STANFORD, Calif. – Three-time defending champion Stanford lightweight rowing earned a bid to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships on Tuesday, which will be held Friday through Sunday, June 1-3, in West Windsor, New Jersey.
Stanford dropped to No. 2 in the national rankings just last week after having owned the top spot the entire season. Under the direction of second-year head coach Kate Bertko, the lightweight varsity eight enters the national championship regatta looking for a fourth consecutive title.
The Cardinal will be one of eight programs competing for the IRA team crown, along with Boston, Georgetown, Harvard-Radcliffe, MIT, Princeton, Wisconsin and Tulsa.
Stanford will enter a lightweight eight boat alongside six opponents, a lightweight four boat among six competitors, and a lightweight double against seven crews.
In last year's IRA Championships, Stanford won its third consecutive team title. Under the then first-year head coach Kate Bertko, the Cardinal won all three of its Grand Final races by open water at Lake Natoma to claim the IRA title. Stanford, which also won the IRA team title in 2015 and 2016 under Derek Byrnes, totaled 72 points to finish nine-points ahead of Boston University in the team standings.
The IRA Championship will be held at Richard J. Coffee Mercer County Park at Mercer Lake, hosted by the Princeton National Rowing Association. The regatta returns to Mercer Lake for the first time since 2016.
