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Results
Lineups
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GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The sign on the big tent at the finish line read “finish strong rowers” and the No. 1 Stanford lightweight rowing team did just that, bringing home three championship trophies from the WIRA Championships on Sunday.
The novice eight was the first boat to go and things did not look good early on as the University of San Diego sprinted out to a near boat length lead on the Cardinal. A lead like that early on can demoralize a team, especially a boat filled with eight freshmen and one senior walk-on, but Stanford showed its poise and started charging back bit by bit.
By the midway point they had cut the lead to a few seats and by the last 500 meters they had taken over in first place. San Diego kept fighting to get the lead back but every time they made a move late in the race, the Cardinal answered. At the finish line it was Stanford and USD neck and neck. To many the race was so close that it was unclear who came out on top. The Cardinal took first place with a time of 7:03.3 and USD came in just 1.2 seconds behind them.
The protocol for the WIRA finals is to receive your medals in the water after the race ends. However, Seven of the nine in the novice eight had another race in exactly one hour. The team docked, grabbed a quick breather and then 20 minutes later went right back out on to the water for the next race, the JV D1/Open final.
The 2V8 final featured the same teams as the heat race on Saturday. Stanford won the first go around and earned lane one for the final. For the most part the results ended up pretty much the same. Sacramento State, the host school, gave the Cardinal a good run, but Stanford was too tough to beat and won the race with a time of 7:07.3.
This time around the boat was able to collect its reward. Each individual received a medal and coxswain Shea Cours was handed the trophy. It was the first time Stanford had ever won the event at the WIRA Championships, but the letters S-T-A-N-F-O-R-D will be etched on the plaque for next year.
The varsity eight was the final boat to race at the WIRA Championships. All spectators had their eye on this race as it was the last event of the weekend. The Cardinal won its heat but did not have the fastest time on Saturday.
Looking for its seventh consecutive win of the year, Stanford was fired up and took the early lead off the start. Saint Mary’s and Loyola Marymount were battling for second place early on. The Cardinal stretched the lead out a bit with 750 meters to go. LMU and Saint Mary’s would close the gap slightly but ran out of room as Stanford took the crown with a time of 7:00.4, just under three seconds ahead of Loyola Marymount.
Stanford repeated as WIRA Champions in the Div. 1/Open Varsity Eight event and is now 7-0 in its races in 2015.
All in all the Cardinal captured three trophies in three races on Sunday. It was a great team effort with all 19 team members earning medals.
Stanford will be back in action next weekend as they face Cal in the Big Row on Saturday, May 2 starting at 9 a.m.