March 26, 2006

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. - After opening its season with losses Saturday morning, the varsity boats for the Navy heavyweight crew team both won a pair of races Saturday night and Sunday morning at the Windermere Rowing Classic in Redwood Shores, Calif.

Navy's varsity boat began the weekend with a 14-second loss to California, but rebounded to post an 11-second win over Oregon State and a three-second victory over British Columbia.

"It was a very high quality win for us today," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "The British Columbia crew we defeated was going as fast as anyone was this weekend."

Navy's second varsity crew followed a Saturday night triumph over Oregon State (10 seconds) with a victory over Santa Clara (12 seconds) Sunday morning. The second varsity entry had dropped a nine-second decision to California in its opening race of the weekend.

The heavyweight crew team will be back in action April 8 at the George Washington Invitational on the Potomac River.

Varsity Results California, 6:36.50; Navy, 6:50.20 Navy, 6:32.40; Oregon State, 6:43.8 Navy, 5:55.00; British Columbia, 5:58.30

Second Varsity Results California, 6:06.80; Navy, 6:15.69 Navy, 6:15.00; Oregon State, 6:25.00 Navy, 6:12.34; Santa Clara, 6:24.70