STANFORD, Calif. – Top-ranked Stanford lightweight rowing heads to New Jersey this weekend (April 9-10) to compete in the 2016 Knecht Cup on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, returning to the course where it captured the 2015 IRA Championship last May.
The 2016 Knecht Cup field features several of the nation’s top lightweight programs. No. 1 Stanford will face No. 2 Harvard Radcliffe, No. 3 Boston, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 5 Princeton, No. 7 MIT, No. 8 Georgetown and Bucknell and Villanova (tied for ninth place) during the two-day regatta.
The Cardinal will have two entries in the lightweight eight. In the first heat on Saturday, Stanford will face two entries from Boston, along with a boat from MIT, Tulsa, Harvard Radcliffe and Wisconsin at 2:38 p.m. PT. In the other lightweight eight heat at 2:45 p.m. PT, a second Stanford boat will face two entries from Wisconsin and boats from Boston, Harvard Radcliffe, Georgetown and MIT. The top three finishers from each heat will advance to the Sunday’s Grand Final.
Stanford will also have two entries in the lightweight four. The Cardinal will face Georgetown, Princeton, Boston, MIT and Harvard Radcliffe in one heat beginning at 5:17 a.m. PT. It will face an additional entry from MIT, Princeton and Boston, along with Villanova and Loyola in a second heat at 5:24 a.m. PT. The top two finishers from each heat, along with the two fastest times outside of the top two finishers in both heats, will advance to the Sunday’s Grand Final.
Stanford will field a boat in the novice eight race against North Carolina, Alabama, Bucknell, Maryland and Old Dominion at 9:23 a.m. PT. The top two finishers in each of the six heats, along with the four fastest times outside of the top two finishers, will advance to the semifinals.
The Cardinal will also field a boat in the varsity four against Villanova, North Carolina, George Mason, Temple and Jacksonville at 5:03 a.m. PT. There are six heats total, with the top two in each heat advancing to the semifinals. The top two finishers in each of the six heats, along with the six fastest times outside of the top two finishers, will advance to the semifinals.
Fans can follow all the action in the Knecht Cup here.
Stanford is coming off its sixth straight A.W. Coggeshall Cup, winning the lightweight varsity eight in the San Diego Crew Classic last weekend. The Cardinal faced both Boston and Princeton in the Grand Final in San Diego.
| Stanford Schedule at Knecht Cup | |||||||||
| Time | Event | Heat | Lane 1 | Lane 2 | Lane 3 | Lane 4 | Lane 5 | Lane 6 | Lane 7 |
| 5:03 a.m. | WV4 | 5 | Stanford LWT | Villanova | North Carolina | George Mason | Temple | Jacksonville | - |
| 5:17 a.m. | WLV4 | 1 | Georgetown | Princeton D | Boston A | Princeton B | MIT B | Stanford A | Harvard Radcliffe |
| 5:24 a.m. | WLV4 | 2 | MIT A | Princeton A | Villanova | Loyola | Princeton C | Stanford B | Boston B |
| 9:23 a.m. | WNV8 | 1 | North Carolina | Alabama | Bucknell | Maryland | Old Dominion | Stanford LWT | - |
| 2:38 p.m. | WLV8 | 1 | Stanford A | Wisconsin A | Harvard Radcliff B | Tulsa | Boston B | Boston C | MIT B |
| 2:45 p.m. | WLV8 | 2 | Harvard Radcliffe A | Boston A | Stanford B | Georgetown | MIT A | Wisconsin B | Wisconsin C |