STANFORD, Calif. – Four-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, May 31 - June 2 in Gold River, California, at Lake Natoma.
Stanford has earned the No. 1 seed in the championship regatta. Under the direction of third-year head coach Kate Bertko, the lightweight varsity eight enters the national championship regatta looking for a fifth consecutive title.
The Cardinal will be one of seven programs competing for the IRA team crown, along with Princeton, Boston, Harvard-Ratcliffe, Wisconsin, Georgetown and MIT.
Stanford will enter lightweight eight, lightweight four, and lightweight double crews alongside six opponents in each event.
In last year's IRA Championships, Stanford won its fourth consecutive team title. The Intercollegiate Rowing Association awarded the team points trophy to Stanford on June 19th, giving the Cardinal its fourth consecutive team championship. The Cardinal had already captured the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders Trophy, acknowledging the national champion of the lightweight eight on June 3. The championship regatta was cut short earlier in the month due to deteriorating weather conditions. Stanford has eight IRA team titles all-time, the most in the sport.