May 21, 2006
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Navy heavyweight crew team advanced a trio of boats to petite finals at the Eastern Sprints Championship Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., including the varsity entry which placed third in the final and ninth overall in its division.
Navy's varsity boat placed third in its trial heat behind Cornell and Wisconsin to advance to the petite final. Syracuse would win the petite final in a time of 6:20.682, with Cornell edging the Mids for second place by 1.5 seconds (6:20.682-6:22.150). The Mids in turn would edge Georgetown for third place by 1.1 seconds.
"I thought we rowed very hard in the morning," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier of the varsity boat in the trial heat. "In the afternoon we saw the progress we have been making since the start of the year. We lost to Syracuse by 11 seconds earlier in the year, but they beat us by only three seconds today.
"I am optimistic we can have a good week of practice in preparation for our race next week against Wisconsin, and continue getting faster as we get closer to the IRA National Championship in two weeks. We want to get faster every time we take to the water."
Also advancing to petite finals on the day for Navy were the second varsity and the first freshman entries. The second varsity boat placed fourth in its final with a time of 6:47.925; while the first freshman crew placed sixth in a time of 6:46.440.
The lone Navy entry to advance to a grand final was the second freshman boat. After placing third in its trial heat, the Mids placed fifth in the grand final with a time of 6:46.252.
There was only one race on the day in the third varsity division, with Navy placing fourth in a field of five boats.
Navy will now prepare for a dual race against Wisconsin May 28 in Annapolis before closing the season June 1-3 at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship.
First Varsity Eight - 9th of 17 boats overall
Trial Heat - 3rd of 6 boats, 6:14.873
Petite Final - 3rd of 6 boats, 6:23.552
Petite Final Results - Syracuse, 6:20.682; Cornell, 6:22.150; Navy, 6:23.552; Georgetown, 6:24.628; Penn, 6:25.302; Boston Univ., 6:32.602
Second Varsity Eight - 10th of 14 boats overall
Trial Heat - 4th of 4 boats, 6:28.386
Petite Final - 4th of 6 boats, 6:47.925
Petite Final Results - Boston Univ., 6:38.414; Cornell, 6:41.612; Syracuse, 6:42.714; Navy, 6:47.925; Dartmouth, 7:01.244; Rutgers, 7:06.147
Third Varsity Eight - 4th of 5 boats, 6:39.117
Final Results - Wisconsin, 6:19.012; Harvard, 6:25.048; Syracuse, 6:34.289; Navy, 6:39.117; Princeton, 6:45.956
First Freshman Eight - 12th of 16 boats overall
Trial Heat - 4th of 5 boats, 6:26.738
Petite Final - 6th of 6 boats, 6:46.440
Petite Final Results - Brown, 6:23.882; Cornell; 6:32.112; Boston Univ., 6:35.844; Georgetown, 6:37.421; Rutgers, 6:42.146; Navy, 6:46.440
Second Freshman Eight - 5th of 9 boats overall
Trial Heat - 3rd of 5 boats, 6:39.337
Grand Final - 5th of 6 boats, 6:46.252
Grand Final Results - Northeastern, 6:22.579; Wisconsin, 6:28.637; Harvard, 6:35.980; Yale, 6:43.300; Navy, 6:46.252; Boston Univ., 6:54.794
