeated in five races during 2015.
Our wonderful team in Boston. Solid work by varsity eight in its win and great team effort from everyone: pic.twitter.com/thFlQReitj
— Stanford Lights (@StanfordLwtCrew) April 19, 2015
To get to the Grand Final, Stanford won handily against No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 9 MIT in the early morning heats. The Cardinal posted a time of 7:01.70 to win by over eight seconds. The Badgers came in second and MIT third.
The 2V8 also had Wisconsin and MIT join them in their heat to start the day. The Badgers took the top spot with a 7:06.30 and Stanford finished second with a time of 7:14.10.
The time was short of making the top three for the Grand Final so they raced in the Petite Final for the last race of the day. Going head-to-head with MIT in a dual, the Cardinal won with ease by almost 16 seconds. The final time for Stanford was 6:58.40.
Stanford will be back at it again next weekend when they head to Gold River, Calif. for the WIRA Championships. The varsity eight won the event a year ago.
Lightweight Invite
Charles River
Boston, Mass.
April 19, 2015
Results
Varsity Eight Grand Final
1. Stanford – 6:36.1
2. Harvard-Radcliffe – 6:39.6
3. Boston University – 6:41.4
Varsity Eight Heat 1
1. Stanford – 7:01.7
2. Wisconsin – 7:09.9
3. MIT – 7:25.6
Second Varsity Petite Final
1. Stanford – 6:58.4
2. MIT – 7:14.2
Second Varsity Eight Heat 1
1. Wisconsin – 7:06.3
2. Stanford – 7:14.1
3. MIT – 7:40.4
Lineups
Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Jordan Duval-Smith
Stroke – Keagan Hanley
7 – Blaire Hunter
6 – Jackie Huddle
5 – Brittany Presten
4 – Mackenzie Crist
3 – Christine Cavallo
2 – Bailey Yuro
Bow – Katherine Christel
Second Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Shea Cours
Stroke – Hannah Levy
7 – Taylor Harris
6 – Brianna Goldstein
5 – Alicia Kapjian-Pitt
4 – Amanda So
3 – Victoria White
2 – Sarah Hirshorn
Bow – Isabelle Foster