REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – The No. 5 Stanford women’s rowing team had one race on Sunday to cap the 2015 Pac-12 Challenge at Redwood Shores.
The lone race was a second varsity four contest between the Cardinal and Washington State.
For four of the five members of Stanford’s lineup the race marked just the second day of 2k racing experience at the college level. The coxswain, freshman Devin Norder, was in her third race filling in as the voice of the boat. Freshmen Tracy Roberts and Celeste Turner were competing in just their second collegiate race and sophomore walk-on Karli Kirk was entering her second career race period after never rowing before Stanford. The only one with a multitude of experience was senior biology major Nicole Gilmore.
Nervousness can often play a factor for student-athletes competing for the first time at any level, but on the second day of competition there didn’t seem to be any nerves for this boat. The Cardinal led from start to finish after flying off the start line.
“Everyone was ready and knew what to expect after racing yesterday,” said Roberts. “After yesterday we learned we can’t wait until the second half of the race to nail our race plan. We need to get off to a good start at the beginning and be able to sustain our harsh attack with our training we have put in. That was definitive of the race today.”
Stanford quickly gained an edge on Washington State and before the first 500 mark had opened up at least a boat length lead on the Cougars. The Cardinal continued to pull away and finished 20 seconds up on Washington State with a time of 7:40.0.
“The biggest thing we can build on is knowing that we can jump from the beginning,” said Roberts. “It was awesome to see that we could do that. Moving forward we just need to make sure we end the race with a clean, sharp finish.”
The Cardinal will be on the road next weekend when they travel to Eugene, Ore. for the Oregon State Classic on Saturday. Stanford will race against Washington in a morning dual starting at 9:45 a.m. The afternoon will feature a five-team race between the Cardinal, Washington, Oregon State, Louisville and Minnesota.
Pac-12 Challenge
Redwood Shores, Calif.
March 29, 2015
Results
2V4
1. Stanford – 7:40.0
2. Washington State – 8:00.2
Lineups
2V4
Coxswain – Devin Norder
Stroke – Tracy Roberts
3 – Karli Kirk
2 – Celeste Turner
Bow – Nicole Gilmore
