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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – When you put two of the top 10 teams in the country against each other, and they are rivals, you are bound to get some exciting racing.
That is exactly what happened at the 82nd Big Row on Saturday at Redwood Shores. No. 2 Cal avenged its loss last year to No. 6 Stanford with wins in all four races. Each of the races were competitive, but it was the Golden Bears earning the sweep.
As has become the tradition, both Stanford and Cal wore special uniforms in honor of former Cal coxswain Jill Costello, who lost her battle with cancer. Stanford donned black tank tops with a pink ribbon and the Stanford block “S” in light blue on the front and Team Jill written along with the schools and date on the back.
"It's our privilege to race in honor of Jill Costello every year at The Big Row,” said Stanford head coach Yasmin Farooq. “Jill was an amazing person and the legacy she left was that this race is about so much more than the rivalry. It's about each team giving their very best. The racing was fast today. We gave it our all and Cal was the better team. We'll look forward to seeing them again in two weeks."
The Big Row marks the final home race for the senior class. This year six Stanford seniors competed for the last time at Redwood Shores and were recogzined following the racing. The six seniors include Courtney Carrabino (international relations), Alix Chrumka (biology), Naomi Cornman (international relations and French), Nicole Gilmore (biology), Amanda Lorei (English) and Nancy Miles (human biology). Graduate student Betsy Soukup was also recognized for her contributions to the team on a daily basis.
With the day coming to a close, the 2V4 had a spirited race with Stanford holding the lead once the two boats reached the Sofitel. However, in the final 10 strokes Cal was able to sneak ahead for the victory. Only 1.3 seconds separated the two boats with Stanford taking second with a time of 7:17.7.
The varsity eight race was also a nail-biter. The Cardinal gave Cal one of its toughest races of the season, but fell just short with a time of 6:16.5. The Golden Bears clocked a 6:13.0 to set a course record.
In the varsity four race, only 3.6 seconds separated the two programs. Stanford finished in 7:21.5 after putting forth a strong effort.
Cal’s only win by a boat length was the 2V8, in which they finished almost six seconds faster than Stanford’s time of 6:30.2.
Part of the fun at the Big Row is the alumni races. The Stanford women’s alumni boat won by over 10 seconds on Saturday. The 2009 NCAA Champion varsity eight coxswain Jenna Levy returned for her first race since graduating in 2012. Two members of the 2011 NCAA Champion 2V8 were also in the boat with Sarah Bolmer ’13 and Kristy Wentzel ’14.
Two recent graduates, Anna Dawson and Ali Fauci, joined their classmate Wentzel, while Julianna Kapjian-Pitt joined Bolmer for the class of 2013. The eldest alumni was Jessi Reel ’08. Carly Villareal ’11 and boathouse manager Dana Forbes rounded out the lineup.
“It was fun to be back here and race with some of my old teammates,” said Kapjian-Pitt. “We did not do the full 2k because none of were excited about going that far.”
For Kapjian-Pitt it was also nice to see her younger sister, Alicia, compete in her final home race for the lightweight team.
“It was nice being on the water with her,” said Julianna. “We got to watch them race by right after we finished our race.”
Assistant coach Nate Rooks also got in on the action with the men’s alumni race. He helped his squad defeat Brown. As he was coming down the course he got a large ovation from women’s squad as well as some pointers on how he could row better.
“It was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be,” said Rooks ’07. “It was funny to see how fast we got on the same page and made the boat move fast. There was a lot of fun energy out there.”
Next up for the Stanford women’s rowing team will be the Pac-12 Championships in two weeks at Lake Natoma. The Cardinal won its first title last year and will go for two in a row Sunday, May 17.