Ted Sobolewski recently concluded his seventh year at Stanford in 2025-26. He was appointed Farwell Family Director of Men’s Rowing on July 2, 2019.
The steady build of the program under Sobolewski's leadership culminated with one of the Cardinal's best showings in recent memory at the IRA National Championship in May 2026. Stanford’s first varsity placed sixth overall on Gold River’s Lake Natoma, securing its 11th top-six finish in program history and just second since 2010. The Cardinal made the A Final of a full-field national championship for the first time since 2009.
Stanford was fifth in the Ten Eyck Trophy points standings with 209 points, tying a program record for best finish. The Cardinal was also awarded the Clayton Chapman Trophy at the conclusion of racing, given to the school that accumulates the greatest year-over-year increase in its Ten Eyck total point count. It was the first time in program history all three eights finished in the top 12 at the IRA National Championship (2V8 - 7th; 3V8 - 11th).
Sobolewski has mentored 16 IRCA All-Americans on The Farm, including a program-record four in both 2026 and 2021, the first year the IRCA began recognizing athletes with All-America honors. Caspar Griffin was named the IRCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2026 and Stanford received IRCA Comeback Team of the Year honors in 2021.
First-year Cardinal have won three of the past four conference freshman of the year awards - Griffin in 2023 in the Pac-12 and Elliott Donovan-Davies (2025) and Finn Lorgen (2026) in each of the past two seasons in the MPSF. Peter Chatain was named Pac-12 Athlete of the Year in 2021.
Among the biggest highlights during Sobolewski's Stanford tenure was developing Chatain into an Olympic-level rower. Chatain was invited to join the U.S. senior national team after the 2023 collegiate season and went on to win an Olympic bronze medal as part of the U.S. eights that competed in the Paris Games.
Sobolewski joined the Cardinal after serving as the associate head coach at Northeastern for four seasons. In 2019, Sobolewski helped guide Northeastern to seventh in the Ten Eyck standings at the IRA National Championship, and fifth in the first varsity eight Grand Final for its best finish in six years.
Prior to arriving at Northeastern in 2016, Sobolewski served as the head coach with the Princeton National Rowing Association. He was responsible for organizing and administering the rowing programs for 220 high school and adult athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training site at Mercer Lake.
Sobolewski led the Mercer Junior women's crews to their best performances in history. He coached the women's 8+ to a runner-up finish and women's lightweight 8+ to third at the 2015 Youth Nationals. That preceded an unprecedented sweep of the U19 and U17 women’s divisions at the 2015 Royal Canadian Henley, bringing home nine gold medals. His crews have also been successful at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.
Sobolewski’s first coaching experience at Northeastern was as a volunteer assistant in 2011, working with head coach John Pojednic in developing and training the freshmen eight, which finished third at the Eastern Sprints. He also oversaw the second freshmen group, which took the gold in the 4+ at Sprints. Following the season, Sobolewski was promoted to assistant coach.
As an athlete at Northeastern from 2005-08, Sobolewski competed with the freshmen eight in 2005 before rowing on the varsity eight during his final three seasons. In the 1V8, Sobolewski helped the Huskies to two appearances in the Grand Final of the Eastern Sprints, including a fourth-place finish in 2006.
Sobolewski was also a two-time member of the U.S. U23 national team, rowing in the quad in 2006 and 2007 at the World Championships in Belgium and Scotland.
A native of Buffalo, New York, Sobolewski graduated from Northeastern in 2009 with a degree in business administration, with a concentration in accounting.