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LOWELL, Ore. – The Stanford women’s rowing varsity eight won both of its races on Saturday to lead the Cardinal at the fourth annual Oregon State Classic at Dexter Lake in Oregon.

“We really enjoy coming to this regatta because we get a quality dual race in the am and then Championship style racing with five to six boats across in the afternoon,” Stanford head women's rowing coach Yasmin Farooq said. 

Stanford, ranked sixth nationally, went head-to-head with No.8 Washington during the morning session. In a close race throughout, the Cardinal varsity eight edged the Huskies by a couple seats, 6:20.85 – 6:21.50. UW (6:30.34) took the win over Stanford (6:38.87) in the second varsity eight and the Huskies (7:14.19) captured the victory over the Cardinal (7:22.29) in the varsity four.   

“The first varsity eight race was literally back and forth for 1750 meters and it really came down to the sprint," Farooq said. "All of the coaches were alongside in a motorboat and one point I remember saying, 'Wow-this is a real brawl!' That kind of racing experience is priceless. Thanks to UW for a great race.”

“The Huskies perennially have a lot of depth on their roster so we always look forward to racing them this time of year," Farooq added. "The second varsity race was competitive for 1000m but then the Huskies pulled away. UW’s varsity four had the lead early and controlled that race.” 

The afternoon session saw lots of exciting racing, as Stanford went up against Oregon State, Oklahoma, UCF and the Huskies in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four.

Stanford’s strong start in the varsity eight resulted in a narrow lead by 500 meters. The Cardinal extended that lead to just under a boatlength by the 1000m mark. Stanford then pushed into open water in the second half of the race. The Cardinal crossed the finish line in 6:52.20, ahead of second-place Washington (6:56.09), third-place Oregon State (7:13.26), fourth-place Oklahoma (7:21.34) and fifth-place UCF (7:24.31).

Stanford’s second varsity eight (7:18.21) placed second to Washington (7:05.69), while the Cardinal’s varsity four (7:52.05) also finished second to the Huskies (7:46.20) in the five-boat races.  

Tracy Roberts moved up from the varsity four to the second varsity eight for Meredith Fischer in the afternoon as Fischer continues to rehab a hip injury.

“Meredith is doing everything right with her rehab, but one race today was enough for now," Farooq said. "Tracy did a good job jumping into the lineup, and Hope Sheils stepped up in the varsity four.” 

The varsity eight has now captured the victory in three of the four races it has competed in through the first two regattas of the season.

Stanford will next head to the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold River, Calif., April 16-17.