April 7, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Navy women's crew team ended a very successful George Washington Invitational Saturday by seeing its varsity boat split a pair of races and the Mids as a team win five of its eight races contested on the day. Including Friday's results from the two-day regatta held on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., Navy's varsity entry won two of its three races and the program as a whole combined to post victories in nine of its 13 races.

"It was a great showing by our entire program," said Navy head coach Mike Hughes. "We faced, and beat, some very good teams over the two days."

Conditions were challenging Saturday due to the winter-like weather in our nation's capitol. The blustery conditions forced the crews to row through whitecaps on the river in near-freezing temperatures.

"Considering the weather, I think we rowed as well as we could Saturday," said Hughes. "Water was pouring into every boat and all of the crews from each of the teams were just trying to survive and reach the finish line."

Navy's varsity crew began the invitational by posting a 1.8-second victory over Iowa Friday afternoon. The Mids then ran their record to 2-0 at the regatta by recording a 5.7-second win over St. Joseph's in their first race Saturday. Navy crossed the finish line in a time of 6:26.4, with the Hawks following in a time of 6:32.1

The Mids were unable to finish the weekend undefeated, however, as Clemson, ranked 21st nationally, posted a 5.5-second triumph over Navy. The Tigers recorded a winning time of 6:19.8 to finish ahead of Navy's clocking of 6:25.3.

The additional two losses on the day by the Navy fleet also came to the hands of the Tigers as Clemson crews posted victories over Navy's second-varsity eight and varsity four entries. The margin of the latter race was just three-tenths of a second, 6:22.2-6:22.5.

Both Navy boats bounced back to win their additional races on the day, with Navy's novice eight boat the lone Navy entry to win both of its races Saturday.

Navy will return to the Potomac River April 22 when the Mids race against Georgetown.

First Varsity Eight
Navy, 6:26.4; St. Joseph's, 6:32.1
Clemson, 6:19.8; Navy, 6:25.3
Second Varsity Eight
Navy, 6:44.9; St. Joseph's, 7:01.5
Clemson, 6:40, Iowa, 6:45.9; Navy, 6:49
Varsity Four
Clemson, 7:22.2; Navy, 7:22.5; George Washington, 7:50.7
Navy, 7:40.6; Georgetown, 7:48.8; St. Joseph's, 8:12.2
Novice Eight
Navy, 6:58.2; St. Joseph's, 7:02.7
Navy 'A', no time; Clemson, +9.4 seconds; Navy 'B', +21 seconds