May 18, 2008
WORCESTER, Mass. - After being edged for a spot in the grand final by less than one-half of a second, the varsity boat from the Navy heavyweight rowing team won the petite final at the Eastern Sprints Championship, Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
Competing boats needed to finish in either first or second place in the morning trial heats to advance to the grand final in the event. The Mids, the No. 8 seed in the field, were placed into a trial heat along with No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 5 Northeastern. The Badgers won the heat with a time of 5:57.430, the Huskies placed second with a time of 5:58.532 and the Mids placed third in the six-boat heat with a time of 5:59.0. Once the remaining trial heats were finished, the Mids learned they had rowed the third-fastest time of the trial heats, but it still was not enough to put Navy into the grand final for the first time in four years.
"We didn't have the best start," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier of the varsity race. "But we made up for it. We were behind Northeastern by about eight feet early on, but ended up being four seats behind them in the end. It was a great effort in a very fast heat."
In addition to Navy, the petite final included third-seeded Harvard, No. 7 Syracuse and No. 9 Cornell. Both the Crimson and the Orange defeated the Mids during the regular season, while Navy topped the Big Red in the previous meeting between the crews earlier this season.
Navy would go on to win the petite final, a feat the Mids also accomplished in 2005, with a winning time of 6:13.697. Harvard would place second in the race seven-tenths of a second behind the Mids, while the Big Red followed behind the Crimson in an additional 2.6 seconds to place third in the race.
"We had a great race in the final," Clothier. "Our time was the fourth-best recorded in the afternoon. We have made a number of changes to our lineup and to our boat over the last 10 days and they have really paid off. Everything we have done has allowed us to pick up a little speed. I feel we are just getting started with finding out how fast this boat can go."
Navy's second varsity and first freshman boats also took part in petite finals Sunday. The second varsity boat placed third in its final while the first freshman entry placed fifth.
There was only one race held on the day for the entered second freshman crews, with Navy's boat finishing in fourth place in the field of five boats.
Navy will now prepare for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship, which will be held June 5-7.
First Varsity - 7th of 18
Trial Heat - 5:59.00 - 3rd of 6
Petite Final - 6:13.697 - 1st of 6
Navy, 6:13.697; Harvard, 6:14.320; Cornell, 6:16.901; Syracuse, 6:17.292; Boston Univ., 6:21.454; Georgetown, 6:28.730
Second Varsity - 9th of 16
Trial Heat - 6:20.256 - 4th of 6
Petite Final - 3rd of 6 - 6:21.019
Syracuse, 6:14.919; Yale, 6:19.383; Navy, 6:21.019; Georgetown, 6:23.851; Columbia, 6:26.725; Boston Univ., 6:27.670
First Freshman - 11th of 18
Trial Heat - 6:16.620 -- 3rd of 6
Petite Final - 6:07.632 - 5th of 6
Wisconsin, 5:58.305; Cornell, 6:01.842; Columbia, 6:04.842; Dartmouth, 6:06.747; Navy, 6:07.632; MIT, 6:17.829
Second Freshman - 4th of 5
Grand Final - 6:42.721 - 4th of 5
Wisconsin, 6:19.607; Yale, 6:30.531; Cornell, 6:32.901; Navy, 6:42.721; Boston Univ., 6:52.328
