STANFORD, California – After an exciting year for Stanford women’s rowing – marked by participation in the NCAA Championships and a program record of four current and former members competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris – the team is now receiving support from some of its biggest fans.
This grant comes in the form of a generous gift from Gail and Nick Farwell, 1970, MBA 1980, who endow the position of head coach of women’s rowing. The gift builds on the Farwell family’s tradition of support for Stanford Athletics and makes Derek Byrnes the first Farwell family director of women’s rowing.
“I am grateful to Gail and Nick for their extraordinary commitment to Stanford Athletics and the success of our student-athletes,” said Bernard Muir, Stanford’s Jaquish & Kenninger athletic director. “Their desire to prepare student-athletes for a life of leadership and impact, not only on the water but in life as well, is an inspiration.”
Rowing runs deep in the Farwell family. Nick Farwell rowed as a student at Stanford, and son Brandon (class of 2008) was also a member of the rowing program. The family previously endowed the position of head coach in men’s rowing and established several rowing scholarships for men.
“Brandon and I feel privileged to have rowed at Stanford as the experience has enriched our lives in so many ways,” said Nick Farwell. “We hope this donation will provide generations of promising student-athletes with the coaching support they need to reach their potential and gain experiences that will enrich their lives.”
Over the past eight years, women’s rowing head coach Derek Brynes has led Stanford to six top-six finishes at the NCAA and cemented the Cardinal’s reputation as one of the best women’s rowing programs in the country. Named the 2024 Region 5 Coach/Staff of the Year by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, Byrnes and his staff lead a team that concluded its final season with a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships and has 23 National Scholar-Athletes and one Olympian among its ranks.
Four Cardinals competed in the Olympics this year, including three former and one current rowers. Current rower Célia Dupré, ’26, competed for Switzerland in the women’s quadruple sculls (4x). As a testament to the strength of Stanford’s rowing program, she said, “I chose Stanford because it makes me dream. To be part of this wonderful world of yearning minds and to be able to row with brilliant women is all I could ever want.”
With the support of the Farwell family, Byrnes has his sights set on the coming year.
“I am grateful and honored to be the first Farwell Family Director of Women’s Rowing,” said Byrnes. “The women on this team are simply phenomenal people and student-athletes. The generous support of the Farwell family underscores the importance of women’s rowing at Stanford and enables us to achieve even greater long-term success.”
