April 5, 2008

CHERRY HILLS, N.J. - A strong start to the race helped propel Boston University to a victory over Navy and George Washington in the varsity race between the three women's crew programs Saturday morning on the Cooper River in Cherry Hills, N.J.

The opening sprint to the race by the Terriers allowed the boat to build a three-quarter of a boat length lead over the Mids about one minute into the race. Navy was able to close the margin somewhat by the midpoint of the contest, but BU responded and soon took an open-water advantage over the Mids over the next several hundred meters. By the end of the 2,000-meter race, the Mids were able to cut the difference down to a one-boat and two-seat margin.

The Terriers won the race with a winning time of 6:35.15, Navy finished in second place five seconds later (6:40.52) and George Washington place third 20 seconds after the Mids crossed the finish line (7:00.93).

The victory allows the Terriers to regain possession of the Playfair Cup, which is awarded annually to the winner of the varsity race between the three programs. Navy entered the day with the hardware by virtue of its 2007 victory.

Navy crews were victorious in each of the three additional races contested between the three programs Saturday morning. The Mids won the second varsity race by six seconds, the varsity four race by eight seconds and the novice eight race by seven seconds.

"It is always a good day when you are able to win three out of four races," said Navy head coach Mike Hughes. "However, the one we wanted to win more than any of them was the varsity race, so we are disappointed. Today showed we have a lot of depth. We do need to get our varsity boat moving faster, especially at the start of the race, but we saw a lot of concrete things in terms of technique and how we raced that we will be able to improve upon as the season progresses. We are looking forward to getting back on the water in practice and continuing to make adjustments and improvements. Our best racing is still ahead of us."

The Navy season will continue this coming week when the Mids take part in the George Washington Invitational April 11-12 on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

First Varsity (Playfair Cup race)
Boston Univ., 6:35.15; Navy, 6:40.52; George Washington, 7:00.93

Second Varsity
Navy, 6:52.38; Boston Univ., 6:58.70; George Washington, 7:29.40

Varsity Four
Navy A, 7:37.02; Boston Univ., 7:45.06, Navy B, 8:03.02; George Washington, 8:26.49

Novice
Navy A, 7:04.97; Boston Univ., 7:11.47; Navy B, 7:12.07; George Washington, 7:41.94