April 20, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Syracuse maintained possession of the historic Goes Trophy with a victory in the varsity race over Navy and Cornell, while the Big Red won the Stagg Trophy for totaling the most overall points on the day, Friday morning on the Severn River in Annapolis when the three heavyweight crew programs faced each other. The Mids crossed the finish line in third place behind the Orange and the Big Red in the varsity race, but afterwards were awarded second place over Cornell due to an officials ruling.
Cornell took an early lead in the varsity race, with Syracuse in second place by one-half of a boat length over Syracuse and the Navy crew one deck further back. The Mids pulled nearly even with the Orange by the 1000-meter mark, while the Big Red maintained a three-quarters of a boat length advantage over the other two crews.
All three teams then were forced to row through a large wake from a passing powerboat, with Syracuse, rowing in the lane closest to the wake, taking the hardest hit, followed by Navy in the middle lane and Cornell in far lane. Despite being knocked around a bit from the waves, Syracuse was able to row through the wake with the least amount of trouble and take the lead from the Big Red. The Cornell crew was affected by the disturbance more than Syracuse was, but not as much as the Navy crew, allowing the Big Red to keep an open water lead over the Mids.
At roughly to the 1200-meter mark, Cornell's boat veered into Navy's unmarked lane, which limited the opportunity for the Navy crew to continue on its present course. This overlap continued over a span of nearly 200 meters.
Syracuse would eventually cross the finish line first with a time of 6:04.8, Cornell was next with a clocking of 6:06.7, and Navy followed with a time of 6:14.4.
After the race, however, the officials changed the order of finish for the Cornell and Navy crews.
The statement from the officials was as follows: "It is our ruling that the Cornell boat interfered with the progress of the Navy boat during the 1200 to 1400-meter marks on the course. Due to this interference, we are awarding Navy second place in the race."
"The interference was unfortunate and should not take away anything from the great row by the Syracuse crew," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "Their performance was the story of the race."
The Syracuse win is the second-straight for the program, marking just the second time since the three teams began competing for the Goes Trophy in 1955 that the Orange have won the hardware in back-to-back years (1958-59).
Cornell won the remaining four races on the day, allowing the Big Red to wrest possession of the Stagg Trophy from the Orange. Cornell totaled 10 points during the regatta to nine for Syracuse and eight for Navy. Changing the results in the varsity race did not alter the final Stagg Trophy standings.
The Mids last won the Stagg Trophy in 2005, the same year Navy won its third-straight Goes Trophy race.
Navy's crews placed second in both freshman races and third in the remaining two varsity races.
The Mids will not race again until May 13 when Navy travels to Worcester, Mass., to compete in the Eastern Sprints Championship.
First Varsity (Goes Trophy race)
Syracuse, 6:04.8; Navy, 6:14.4*; Cornell, 6:06.7*
(Navy awarded second place after the conclusion of the race due to interference by the Cornell boat)
Second Varsity
Cornell, 6:14.6; Syracuse, 6:22.8; Navy, 6:27.6
First Freshman
Cornell, 6:18.5; Navy, 6:22.8; Syracuse, 6:28.9
Third Varsity
Cornell, 6:20.1; Syracuse, 6:20.3; Navy, 6:30.6
Second Freshman
Cornell, 6:26.2; Navy, 6:27.3
Stagg Trophy point total
Cornell, 10; Syracuse, 9; Navy, 8
