STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford women's rowing program will usher in a new era as first-year women's rowing head coach Derek Byrnes will lead the Cardinal into the start of the spring championship season this weekend.
Stanford will travel down to Marina Del Rey, California, to face UCLA on Ballona Creek on Saturday.
Byrnes takes over the helm of the Cardinal women's program this season, after winning Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships each of the last two years as the head coach of the Stanford lightweight women's program.
The Cardinal returns several members of its varsity eight that finished third in the 2016 NCAA Championships at Lake Natoma in Gold River, California, last year, including All-Americans Lilly Tinapple and Leigh Warner.
The Bruins opened their spring season last weekend, facing UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara in the UC Challenge Cup. UCLA, which had four total entries in the regatta, won all three races, posting a time of 6:18.50 in the varsity eight race.
In last season's Pac-12 Championships, Stanford placed second overall, while UCLA finished sixth out of the seven conference institutions that sponsor women's rowing.
Stanford will open its 2017 home schedule April 1-2 at Redwood Shores, as the Cardinal hosts Virginia and Michigan on Saturday, and Ohio State on Sunday.
