LOWELL, Ore. – The Oregon State Classic featured some outstanding close races between No. 5 Stanford and No. 8 Washington.
The Cardinal and Huskies put on a show for the spectators in attendance at Dexter Lake in Lowell, Ore. Only one of the six races between the two schools had a margin bigger than five seconds with three races decided by less than two seconds. Stanford came out on top in the final race of the day, while Washington held the edge in the other five races.
“We came into this weekend with new lineups and it was pretty exciting to see what we could do,” said junior Katie Toothman. “We knew Washington was going to be strong. We trained with them at winter training camp and really respect them as an opponent in the Pac-12.”
Afternoon Session
Five teams raced against each other in the afternoon. Due to potential strong winds, the teams were faced with some adversity. The scheduled start time was moved up 30 minutes on short notice, cutting down the warmup times.
Stanford’s varsity eight did not let it affect them, however, as they were impressive from start to finish in a win over Washington, No. 17 Louisville, Minnesota and Oregon State. The Cardinal learned from earlier in the day when the Huskies sprinted past them in the last 500 meters. The second time around Stanford held off a Washington charge to win by 1.1 seconds. Oregon State was 13 seconds off the lead in third place.
“We really locked in to a rhythm going down the race course,” said Toothman. “We trusted one another that we could get through it and pulled it off.”
The 2V8 race between the five schools was also a good one. Stanford and Washington were separated by 1.8 seconds with the Huskies getting the win. Minnesota and Oregon State battled it out for third with the Golden Gophers crossing 1.7 seconds ahead of the host Beavers.
Stanford also came in second in the varsity four with a time of 7:48.1, They were 5.5 seconds behind Washington in the first afternoon race.
Morning Session
Stanford raced No. 8 Washington in three dual races during the morning session. The two teams were less than five seconds apart in all three races with the Huskies earning a sweep.
The varsity eight race was extremely close from start to finish. The Cardinal got out of the gates quickly and took a two-seat lead on Washington in the first 250 meters. The two teams matched each other stroke for stroke for most of the race after that until the end. The Huskies used a strong sprint to overtake Stanford and win by 1.8 seconds.
The Cardinal 2V8 had a three or four seat lead for most of the first 1,000 meters over Washington, but it was the Huskies pulling away at the end for a 4.1-second victory.
Stanford’s varsity four shaved several seconds off of its times from last weekend, but were unable to get a win as their 7:17.4 was 4.4 seconds back at the finish line.
Homecoming
Two Portland, Ore. natives, sophomore Ruth Narode and freshman Leigh Warner returned to their home state. Narode was a member of the varsity eight and Warner was the coxswain for the 2V8.
Up Next
Stanford will be in Gold River, Calif. next weekend for the Lake Natoma Invitational. The regatta will take place on Saturday and Sunday.
Oregon State Classic
Dexter Lake
Lowell, Ore.
April 4, 2015
Morning Results
Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 6:18.6
2. Stanford – 6:20.4
Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 6:27.9
2. Stanford – 6:32.0
Varsity Four
1. Washington – 7:13.0
2. Stanford – 7:17.4
Afternoon Results
Varsity Eight
1. Stanford – 6:36.7
2. Washington – 6:37.8
3. Oregon State – 6:49.6
4. Minnesota – 6:51.7
5. Louisville – 7:01.8
Second Varsity Eight
1. Washington – 6:46.7
2. Stanford – 6:48.5
3. Minnesota – 6:55.3
4. Oregon State – 6:57.0
5. Louisville – 7:04.9
Varsity Four
1. Washington – 7:42.6
2. Stanford – 7:48.1
3. Minnesota – 7:50.8
4. Louisville – 8:01.5
5. Oregon State – 8:04.9
Lineups
Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Naomi Cornman
Stroke – Katie Toothman
7 – Kay Rusher
6 – Ellie Parker
5 – Simone Jacobs
4 – Meredith Fischer
3 – Alix Chrumka
2 – Ruth Narode
Bow – Nancy Miles
Second Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Leigh Warner
Stroke – Emily Grundman
7 – Lilly Tinapple
6 – Alie Rusher
5 – Courtney Carrabino
4 – Callie Heiderscheit
3 – Amanda Lorei
2 – Reilly Hayes
Bow – Hope Sheils
Morning Varsity Four
Coxswain – Madi Kist
Stroke – Anya Miller
3 – Helen Stroheker
2 – Tracy Roberts
Bow – McKayla Taaffe
Afternoon Varsity Four
Coxswain – Madi Kist
Stroke – Anya Miller
3 – Helen Stroheker
2 – Karen Munyan
Bow – McKayla Taaffe