By Inyoung Choi on May 7, 2019

No. 2 Stanford women’s rowing defeated No. 3 California this weekend in the annual Big Row. The Cardinal won four of six races; the Third Varsity Eight team won with a time of 6:42.70, the Second Varsity Eight team won with a time of 6:30.90, the Second Varsity Four team won with a time of 7:32.50 and the First Varsity Four team won with a time of 7:06.60.



Thus far, the Stanford team has had a successful season. Stanford won all of its races at the Pac-12 Invitational at the end of March — which was followed by yet another successful weekend at the Lake Natoma Invitational, where Stanford boats won ten out of the fourteen races held across both days.



Stanford Women’s Head Rowing Coach Derek Byrnes said he is “really pleased with the progress [the team has] made week to week.”



Byrnes also noted that the team has had more focused land-based training this year.



This year was the 86th Big Row. In last year’s edition, Berkeley won three races. Apart from its significance in the timeless Cal-Stanford rivalry, the Big Row also marks the last home race at Redwood Shores for graduating seniors.

“These women have made such a profound impact from where they’ve started to where they are now,” Byrnes said of the team’s ten seniors.



The Cardinal’s win marks a successful end to the regular season and a positive start to a big month. The team will compete in the Pac-12 Championship on May 19 and the NCAA Championship on the weekend of May 31.

Contact Inyoung Choi at ichoi ‘at’ stanford.edu.

