SPRING ‘26 COACHES REPORT — WOMEN
Stanford Women’s Rowing Spring ‘26 Coaches Report — Women's Rowing Staff
GREATER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS
We concluded the 2025–2026 season in a familiar place, as the NCAA National Runners Up. And, while we didn’t necessarily wish for a second-place finish, we don’t take it for granted — the work it takes to even get to this regatta is no joke, let alone what it takes to podium and only have one team in the country prove faster than you on the day. The entire NCAA field is fast; record times — ACC, NCAA, and (unofficially) world records — fell this year, and every school pushed the standard. There were even two schools, Columbia and Miami, who had their NCAA debuts this year. To achieve a runner-up finish in such a fast field is no easy feat, and it’s one that is only possible because of the fantastic team who works day in and out, supporting one another, lifting each other up, and who have the courage to push the standards themselves. We are no “we” without each individual, but the “we” we become when working together is powerful.
In September, we welcomed a class of twelve newcomers. Astrid, Barbara, Claire, Emily, Emma, Fiona, Leni, Lexi, Lia, Liz, Nava, Sumner, and Yaara arrived on the Farm from five different countries on three different continents. With them came an intersection of experiences, rowing backgrounds, languages, and personalities that somehow clicked immediately. They were enthusiastic from day one, unapologetically themselves, only had to be reminded one time that skydiving is an out-of-season activity, and in no time at all, it was very clear they were going to fit right in.
Our first look at the group in a racing context came in November at the San Diego Fall Classic (SDFC. The team warmed up (and killed time during a fog delay) by line dancing on the beach to "Footloose." Full send, no hesitation, debatable rhythm. The impromptu performance was spearheaded by first-year Emma Bagrie (Wellington, New Zealand — in case you needed to know where this energy came from), and it has since become a team raceday tradition. This perfectly embodied their desire and ability to find joy in the process. From a racing standpoint, the team embraced mixed line-ups and precarious racing conditions, made even more exciting by jet-skiers who, while they may have thrown an additional wake or two, didn’t get in the way of the Stanford boats placing at the top of the ranking across the events in which they were entered.
While fall always carries a certain freshness to it, winter is a real test. The spring still feels far away, and the daily grind starts to feel, well, like a grind. The demands of school and training both start to stack up at roughly the same time, and it’s when we really start to rely on our athletes’ abilities to steer the conversation and remind each other the greater purpose of the work. Despite the grind, the sophomore class quietly yet effectively stepped up. Second-year coxswain Ella Casano is the creative mind behind the Stanford Coxswain Instagram (@swccoxswains – if you're not following already, it’s time to get on that). Not just a great voice on the water, Ella and the rest of the coxswain squad provided all (2000+!) followers with a frequent dose of levity and humor through their lens of the team. Martha Shepherd offered a different kind of leadership: dependable, thoughtful, and consistent regardless of what boat she was in. She ticked off personal records throughout the year and offered a level of insight and steadiness that we leaned on more than she probably realized. Ellie Vander Ploeg Fallon and Taya Anderson, while both sidelined with injury this winter, showed up every single day and put in the work however they were able to. Ellie is one of the most humble workers I’ve worked with, as demonstrated most tangibly by her quiet, extra core work that she does religiously at the end of every single training session, whether she has other teammates join her or not. Taya is one of the most relentlessly positive people you’ll ever meet, despite her circumstances that kept her from doing the sport she loved.
Spring comes fast and goes by faster. The practices can be long (hello, ?? x 1500m), but the season itself flies. It's also when you start to see the junior class step into something new. Junior year tends to be the first year athletes feel the weight of leadership on their shoulders in a real way. They're no longer underclassmen, they now have a real sense of how things should work so they notice the little things, and they can feel senior year closing in on them. Junior Team Leader Quincy Stone navigated that transition with a lot of grace and has embraced her leadership position on the team better than ever. Although Katherine Mote’s spring was defined by navigating injury, she didn’t let it get in the way of her ability to be a great teammate; she stepped up in any way she could and helped everything run smoothly behind the scenes. We know assisting with operations can often be a thankless role, but she went above and beyond and never let on to the fact that it was probably very bittersweet to see her teammates on the race course while she couldn’t be (we are looking forward to having her back in the boat next fall, though).
We opened the racing season over spring break against a fast University of Tennessee program, where boats had strong performances across the board. After Tennessee came the BIG10 Invitational in Sacramento, which ended up being one of our favorite weekends of the entire year. We challenged the athletes differently that weekend by asking them to “race up” for the first round of racing, so the 2V8 athletes raced in the 1V8 event, the two fours raced in the 2V8, and the 3V8 split into the fours. That round of racing may have been the only time all year that the 3V8 athletes had boats challenge them down the course, for they won every race in their main event (3V8) by clear water. For the second round, we mixed up the eights lineups last-minute and raced two "even" eights. For many, the impromptu lineup changes could have rattled them, but our athletes rose to the occasion and even seemed energized by the challenge. They broke out into cheers when they learned what we were doing, launched boats with plenty of chirps for one another, and exuded a kind of loose, fearless energy that you just can't manufacture. Then, every boat launched off the line like they loved what they were doing, loved who they were doing it with, and knew what they were capable of. They raced with confidence, and joy, and they made the coaches very proud.
BIG10 Invitational was the first of three consecutive weekends of competitive races. We saw Texas the following weekend, and Cal for Big Row after that. We have our incredible staff to thank for helping get the athletes through those trying weeks; Sanam Rezazadeh and Steve Mosher Stockinger kept our athletes in one piece from a health standpoint. Rachele Pojednic and Angela Trinh worked with the athletes on fueling appropriately and also using supplements like sodium bicarbonate to get the extra few inches on race day. Assistant Coach Emily Sprigings worked tirelessly to make absolutely everything happen off-the-water, from hotels to flights to vans to gear and so much more. Rob Lavallee not only helped the athletes get stronger in the weight room, but was seriously passionate about our sport and makes the girls feel important in a way that no other strength coach we’ve worked with has before. Antonella Schofield worked hard to make sure the telemetry was functioning in all of our boats, and Molly MIlligan remained a steady presence for athletes and coaches alike, quietly grinding on any task in front of her, big or small.
Finally, our seniors carry us through championship season. Each senior in the class of 2026 was like a specific piece of a larger puzzle. They were all distinct from one another and offered their own strengths and contributions to the team, and somehow complemented each other so perfectly. They were wonderful teammates and athletes on their own, but together, they were truly special. Athletes could rely on Carolyn to say exactly what they needed to hear, as she was the perfect balance of warm and supportive but also honest. Abbey was clever, well-spoken, and fiercely loyal to her friends. Kat was a fantastic racer who was always willing to share her wisdom and experience with her teammates. Sutro had an incredible dry sense of humor that kept you on your toes. Alice, often soft-spoken, allowed her actions, commitment, and effort to do the talking much of the time. Nora provided maturity and relentlessness in any lineup she was in. Heather brought so much hype (and watts) to her boats. Susie was compassionate and, somehow, able to do it all. Rowley was a steady presence who always had a smile on her face. Annika exemplified taking what you do seriously but not taking yourself too seriously, and finding joy in the process.
The class of 2026 led us through our championship season. First, our second-consecutive ACC Championship, during which we not only won all events, but saw our 1V4 set an ACC record of 6:52.47. Then finally, a runner-up finish to Texas at NCAAs in Gainesville, Georgia. Boats raced with guts in challenging conditions, and culminated with a fifth-place finish for the 1V4, a fourth-consecutive national championship for the 2V8 (and an event record of 5:52.905), and a second-place finish in a gutsy fight in the 1V8.
In retrospect, we have nothing but pride for the 2026 season. This is not because of any single race result, but because of the way this group showed up for each other, day after day, from our first sessions in September through the last stroke in Gainesville. They were, in the truest sense, greater than the sum of their parts.
Onwards.
