PUSHING THE PACE

Brooke Ruszkiewicz ‘26 & Lauren Koester‘27, Stanford Lights Team Leaders

In reflection of an exciting fall, the lightweights have laid a solid foundation for a successful racing season ahead. We are thrilled to welcome 7 talented, energetic freshmen who have pushed the pace on and off the water. We also welcome Assistant Coach Maecy Rickman, who has been an invaluable asset to athlete development and team culture. The team is incredibly grateful for the comprehensive support team led by associate head coach Lizzy Houston, whose leadership and adaptability persist in her third season heading the program.

A key theme of this fall season has been fostering healthy intrasquad competition. Morning rowing sessions and difficult erg workouts were complemented by competitive stadium runs and hill sprints on the infamous Stanford dish course. Our fall season concluded with exceptional racing in an eight and fours at the San Diego Fall Classic that highlighted the fitness and technical development built throughout the fall.

With immense gratitude to our generous donors, we are grateful to share that our boats are now integrated with telemetry and instrumentation technology for smarter training. This technology allows greater insights into individual power output and force curve metrics to assess on-the-water efficiencies and developmental trends. This additional metric is a competitive advantage we look to capitalize on within training, and we are thankful to the generous donations and adaptability of our coaching staff, who made this possible.

As we look forward to spring, the team is eager for a winter quarter of intensity, growth, and continued competition. This year the lightweights will be traveling with the reigning national championship openweight team to Tennessee and Big 10s to compete against top openweight crews across the country. We look forward to hosting prime competitors Princeton and Boston University in dual meets at our very own Redwood Shores, and are thrilled to see the IRA championships return to Gold River, California, in late May.

The Stanford lights anticipate an exciting season ahead, and thank you for sharing our fall reflections and great things to come.

Brooke Ruszkiewicz ‘26 & Lauren Koester‘27