STANFORD, Calif. – The Cardinal continued its reign as one of the nation’s best rowing teams throughout the 2024 season, winning its third straight Pac-12 Championship and registering its fourth consecutive top-two finish and seventh top-six finish at the National Championships in so many years.
National Runner-Up
The Cardinal completed its 2024 season Sunday with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships on Harsha Lake at East Fork State Park.
The trip to the national championship was highlighted by three podium finishes by the Cardinal, including a national championship title in the second varsity eight.
The Cardinal opened the final day of the national championship regatta with a third-place finish in the varsity four race, trailing only Texas (6:59.555) and Princeton (7:03.761). Yale, Tennessee and Washington placed fourth through sixth with finishing times of 7:06.845, 7:07.729 and 7:14.657. Stanford then took home its lone top finish of the day in the second varsity eight grand final with a time of 6:18.156, topping Texas (6:20.320), Tennessee (6:22.830), Washington (6:24.898), Yale (6:25.776) and Princeton (6:32.828).
The Cardinal and Longhorns entered the final race of the day tied in the team standings, but a victory in the varsity eight race gave Texas the edge to win the national title. Texas led the pack with a time of 6:09.920, while Stanford (6:11.804), Tennessee (6:12.156), Princeton (6:15.556), Brown (6:18.030) and Washington (6:19.232) rounded out the grand final with second through sixth-place efforts.
Three-peat
No. 2 Stanford captured its third consecutive conference by sweeping the 2024 Pac-12 Women's Rowing Championships held on Lake Natoma.
Stanford's three-peat was led by wins in all scoring races by at least five seconds over its conference foes, finishing the day with the regatta's maximum 45.5 points. The Cardinal's dominance led to a nine-and-a-half-point victory over second-place California, who finished with 36 points. Washington finished third and ended the day with 35.5 points.
In the lone exhibition race of the day, Stanford's fourth varsity eight took its lead at the first 500m and did not let up, winning the first race of the day by a boat's length.
The third varsity eight set the tone for the scoring races of the day with a decisive victory over California, earning the team's first 3.5 points of the day and a conference title in open water.
The Cardinal's varsity four owned the race from the first stroke, taking the team's second title of the day in dominant open-water fashion over the Huskies and Golden Bears. With the win, Stanford took a two-point lead in the team standings.
Stanford's second varsity eight broke its four-year streak of runner-up finishes in the second-varsity eight race, bringing home the conference championship with a seven-second victory over Washington. The Cardinal went into its final race of the day with a four-point lead over the Huskies.
The Cardinal sealed its third straight conference championship with a six-second victory in the varsity eight race. Stanford took control of the race early on and took the final conference title of the day in open water.
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Stanford senior Belle Battistoni was named Pac-12 Women's Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Sunday. Battistoni is the Cardinal's eighth Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and fourth straight honor, following Annabelle Bachmann (2023), Nicole Pofcher (2022), Grace McGinley (2021), Naomi Cornman (2015), Ali Fauci (2014), Mariele Higgins (2012), and Erika Roddy (2011). Stanford is the only school to win the women's rowing scholar-athlete award four years in a row since the honor was created for the 2007-08 academic year.
The Issaquah, Wash. native is a Management Science and Engineering major with a cumulative 4.063 grade-point average (GPA).
Third Straight End of Year Sweep
For the third consecutive year, Stanford women's rowing swept the end-of-year awards from the Pac-12. Luise Bachmann earned her first Pac-12 Athlete of the Year honor, while Matilda Drewett was named the Pac-12 Women's Rowing Newcomer of the Year and head coach Derek Byrnes was selected as the Pac-12's Coach of the Year. Drewett, alongside Annika Jeffery, Lucy Burrell and Fiona Mooney earned All-Pac-12 accolades for their strong performances this season
Five Pocock Racing Shells First Team All-Americans
For the seventh consecutive season, five Cardinal women's rowers have been named 2024 CRCA All-America Athletes, the College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) announced Friday. Rowers Luise Bachmann, Belle Battistoni, Lettie Cabot, Iris Klok, and Carolyn Kennedy each earned first-team All-America honors. Stanford had five awardees on the first team for the third time in program history. With Friday's announcement, Bachmann and Cabot become two-time All-America honorees, each awarded the honor for the first time in the 2023 season. Battistoni, Klok, and Kennedy were each honored for the first time.
Byrnes and Stanford Staff Named CRCA Region 5 Coach/Staff of the Year
Head coach Derek Byrnes and his staff were honored as the best in the region by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA). Stanford is part of Region 5 which includes all Pac-12 and WCC women's rowing programs.
Four Cardinal Head to Paris
Stanford women’s rowing will have four representatives at the 2024 Olympic Games held this summer in Paris.
The four Cardinal competing at the Olympic games are the most in program history, with records dating back to the 1976 games.
Alumnae Azja Czajkowski ‘23 and Emily Delleman ‘20 will compete for team USA, racing in the Women’s Pair (2-) and Women's Quadruple Sculls (4x), respectively. Each will meet a fellow Stanford-affiliated rower as Esther Briz Zamorano will compete in the Women’s Pair (2-) for Spain while current Cardinal Célia Dupré will race in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls (4x) for Switzerland.