Breakthrough Performance
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - Highlighted by victories from its varsity eight and second varsity eight crews, Stanford captured its second NCAA championship in school history and first since 2009 with a dominant performance on Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinal, which had produced back-to-back runner-up finishes to Texas over the last two seasons, totaled 129 points and finally broke through to claim the hardware at Cooper River Park, which was also the site of Stanford's first NCAA crown 14 years ago.
Sunday's victories in the varsity eight and second varsity eight increase Stanford's all-time program total to four individual national champions. The Cardinal's previous titles came from the varsity eight in 2009 and second varsity eight in 2011.
Stanford's varsity eight clocked in at 6:17.154 and featured a lineup of (Coxswain) Rachel Miller, (8) Luise Bachmann, (7) Célia Dupré, (6) Annabelle Bachmann, (5) Lucy Burrell, (4) Annika Jeffery, (3) Azja Czajkowski, (2) Katelin Gildersleeve and (1) Lettie Cabot.
The V8 national title performance was good enough to edge out Washington (6:19.558), Princeton (6:22.178), Penn (6:23.860), Texas (6:28.280) and Yale (6:33.158).
The Cardinal's second varsity eight crossed the line at 6:24.851 and featured a lineup of (Coxswain) Carolyn Kennedy, (8) Belle Battistoni, (7) Alice Baker, (6) Fiona Mooney, (5) Iris Klok, (4) Nora Goodwillie, (3) Beckie Leigh, (2) Julietta Camahort and (1) Heather Schmidt.
Rounding out the 2V8 team placings were Washington (6:26.177), California (6:27.539), Yale (6:27.779), Princeton (6:32.031) and Texas (6:34.39).
Stanford opened the morning with a fourth-place finish in the varsity four, checking in with a time of 7:12.716 behind leader Texas (7:03.174), second-place Yale (7:06.900) and third-place Brown (7:11.870).
Stanford has won 134 NCAA championships (70 men, 64 women) and 162 national championships overall (76 men, 85 women, 1 coed). Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship during each of the last 47 seasons, dating back to the 1976-77 campaign. This is the Cardinal's third NCAA title of the 2022-23 season, having also won men's gymnastics and women's water polo.
Of Stanford's 134 NCAA championships, 35 have been won by fall sports, 32 by winter sports and 67 by spring sports. Since 2000, Stanford has captured 58 NCAA crowns.
One of 13 active Stanford head coaches with at least one national title, head coach Derek Byrnes has guided the Cardinal to three national championships. His two previous crowns came at the helm of the lightweight rowing program in 2015-16.
Lineups
Varsity Eight
C: Rachel Miller
8: Luise Bachmann
7: Célia Dupré
6: Annabelle Bachmann
5: Lucy Burrell
4: Annika Jeffery
3: Azja Czajkowski
2: Katelin Gildersleeve
1: Lettie Cabot
Second Varsity Eight
C: Carolyn Kennedy
8: Belle Battistoni
7: Alice Baker
6: Fiona Mooney
5: Iris Klok
4: Nora Goodwillie
3: Beckie Leigh
2: Julietta Camahort
1: Heather Schmidt
Varsity Four
C: Abbey Heinemann
4: Brie Perry
3: Lucy Black
2: Caia Costello
1: Julia Braz