EIGHTH AT IRAs
Stanford men's rowing enjoyed another successful year, finishing eighth at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships. The Cardinal varsity eight placed second in the Petite Final of the IRAs to finish eighth overall. Stanford fielded two entries at the IRAs, with the varsity four placing second in the fourth-level final in the national regatta on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey, in June.
CHAPMAN AWARD
Stanford captured the Clayton W. Chapman Trophy at the IRA Championships, recognizing the Most Improved Team, in the national regatta. The Cardinal finished eighth this season, after placing 18th in last year's event.
BRONZE AT PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Stanford placed third as a team at the Pac-12 Championships. The Cardinal's top boat, the varsity eight placed third with a time of 5:56.1. The second varsity eight finished third in its race as well with a time of 6:02.0. Stanford also fielded a third varsity eight that placed fourth with a time of 6:22.9.
PAC-12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Senior Landon Alecxih was honored as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May. Alecxih, who graduated with a degree in economics, finished with a cumulative grade-point average of 4.046.
SEVEN EARN IRA ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
Led by senior Landon Alecxih, the Cardinal placed seven on the IRA All-Academic Team. Alecxih was joined on the IRA All-Academic Team by Ardsley Sanders, Erik Holmvik, Ryan Hails, Ryan O'Rourke, Will Spencer and Will Nuelle.
HAILS, O'ROURKE NAMED ALL-PAC-12
Juniors Ryan Hails and Ryan O'Rourke were named to the All-Pac-12 Men's Rowing Team. Hails and O'Rourke were each honored by the Pac-12 for the first time in their careers. Hails, a computer science major, and O'Rourke, a mechanical engineering major, were also named to the Pac-12 All-Academic squad. Hails has rowed in the varsity eight all three years, while O'Rourke has competed in the varsity eight each of the last two seasons.
MOST STUDENT-ATHLETES IN THE CONFERENCE ON ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
A total of 18 student-athletes in the Stanford men's rowing program were named to the 2016 Pac-12 All-Academic Team. The Cardinal had the most representatives of any conference school on the Pac-12 Men's Rowing All-Academic squad. Stanford has placed 15 or more on the Pac-12 All-Academic Team in seven of the last eight years.
Leading the Cardinal contingent was senior Landon Alecxih, who was named the 2016 Pac-12 Men's Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May. For the second straight year, he owned the highest grade-point average of any men's rower in the conference. Alecxih rowed in the second varsity eight for most of the season and in the varsity four at the IRA Championships.
Alecxih, an All-Academic selection in each of his two seasons at Stanford, was joined by Ryan Hails (computer science), Erik Holmvik (political science), Wyatt Horan (history), Brendan Larkin (electrical engineering), Nick Obletz (political science), Max Skolds (undeclared), Will Spencer (undeclared), and Carlos Zambrano (undeclared) as first-team all-academic selections.
Cameron Andrews (Undeclared), Amanda Lim (Undeclared), Ryan O'Rourke (mechanical engineering), Andrew Merrilees Paiva (Undeclared), Matthew Park (Undeclared), Ardsley Sanders (earth systems), Karl Wessendorf (chemical engineering), Greg Wolk (science technology & society) and Peter Wood (chemistry) earned second-team all-academic laurels.
GRAND FINAL IN SAN DIEGO
Stanford's varsity eight advanced to the Grand Final in the San Diego Crew Classic, placing fourth overall in the prestigious regatta at the beginning of April.
BIG ROW
Stanford placed second to eventual IRA Champion California in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and third varsity eight at the 83rd annual Big Row between the two schools at Redwood Shores at the end of April.
VARSITY EIGHT DEFEATS WISCONSIN
The varsity eight recorded its fastest time since 2013, en route to a victory over Wisconsin in the Stanford Invitational/Pac-12 Challenge. The Cardinal finished with a time of 5.41.3 - its fastest time since Stanford recorded a time of 5:31.2 to defeat California in the Big Row on May 4, 2013. Wisconsin completed the course in 5:46.2.
WINDERMERE CUP
During "Opening Day" (representing the official first day of boating season) in Seattle, Stanford faced No. 3 Washington and the Russian National Team as part of the Windermere Cup festivities. The Cardinal varsity eight and second varsity eight took home the silver, while the third varsity eight placed fourth.
AMERKHANIAN COMPLETES 16 TH SEASON WITH CARDINAL
Stanford head men's rowing coach Craig Amerkhanian completed his 16th season at the helm of the Cardinal men's rowing program in 2016. A two-time conference Coach of the Year, Amerkhanian has coaches several All-Americans and Olympians during his time on The Farm.
FORMER CARDINAL STANDOUT, AUSTIN HACK HEADED TO RIO
Austin Hack is an Olympian. Hack, who starred for the Stanford men's rowing program from 2011-14, stroked the United States Men's Eight to the Gold Medal in the final of the FISA European and Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. The victory punched USA's ticket to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5-21.
Hack stroked USA's top boat to a time of 5:29.160, defeating second-place Poland (5:29.620) and third-place Italy (5:29.980) by less than a second in a tightly contested race. The United States eight includes Hack (stroke), Robert Munn (seven seat), Michael Di Santo (six seat), Stephen Kasprzyk (five seat), Glenn Ochal (four seat), Alexander Karwoski (three seat), Hans Struzyna (two seat) and Samuel Dommer (bow).
