May 30, 2013
Watch the NCAA Championships live on www.ncaa.com
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford women's rowing opens action at the 2013 NCAA Championships Friday at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
Due to a change in the area weather forecast, the original schedule has been moved up to earlier in the day. The preliminary heats for the three Cardinal boats (I Eight, II Eight and Four) are now as follows:
I Eight (No. 10 seed) - 4:50 a.m. PT (vs. No. 2 Princeton, No. 7 UCLA, No. 15 Brown, No. 18 Boston University)
II Eight (No. 12 seed) - 5:50 a.m. PT (vs. No. 4 Brown, No. 5 Washington, No. 13 Cornell, No. 20 Navy, No. 21 Rhode Island)
Four (No. 15 seed) - 6:10 a.m. PT (vs. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 7 Princeton, No. 10 USC, No. 18 Rhode Island)
All racing at the 22-team NCAA Championships will be streamed live on www.ncaa.com.
Each class of boat will hold four preliminary heats on Friday, May 31. The top two finishers in each heat will advance to Saturday's semifinals. Boats that do not post a top-two finish in the preliminary heats will race in one of two seven-boat repechages Friday afternoon. The top two finishers in each repechage will move on to the semifinals.
Saturday, the top three finishers in each semifinal will advance to Sunday's Grand Final, with the bottom three of each of Saturday's races moving on to Sunday's Petite Final.
Last year the Cardinal finished ninth in the team standings. Stanford won the team NCAA Championship in 2009 and in 2011 tied for the most points overall but lost out on a second NCAA title via tiebreaker (higher I Eight finish) to Brown.
At the individual boat level, the I Eight captured NCAA gold in 2009, silver in 2008 and bronze in 2011. The II Eight took gold in 2011 and silver in 2010.
Ahead of this weekend's event, the program caught up with Elle Logan '11, the school's only rower to capture gold medals at the NCAA Championships (2009), the World Championships (2010, 2011) and the Olympic Games (2008, 2012). Logan was part of the national championship 2009 squad and rowed for the Cardinal in 2007, and then again from 2009-11 after taking the 2008 season off to train for the Beijing Games.
You were only 20 when you won your first Olympic Gold Medal in 2008. How were you able to earn a seat in the US women's eight at such a young age? What was different about your second Olympic journey? Any new lessons learned?
Logan: I think my introduction to international rowing from my years in U.S. junior rowing really sparked my competitive spirit and drive. I instantly fell in love with the sport of rowing from an early age. I think there were a lot of things that helped me make the Olympic Team in 2008, and definitely lots of luck! I know I have some natural physiology that helps and the volume of training I did my freshman year at Stanford definitely enabled me to get an invitation to try out a year before the Olympics. The training also allowed me to have even the slightest chance of keeping up with the veterans on the national team. My second time around at the Olympics in 2012 I was a little less "deer-in-the-headlights" and a little more business.
Can you share what you said earlier about finding a new level of pulling with 750 to go?
Logan: I believe we train everyday to give our body the opportunity to go as hard as it wants. In practice you try to simulate the "race-day environment" but there really is nothing like racing. When your mind completely switches to instinctual mode and you let your body just do what it knows how to do I think is when you can really push yourself into a new level. The last 750 meters of the final may not have been the prettiest of rowing but I had a lot of fun just going hard.
The U.S. women's eight's seven-year winning streak is the longest in that event. Logan: How did you and your teammates manage that pressure and overcome the pressure to repeat as Olympic champions?
There was a lot of pressure going in to the Olympics but the less we focused on the end result and the more we, as a boat, put our energy into the actual physical work the more calm and focused we stayed as a team. I think we did a good job of being aware of our competition and acknowledging their speed but then shifting our focus internally.
What was the first thought that went through your head when you knew you were going to cross the finish line first? Your immediate reaction after actually winning?
Logan: I am not sure when I knew we were going to cross the finish line first, hopefully I didn't think that until after we actually crossed first! Because I sort of sidelined all the external pressure as soon as we crossed the finish line my first reaction was definitely relief but joy soon followed. I just remember being really honored to achieve what we did together, the nine of us. The challenges were always hard and a lot of the times more mental then physical, so I was proud that we were able to perform our best on that day together.
Your thoughts on representing your country and Stanford?Logan: Sometimes I can get so wrapped up and completely immersed in my rowing, as is required I suppose, that I'll admit I forget I am representing anyone or anything. However there are moments and certainly when I look back, that I feel so honored and lucky to have gone to an institution like Stanford and live in the United States. The fact that I can even forget about everything and make my only concern be how I can become a better rower and compete at the Olympics is a gift. I always had support from my Stanford coaches, teammates, professors, and later Americans to put my energy into what I love to do. I feel very fortunate and subsequently very honored to represent what Stanford and our country can foster and help achieve.
What was Stanford's role in your Olympic journey?
Logan: The support I received from Stanford rowing and also the Stanford History department was huge and both helped me follow my Olympic pursuits.
Do you stay in touch with your Stanford teammates?
Logan: Yes. They are all very unique and, maybe I am biased here, the best teammates! They are some of my closest friends.
Now, at 24, you are the youngest two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in rowing for the U.S. Will you keep going?
Logan: That would be awesome if I had the opportunity to do so.
A Stanford women's rower has competed in every World Championships and Olympics since 2004. What message would you share with current and future Stanford rowers who aspire to pursue the Olympic Dream?
Logan: I will always remember what my teammate Anna Dawson said to me when I asked her right before a 2K test what she was going to rate at since she was sitting next to me. She gave me a big smile and said 'I don't know man, I'm just going to go as fast as I possibly can.' I think we then both proceeded to p.r. (personal record). Anyways it doesn't surprise me that there has been a Stanford women's rower at every world championships and Olympics since 2004. I was always (and still am) inspired by my teammates craziness, in a great and fearless kind of way.