Generous gift boosts women’s rowing

Riding the waves of an exciting year for Stanford women’s rowing—marked by an NCAA Championship appearance and a program record of four current and former members competing in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics—the team is now getting a boost from some of its biggest fans.

That boost comes in the form of a generous gift from Gail and Nick Farwell, ’70, MBA ’80, to endow the women’s rowing head coach position. The gift builds on the Farwell family’s legacy of support for Stanford Athletics and establishes Derek Byrnes as the inaugural Farwell Family Director of Women’s Rowing.

“I’m 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 Director of Athletics. “Their desire to prepare student-athletes for lives of leadership and impact, not only on the water but in life, is an inspiration.”

Rowing runs deep in the Farwell family. Nick Farwell rowed as a Stanford undergraduate, and son Brandon, ’08, was also a member of the rowing program. The family previously endowed the men’s rowing head coach position and established multiple men’s rowing scholarships. 

“Brandon and I feel privileged to have rowed at Stanford, as that experience enriched our lives in many ways,” said Nick Farwell. “We hope that this gift will enable generations of promising student-athletes to receive the coaching support they need to realize their potential and gain experiences that will enrich their life.”

Over the past eight years, head women’s rowing coach Derek Brynes has led Stanford to six top-six NCAA finishes and cemented the Cardinal’s reputation as one of the nation’s top women’s rowing programs. Named the 2024 Region 5 Coach/Staff of the Year by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, Byrnes and his staff lead a team that completed its last season with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships and counts 23 National Scholar-Athletes and one Olympian among its ranks. 

Four Cardinal competed in the Olympics this year, including three alumni and one current rower. Current rower Célia Dupré, ’26, raced in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls (4x) for Switzerland. In a testament to the strength of Stanford’s rowing program, she said: “I chose Stanford because it makes me dream. Getting to be part of this wonderful world of yearning minds as well as getting to row with brilliant women is all I could ever ask for.” 

With the support of the Farwell family, Byrnes has his sights set on the year ahead.

“I’m grateful and honored to be the inaugural Farwell Family Director of Women’s Rowing,” said Byrnes. “The women on this team are just phenomenal people and student-athletes. The Farwell family’s generous support emphasizes the importance of women’s rowing at Stanford and sets us up for even greater long-term success.”

This story originally appeared on Go Stanford.