FALL ‘25 COACHES REPORT — LIGHTS

Lizzy Houston, Associate Head Coach, Lightweight Women

STANFORD LIGHTWEIGHT ROWING: A YEAR IN REVIEW

First off, I would like to make a special shoutout to Brooke Ruszkiewicz ‘26. She not only has been the backbone of the team, but someone who has been a steady presence, fierce leader, relentless competitor, and just overall a wonderful human. Thank you, Brooke, for your dedication and love for the team, you have made us all so incredibly proud.

Now for this year's highlights!

September hit and we collectively decided that this year, we were going to have a good time. Not in a check the boxes and bullet points kind of way, but in a Footloose-before-a-race, tacos-in-Tiajuana (kidding!), and how-did-we-end-up-driving-home-at-4am kind of way. We leaned into trust with a capital “T.” Trust the women around you, trust the training, and trust in creating a winning environment.

The Lightweights came back to campus in the fall with a fire and determination that set us up for a great year. Wednesday dish runs became a weekly institution, and our chalk hill sprints became the stuff of legend. The premise: set a timer, run up the hill until it goes off, mark your spot with chalk. Freshman Lily Carr claimed the top spot on the hill sprints. We ran stadiums, rowed through rainbows, and created a culture of buy in through competitive fun both on and off the water.

Fall also brought our annual team hike up Windy Hill, this time on the correct trail, which felt like a win before we set out. Progress…

We threw a bit of a change up into fall racing and went down to San Diego for the Fall Classic. That was the tone setter for the year. We rolled down with the open women, and somewhere between unloading the trailer and warming up, someone put on Footloose and the rest is history. Were we loose? Absolutely. Were we ready to race? Also yes. Did we have a fantastic fall opener with the full squad? Undoubtedly.

Baking in the sun and enjoying the afternoon before heading home, a cancelled flight derailed our travel plans. We decided the logical way to end the trip was a spontaneous road trip back to Palo Alto. A true bonding moment for both women’s squads.

Fall flew by, and we said our goodbyes before Thanksgiving with full hearts and excitement for the months ahead. When we returned in the new year, we sat down together and made a list of process goals; the steps we would take together as a team to achieve the best results possible throughout spring racing. Coaches set the tone, athletes lead the charge. We mapped out our goals as a group, made it a real conversation, and let the team own it. What that group of women decided they stood for would carry us all the way through spring.

Winter was quietly electric. You could feel it in the erg room, you could feel it on the water, something was clicking. We leaned hard into the idea that medals are earned in the winter and collected in the spring. So we kept our heads down, kept showing up, and trusted the process that we had set for ourselves.

Spring arrived, and things got fun.

Getting to train alongside Derek's squad more often was a full upgrade. Racing and pushing with a program at that level has a way of raising your ceiling whether you're ready for it or not. The Lights were itching for exactly that kind of challenge. So when spring break rolled around, we packed our bags and all headed to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, breathing in that sweet, sultry Southern air and got after it.

Now, before a single race was rowed, junior coxswain Marrisa Chow set the tone for the entire spring season by destroying the Tennessee coxswain in the arm wrestling competition. Sunny skies, optimistic vibes, and then, right as the coxswains squared up, the sky went dark, clouds rolled in, and the heavens opened up. Marrisa did not flinch. Spring had officially begun.

We had great racing in Tennessee. The athletes took away lessons that they could carry into our next race with Princeton and beyond. Each race was a step in the right direction. Learning from every trip down the course, wire to wire, everyone came away with something to keep moving forward with.

We hosted Princeton at home, where our 2x came away with a sweet victory. We joined the open women again at the Big Ten Invite for six-lane round robin racing where the 8+ was dominant in each race and 4+’s got to go head to head with some great competition. Chaotic, exciting, exactly the kind of environment we had been looking to help give our performance an edge. We took on the BU Terriers and the varsity 8+ handled business with a solid win. And then traveled to Worcester, MA for some classic New England racing. The Varsity 8+ took home a bronze medal from that race. Sprints really gave the athletes the belief that they could go for more. It was a testament to the training and their commitment to the program.

When we got to IRAs in May, we asked every athlete, “did you check off every single process goal we set together at the start of this year?” Every single one said yes.

That's this team. That's what happens when athletes own their destiny and show up for each other every single day. I'm so proud of the 8+'s maturity and grit as they leveled up over the course of the season, the 4+ for their resilience and relentless determination no matter what got thrown at them, and Zadie and Maddy in the 2x for their hard work, pure joy of sculling, and the way they took every single opportunity in stride.

This team has earned its place. And we all know that winning a national championship only happens when you're fully bought in, not to the result, but to the process. The Lights have a bright future ahead, this was an incredible step in the right direction and we cannot wait to see what’s next.

Yeah, Lights and Go Card! 🌲