Ranked No. 5 in the country, the Stanford women’s rowing team battled injuries and adversity throughout the year, culminating in a second place finish at the Pac-10 Championships last weekend. However, of the 12 teams invited to the team NCAA Championships next weekend in Gold River, Calif., the Cardinal was not among them.

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Masaru Oka

The Cardinal finished at No. 5 in the country and second in the Pac-10, but it was not among the 12 teams selected to participate in the NCAA Championships. Shockingly, both Washington schools, who finished below Stanford in the Pac-10, received bids.

The announcement of the NCAA Championship field, administered on Tuesday, was especially shocking to the Cardinal, considering that Washington State and Washington — which finished third and fourth, respectively, behind Stanford at Pac-10s — were invited to the Championship.

“When they invited the teams that finished below us, we were surprised,” said coach Yasmin Farooq. “The fact that they selected two teams below us essentially nullifies the value of the regional qualifier.”

Several coaches at other schools have also expressed their shock to the Stanford women, including the coach of Washington, Michael Callahan.

“It’s nothing personal against either of those teams,” Farooq said. “Those coaches, too, were stunned. They were stunned to hear that Stanford did not get a team bid. I had a call from the Cal coach within 10 minutes of the selection. Everyone was just shocked.”

“Every one of my friends was like, ‘that seems so unjust, how could they do that?” senior Jessi Reel added. “My personal hunch is that there’s just a lot of politics involved.”

According to the committee, the Cardinal was not invited because of its weaker second varsity eight squad. That said, Stanford’s second varsity eight defeated the counterpart squads on the Washington and Washington state teams at the Pac-10s. As a whole, those in the rowing community — on the Farm or off — agree that the decision to exclude the Stanford team from NCAAs was a clear mistake.

“I think the committee made a mistake. I think they got it wrong,” Farooq said. “The committee got it wrong, and I’ve never received so many phone calls and emails from so many coaches across the country. [They were] emails and calls of utter disbelief.”

The decision was final, however, and the Cardinal has accepted it and moved on. The team’s season isn’t over, either: as a consolation of sorts, the first varsity eight received an at-large bid to the Championships and will have a chance to avenge the decision at next weekend’s competition. If anything, they may be more motivated than they would have been before.

“Knowing that we still have NCAAs ahead of us, if anything this just gives the varsity eight a little inspiration,” said Farooq.

“It’s fueling the fire that already existed but is now more passionate because it’s for everybody else, as well,” Reel added. “The goal for the next week is just [to] focus in and continue improving on our speed, and we leave for nationals in one week.”

And though the decision by the NCAA ended Stanford’s decision when it came to the team championship, both Farooq and Reel were able to reflect on a season in which the team developed greatly in spite of a short squad, numerous injuries and illness. The team had literally all of its members — except for one — competing at the Pac-10s while squads like Washington carry well over 50 members.

“It was a really huge accomplishment [to finish in second place at Pac-10s] given the lineups and what was going on with our team,” Reel said. “It was fun to pull this win out that people didn’t expect.”

“As far as the whole season is concerned, it’s been an amazing year,” Farooq said. “I think the fact that we have such a small group of people and their performing at such a high level speaks really highly of the character of this team.”

In particular, Farooq looks to use this experience as a positive and constructive one for the program in coming years.

“I think that the future for Stanford women’s rowing is incredibly bright, and I hope that this team will take away from this experience,” she said. “No one can ever take the weekend away from us at Pac-10s. It was an excellent season capped by a phenomenal Pac-10 championships, and this is just the beginning for this team."