April 29, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - The storied rivalry between cross-bay institutions Stanford and California continues Saturday morning as the crews from the respective schools take to the water of Redwood Shores in the Big Row. The race continues a tradition that began in San Francisco Bay in 1903. Saturday's action is set to begin at 9:45 a.m. as the men's freshmen eight boats lead things off.
The race marks "Breast Cancer Awareness Day" for both teams. The Stanford men and women will wear a pink "Block S" on their shirts as part of their annual dedication to those fighting and surviving breast cancer. Both the Stanford and Cal women's teams will also be racing in sea foam green, the favorite color of Cal coxswain Jill Costello, who is battling lung cancer.
"I believe this is the greatest rivalry in women's rowing right now, and having Cal in our conference makes us a better team," said women's head coach Yasmin Farooq. "I know we'll both give our best to win on Saturday. That said, we stand side by side in our support of Jill and her fight against lung cancer. She is a hero who is a model for all of us in courage and toughness."
The women's varsity eights will race for the Lambert Cup. Stanford snapped a six-year losing streak to win it last year en route to winning the Pac-10's and NCAA Title.
The Stanford men's varsity eight will race to reclaim the Schwabacher Cup, which they last held in 2008 when they snapped Cal's 18-year winning streak.
The Stanford men and women are all returning to action after a break of two weeks.
Last time out, the Cardinal men hosted the Stanford Invitational at Redwood Shores, with the Frosh Eight highlighting things with a perfect 4-for-4 performance in its races. The I and II Eights each went 2-1, as the I Eight defeated Michigan and Santa Clara, and the II Eight downed Michigan and Sonoma State.
The Cardinal women took second overall at the Lake Natoma Invitational last weekend, as the top three teams all hailed from the Pac-10. Only California finished higher than the Cardinal two weekends ago, and Stanford will be looking to exact some retribution Saturday at Redwood Shores ahead of the Pac-10 Championships in two weeks.
Once again at this year's Big Row, Dan Gordon of the Gordon Biersch brewery is hosting the annual Big Row BBQ during and following the races.
2010 Big Row Schedule (May 1)
9:45 a.m. - Men's Frosh Eights
10:00 a.m. - Women's I Eights
10:15 a.m. - Men's II Eights
10:30 a.m. - Women's II Eights
10:40 a.m. - Men's Varsity Fours
10:50 a.m. - Women's Varsity Fours
11:00 a.m. - Men's I Eights
11:10 a.m. - Women's Novice Eights
Directions to Redwood Shores:
From Highway 101 take the Marine Parkway/Ralston Avenue exit (head east)
At the first light turn right on to Twin Dolphin Drive.
At the first light turn left on to Lagoon and enter the parking lot.