FALL ‘25 COACHES REPORT — WOMEN

Derek Byrnes, Farwell Family Director of Women’s Rowing

Another fall season has come and gone. It feels like we were just welcoming the team back to campus, and suddenly, we’re already done with the quarter and looking ahead to the winter season. The end of fall is always a good moment to pause and reflect, and there are several events worth noting.

Just four weeks after a very memorable NCAAs, many of our athletes (as in, at least three-quarters of the team) met up across the pond for the Royal Henley Regatta in July. Some were racing, others were spectating, but there was no shortage of Cardinal blazers in Steward’s Enclosure. I wish we had a complete count of those who went down the course because there were a bunch. At the very least, I want to shout out four current and former Cardinal athletes — Cece Dupre ’27, Luise Bachmann ’25, Iris Klok ’25, and Esther Briz ’22 —who came together to race for the Princess Grace Challenge Cup (Women’s Quad) under “Redwood Scullers.” Between those athletes, they represented four different nations (Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain) and an impressive number of national and international medals. Their quad progressed to the semifinals on Saturday, where they were eliminated in a fierce and exciting race by the eventual event winners and 2025 World Champions, the Dutch senior women’s quad.

We saw that same Cardinal presence across the international racing circuit all summer. At the Under–23 World Championships in Poznań, Poland, Stanford had seven athletes competing for four different countries. Alice Baker ’26 and Matilda Drewett ’27 won gold in the Women’s 8+ for Great Britain, while Mads Greenstock ’27 earned gold for GB in the Women’s 4–. Sarah Marriott ’28 raced for Australia, Honor Warburg ’27 and Quincy Stone ’27 for the USA in the Women’s 8+ and 4–, respectively, and Barbara McMahon ’29 for Switzerland in the Women’s 4–. It was an outstanding regatta and a great example of the global reach of our program. True student-athletes, Greenstock, Stone, and Warburg, followed up their World Championship experience with a few weeks of studying abroad in Santiago, Chile, with Stanford’s Bing Overseas Program. There, they were joined by teammate Elli Rowley.

The Junior World Championships in Trakai, Lithuania, showcased the next wave of Cardinal talent, with eight athletes from the classes of 2029 and 2030 competing. Claire Van Praagh, Lia Nathan, and Teagan Farley made up three-quarters of the USA Women’s 4– that won a World Championship, while future teammate Ottilie Campbell-Reide was close behind racing for Great Britain. Lexi Gormley and Stef McMasters helped the USA to a silver medal in the Women’s 8+, Astrid Thomas competed for Australia in the single, and Sophia Young raced for Ireland in the double. Van Praagh was voted 2025 USRowing Under–19 Athlete of the Year, making her Stanford’s sixth-consecutive recipient of this award (her predecessors being Charlotte Jett, Sofia Simone, Nora Goodwillie, Julietta Camahort, and Katelin Gildersleeve).

The summer wrapped up at the Senior World Championships in Shanghai, where seven Cardinal athletes competed. Azja Czajkowski ’23 won a World Championship in the Women’s 4– for the USA, Beckie Leigh ’24 earned bronze with New Zealand in the Women’s 4–, and Luise Bachmann ’25 helped Germany to its first A–Final finish in the Women’s 8+ in 16 years, narrowly missing a medal. It was a fitting capstone to a remarkable summer of racing. Also representing their countries were Kaitlyn Kynast ‘22 (USA W8), Cece Dupre ‘27 (Swiss W2–), Esther Briz ‘22 (Spain W2–), and Sarah Marriott (Australia Spare).

Back on the Farm this fall, our team is led by a senior class that’s eager to step up and lead. We spent much of the fall training in fours and eights and capped the season at the San Diego Fall Classic, where our boats finished at the top of both events. Between great racing, a fog-delay dance lesson on the beach led by freshman Emma Bagrie, and an unexpected travel road trip home, it was a weekend that perfectly captured this group’s energy and resilience.

We closed the fall with Little Row against Cal, navigating new restrictions at Briones by getting creative and sharing equipment. It was a strong, competitive end to a fall that set a great foundation for what’s ahead.

Finally, a highlight of the fall was, of course, our football team’s first win over the Bears since 2018. The Byrnes house is a house divided, with my son, Liam, being the most loyal Cal Bears fan you’ll ever meet. The Cardinal’s phenomenal win made for a disgruntled 16-year-old on the drive back to Berkeley, but it was worth it.

Go Card,

Derek