Executive summary: The Stanford women rose to the occasion and earned a close fourth-place in the team championship, one point over perennial power Brown. The V4 outperformed by a large margin, earning an unexpected grand final berth after being seeded #9, and the varsity eight fought some close battles to earn a bronze in their event. The second varsity seemed to meet expectations in the petite final, as they were bested by good crews but also victorious over many other crews.
Note: Top two finishers from the heats advance directly to the A/B semifinals where top three head to the A final (grand final), and bottom three head to the B final (petite final). If you don't finish in the top two in your heat, you get a second chance race, called a repechage, where you have to win outright for an A/B semi slot. If you don't win, you go to the C/D semis.
Where do we start? I had expected a good varsity eight showing given their back-and-forth with kal between Big Row and the Pac-12 championships, and finishing third while being seeded #2 isn't a bad way to go. Ohio State took the silver medal in that event, and they are a powerhouse these days, so hats off to the Buckeyes for their speed. The story of the V8 is their semifinal race, where they crossed first, about two seconds ahead of a three-way death race between Brown, Princeton, and Texas. Between those three crews were 0.125 seconds--and only two advanced, leaving Texas grasping for straws in the petite final (they won the petite final). Whether that race gassed Stanford, or whether Stanford's quarter system meant that Cardinal rowers were still in school (while other programs had 1-2 weeks of dedicated training after their semester ended) is up for debate. Stanford came out charging hard with the lead in their grand final, only to relinquish it and be overtaken first by kal, and then by Ohio State. Still this eight beat kal head-to-head at the Big Row, and third in the nation is nothing to sneeze at. It was a gutsy performance to advance out of the semifinal and to go toe-to-toe with the nation's best. Bronze medal and 60 team points (66 to the first place boat)--excellent work.
The 2V had an uphill battle from the start. There were no hints of strong depth all season, judging from the times posted, but the 2V did what they had to do--advance directly to the A/B semi out of the heat while avoiding the repechage, and then do their best in the semifinals, which they did behind Brown and ahead of Wisconsin, Syracuse, and U$C. It was not a kind semifinals draw--kal, UW, Princeton, and Yale all finished ahead of Stanford, and so to the petites Stanford went. The 2V finished third in the petites, beaten to the line by Brown and Yale (again--rowing is generally consistent) but also beating Wisconsin, Washington State, and Michigan. Still, they provided a crucial 28 points toward the team total (44 to the first place boat), and that was all anyone could ask of them.
I had pegged the V4 to be about as good as the 2V coming into the regatta. They hadn't been able to overcome opposing boats all year, and finishing 10 sec behind kal at Pac-12s (~6.3 sec worse than Big Row!) didn't give me a lot of hope. But the V4 stormed into the A/B semi with a favorable performance in their heat (second behind kal), and their semifinal performance saw them edge Yale by about 1.4 seconds to claim third place--the last (!) A/B semi spot. That was the performance they needed--the grand final would be house money, and Stanford did all right, breaking the will of the Michigan boat as the Cardinal came from behind the Wolverines to finish fourth over Ohio State and Michigan (but behind kal, UW, and Virginia). That was 19 points (22 to the first place boat).
The race order was V4, 2V, and V8, so the suspense was finally broken by the varsity eight race, the last of the day. kal won the team points trophy despite not winning the varsity eight event thanks to their victories in both the 2V and V4. Stanford finished 4th, which is considered the last of the podium spots, which meant hardware (!). Stanford finished exactly one point ahead of UW...it was definitely a team effort throughout the weekend to earn that 4th place. And powerhouses Brown, UW, and Texas each suffered fluky results to take themselves out of contention for the points trophy. Texas's varsity did not make the grand final (that death race in the semi was brutal); Brown's 2V was beaten by Ohio State, Texas, and Virginia (in their semi--they won the petite); and UW's varsity eight never found their rhythm all regatta (this season saw their tenured, nationally-renowned coach Bob Ernst unceremoniously ousted by the UW AD on questionable grounds by questionable procedure).
Stanford graduates a lot of seniors, but hopefully the program will continue to work as hard and improve. It is difficult to be a powerhouse these days--ask Brown, who used to be in the hunt every year. kal, Ohio State, and Virginia are about the only programs you can count on for grand final appearances in all three boat classes each year, but maybe that will also change as recruiting, admissions, and talent shift like the tides. Stanford has to deal with admissions more than any of those programs, but they are still one of the best, and this regatta was a fine performance for the record books.
GoStanford finals recap: http://www.gostanford.com/ViewArticle.db...=210985089
row2k.com finals recap: http://www.row2k.com/ncaa/features.cfm?ID=1131
row2k.com semifinals recap: http://www.row2k.com/ncaa/features.cfm?I...046cOQhEwx
Friday results summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...046r-QhEwy
Saturday results summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...046qOQhEwx
Sunday results summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...046ouQhEwx
Team points summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...05DbuQhEww
All results: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Stanford's results--
1V results:
Heat 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
A/B Semifinal 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Grand Final: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
2V results
Heat 1: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
A/B Semifinal 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Petite Final: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
V4 results
Heat 1: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
A/B Semifinal 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Grand Final: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Note: Top two finishers from the heats advance directly to the A/B semifinals where top three head to the A final (grand final), and bottom three head to the B final (petite final). If you don't finish in the top two in your heat, you get a second chance race, called a repechage, where you have to win outright for an A/B semi slot. If you don't win, you go to the C/D semis.
Where do we start? I had expected a good varsity eight showing given their back-and-forth with kal between Big Row and the Pac-12 championships, and finishing third while being seeded #2 isn't a bad way to go. Ohio State took the silver medal in that event, and they are a powerhouse these days, so hats off to the Buckeyes for their speed. The story of the V8 is their semifinal race, where they crossed first, about two seconds ahead of a three-way death race between Brown, Princeton, and Texas. Between those three crews were 0.125 seconds--and only two advanced, leaving Texas grasping for straws in the petite final (they won the petite final). Whether that race gassed Stanford, or whether Stanford's quarter system meant that Cardinal rowers were still in school (while other programs had 1-2 weeks of dedicated training after their semester ended) is up for debate. Stanford came out charging hard with the lead in their grand final, only to relinquish it and be overtaken first by kal, and then by Ohio State. Still this eight beat kal head-to-head at the Big Row, and third in the nation is nothing to sneeze at. It was a gutsy performance to advance out of the semifinal and to go toe-to-toe with the nation's best. Bronze medal and 60 team points (66 to the first place boat)--excellent work.
The 2V had an uphill battle from the start. There were no hints of strong depth all season, judging from the times posted, but the 2V did what they had to do--advance directly to the A/B semi out of the heat while avoiding the repechage, and then do their best in the semifinals, which they did behind Brown and ahead of Wisconsin, Syracuse, and U$C. It was not a kind semifinals draw--kal, UW, Princeton, and Yale all finished ahead of Stanford, and so to the petites Stanford went. The 2V finished third in the petites, beaten to the line by Brown and Yale (again--rowing is generally consistent) but also beating Wisconsin, Washington State, and Michigan. Still, they provided a crucial 28 points toward the team total (44 to the first place boat), and that was all anyone could ask of them.
I had pegged the V4 to be about as good as the 2V coming into the regatta. They hadn't been able to overcome opposing boats all year, and finishing 10 sec behind kal at Pac-12s (~6.3 sec worse than Big Row!) didn't give me a lot of hope. But the V4 stormed into the A/B semi with a favorable performance in their heat (second behind kal), and their semifinal performance saw them edge Yale by about 1.4 seconds to claim third place--the last (!) A/B semi spot. That was the performance they needed--the grand final would be house money, and Stanford did all right, breaking the will of the Michigan boat as the Cardinal came from behind the Wolverines to finish fourth over Ohio State and Michigan (but behind kal, UW, and Virginia). That was 19 points (22 to the first place boat).
The race order was V4, 2V, and V8, so the suspense was finally broken by the varsity eight race, the last of the day. kal won the team points trophy despite not winning the varsity eight event thanks to their victories in both the 2V and V4. Stanford finished 4th, which is considered the last of the podium spots, which meant hardware (!). Stanford finished exactly one point ahead of UW...it was definitely a team effort throughout the weekend to earn that 4th place. And powerhouses Brown, UW, and Texas each suffered fluky results to take themselves out of contention for the points trophy. Texas's varsity did not make the grand final (that death race in the semi was brutal); Brown's 2V was beaten by Ohio State, Texas, and Virginia (in their semi--they won the petite); and UW's varsity eight never found their rhythm all regatta (this season saw their tenured, nationally-renowned coach Bob Ernst unceremoniously ousted by the UW AD on questionable grounds by questionable procedure).
Stanford graduates a lot of seniors, but hopefully the program will continue to work as hard and improve. It is difficult to be a powerhouse these days--ask Brown, who used to be in the hunt every year. kal, Ohio State, and Virginia are about the only programs you can count on for grand final appearances in all three boat classes each year, but maybe that will also change as recruiting, admissions, and talent shift like the tides. Stanford has to deal with admissions more than any of those programs, but they are still one of the best, and this regatta was a fine performance for the record books.
GoStanford finals recap: http://www.gostanford.com/ViewArticle.db...=210985089
row2k.com finals recap: http://www.row2k.com/ncaa/features.cfm?ID=1131
row2k.com semifinals recap: http://www.row2k.com/ncaa/features.cfm?I...046cOQhEwx
Friday results summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...046r-QhEwy
Saturday results summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...046qOQhEwx
Sunday results summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...046ouQhEwx
Team points summary
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage...05DbuQhEww
All results: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Stanford's results--
1V results:
Heat 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
A/B Semifinal 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Grand Final: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
2V results
Heat 1: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
A/B Semifinal 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Petite Final: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
V4 results
Heat 1: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
A/B Semifinal 2: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397
Grand Final: http://results.regattatiming.com/backoff...raceId=397