05-26-2023, 03:31 PM
Semifinal predictions
1V: I think Stanford has an easier semifinal, but these tend to have a way of blowing up when boats in places three and four start throwing the kitchen sink at each other trying to get that last spot. As they get faster, the second place boat gets pressured, and the first place boat can see the charging crowd behind them. It'll take some nerves to handle, but Stanford should not have to gas out to make it. It's about time the chips fell their way...I think the last two years have seen Stanford in some brutal semifinals from which they might not have fully recovered before the A final.
2V: I don't expect Stanford to beat the undefeated Yale 2V, but I think Stanford should advance, and probably ahead of Penn's 2V. Whatever happens, I'm just hoping for advancement and the best grand final performance thereafter.
V4: Stanford beat kal by a lot at Pac-12s, so this will probably end up being Stanford and the two Ivies in that semifinal: Yale and Brown, who were less than a half second apart from each other at the Ivy League championship. But maybe kal pulls a rabbit out of their hat and beats the Ivies...no skin off our back. I hope Stanford can advance and save their legs for the A final.
It's tough to figure out who is or isn't sandbagging, if anyone at all is even considering such a thing. But having seen Stanford expend a lot of effort over the last two years to win their semifinals outright has been bittersweet as their grand final performances didn't quite match their semifinal performances. I feel like the team will go out and race the first thousand, after which who knows what the crews choose to do internally.
1V: I think Stanford has an easier semifinal, but these tend to have a way of blowing up when boats in places three and four start throwing the kitchen sink at each other trying to get that last spot. As they get faster, the second place boat gets pressured, and the first place boat can see the charging crowd behind them. It'll take some nerves to handle, but Stanford should not have to gas out to make it. It's about time the chips fell their way...I think the last two years have seen Stanford in some brutal semifinals from which they might not have fully recovered before the A final.
2V: I don't expect Stanford to beat the undefeated Yale 2V, but I think Stanford should advance, and probably ahead of Penn's 2V. Whatever happens, I'm just hoping for advancement and the best grand final performance thereafter.
V4: Stanford beat kal by a lot at Pac-12s, so this will probably end up being Stanford and the two Ivies in that semifinal: Yale and Brown, who were less than a half second apart from each other at the Ivy League championship. But maybe kal pulls a rabbit out of their hat and beats the Ivies...no skin off our back. I hope Stanford can advance and save their legs for the A final.
It's tough to figure out who is or isn't sandbagging, if anyone at all is even considering such a thing. But having seen Stanford expend a lot of effort over the last two years to win their semifinals outright has been bittersweet as their grand final performances didn't quite match their semifinal performances. I feel like the team will go out and race the first thousand, after which who knows what the crews choose to do internally.