IRA CHAMPIONSHIPS (M)
The college rowing regular season has come to a close, and what a journey it has been. Sunday was an exhilarating conclusion with the IRA finals in West Windsor, NJ. Stanford's Men's team performed valiantly at every level, making us both proud in the moment and excited for the future.
The Stanford Men had a solid finish. While the Lightweight Women are aiming to get back to pre-pandemic 2019 form (national champions - can't go any higher :)), the Stanford Men are now performing even better than in 2019 if they are still a growing (in the quantity of rowers) team. In 2019 the Stanford Men's 1V8 placed 10th in the nation, 2V8 18th, and 3V8 17th. 2023 showed an overall program improvement, period.
First, a quick correction to the 1V4 results: This boat, with three rowers racing for the first time ever at Stanford, placed 4th in the 4th level final (we incorrectly wrote 5th-level final earlier). This placed them 22nd in the nation. While this boat class wasn't officially IRA-ranked, and the semis were canceled, their time trial start order was 24th, a rough estimation of race organizers' opinion of where they stood. We're very proud of their effort, particularly in an event with many other teams fielding their four most experienced rowers.
The 2V8 was able to finish their season with the good feeling that usually comes with crossing the finish line first, sometimes unrelated to the level of the final, and hopefully a sense of long-term improvement. They won the 3rd level final, placing them 13th in the nation (equal to their IRA ranking). Last year they placed 17th; as we mentioned, they were a pre-pandemic 18th. To put things in further context, the #9-ranked Cornell 2V8, who just nipped Stanford in the Friday reps for a chance at the A/B semi, actually placed 4th in the petite final and, therefore, 10th in the nation. Finally, the 2V8 didn't have an easy win - they still had to earn it as #14 Navy bested #15 Wisconsin for second place and finished only 1.7 seconds behind Stanford. So, there should be a sense of accomplishment from our 2V8 team. After a season of constant improvement that carried into IRAs, they proved they knew how to WIN a final!
The 1V8 finals were obviously going to be the hardest-hitting and most competitive. Stanford's 1V8 didn't disappoint. They were placed in lane 3 of the petite final, meaning a 3rd or 4th expected outcome based on the semis, and lined up with #9 Brown and #6 Harvard on port side and #8 Dartmouth on starboard. In the 2022 1V8 race, Brown placed 3rd in the nation, Harvard 6th, and Dartmouth 7th.
Harvard was the fastest at the start, but Stanford was right there. Eventually, they pushed into first place during the middle 1,000 and seemed to break Harvard. However, Brown was still steady and built momentum through the entire race, moving from a slight 3rd place during the first 500 to eventually taking first place in the final 500. Stanford's 1V8 placed 2nd in this race and 8th in the nation. While it would have been nice to win the petite final, the 1V8 can take pride in a fantastic season, nearly catching UW in the PAC-12s (who placed #2 in the IRA grand finals), improving upon pre-pandemic finishes, and beating Harvard, which hasn't happened many times in the record books. A very strong and exciting result for everyone to watch with pride.
Not only do Stanford's 2023 IRA results speak for themselves, but we know we have a bright future. Each year both the Men's and Lightweight Women's programs continue to rebuild with new recruits, and we know next year will be exciting. And, we know the competition in some cases has benefitted from a 5th year of COVID eligibility of elite-level rowers, and this effect will continue to diminish.
With the upward momentum, and the Openweight Women winning NCAAs, we have every reason to be excited for next year for all three teams!
Go Stanford Rowing!
