April 15, 2012

Pac-12 Challenge Results

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. - No. 10 Stanford men's rowing missed out on an upset of fourth-ranked Wisconsin by mere fractions of a second at the Pac-12 Challenge Sunday, but the Cardinal were nonetheless encouraged by the strong showing.

The Cardinal I Eight slugged it out against their Badger counterparts for the length of the 2,000-meter course, and it came down to a photo finish as the two boats crossed the line simultaneously.

The official result showed Wisconsin just edging out the Cardinal by two-tenths of a second, in a time of 5:41.8 to Stanford's 5:42.0.

"This race revealed the depth of character of the men of each shell," said Stanford men's rowing head coach Craig Amerkhanian. "There was no give, the result came down to inches. What a great race.

"Our men timed 5:42.0 for 2,000 meters," Amerkhanian continued. "We continue to work and improve. Our goal remains to be the best we can be."

The men's II Eight and Frosh Eight also faced off against Wisconsin Sunday. The II Eight ended up seven seconds back of the Badgers with a final time of 6:02.1, while the Frosh Eight crossed in a time of 6:17.2, 14 seconds back of the Badger boat.

"The II Eight raced well against the top ranked II Eight in the country," Amerkhanian noted. "Seven seconds back gives us room to improve and dedicate. The frosh eight is ready to work and they are aware the time is now."

Saturday, the I and II Eights defeated UC San Diego, racking up victories of 21 and five seconds, respectively.

The Frosh Eight split its Saturday races, falling by 2.7 seconds to UCSD in the morning before rebounding for a 22-second victory over Santa Clara.