May 18, 2008
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Navy lightweight rowing team totaled a trio of individual boat titles on the day to place third in the team points competition at the Eastern Sprints Championship, held Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The Mids were in search of their third-straight team points title.
The morning trial heats went very well for the Mids as the second varsity and first freshman entries won their trial heats, while the first varsity crew placed second to Yale in its morning race. Those results advanced each of the trio of boats into their respective grand finals to be contested during the afternoon.
"The morning heats went as planned for us," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "We had some great races."
Starting off the afternoon of racing were the third varsity and second freshman finals, which were the only races of the day held for those two flights. Both Navy entries would win their respective finals, with the third varsity boat surging to win after being in fourth place with 700 meters to go.
"Our second freshman and third varsity boats both started off the finals strong for us," said Friedrich. "It was an exceptional race by our third varsity boat. They rowed through three other crews towards the end of the race to win by about one foot."
Officially, Navy's third varsity entry posted a winning time of 6:16.103, with second-place Yale completing the course with a time of 6:16.251.
Navy's first freshman boat placed third in its grand final, while the second varsity boat won its race.
"I'm really proud of our freshman boat," said Friedrich. "They have worked hard all year and it was nice to see then end the season with a medal.
"Our second varsity boat had a great day. They won their heat and then rowed a very controlled race to win the final. Yale challenged them towards the end, but we had enough to hold them off."
That left Navy and Yale tied for first place in the Jope Cup team points standings with just the varsity race remaining. The Mids would end up finishing fourth in the race, finishing behind Cornell (11 seconds), Princeton (eight seconds) and Yale (six seconds).
"It was a disappointing varsity race for us," said Friedrich. "We were simply outperformed. Cornell rowed a great race and really showed something to everyone.
"We rowed a great heat, so I know our crew can perform better than we did in the final and we are looking forward to having the opportunity to do just that in three weeks at the IRA National Championship."
The results of the varsity race allowed Cornell to win the Jope Cup and Yale to finish just ahead of Navy in second place.
First Varsity - 4th of 11
Trial Heat - 6:06.606 -- 2nd of 6
Grand Final - 6:28.670 - 4th of 6
Cornell, 6:17.735; Princeton, 6:20.445; Yale, 6:22.161; Navy, 6:28.670; Dartmouth, 6:33.484; Columbia, 6:36.771
Second Varsity - 1st of 10
Trial Heat - 6:05.303 - 1st of 5
Grand Final - 6:09.319 -- 1st of 6
Navy, 6:09.319, Yale, 6:10.133; Cornell, 6:14.533; Princeton, 6:18.334; Georgetown, 6:18.988; Dartmouth, 6:27.506
Third Varsity - 1st of 6
Grand Final - 6:16.103 - 1st of 6
Navy, 6:16.103; Yale, 6:16.251; Cornell, 6:20.509; Princeton, 6:22.456; Harvard, 6:40.255; Dartmouth, 6:45.322
First Freshman - 3rd of 11
Trial Heat - 6:05.865 - 1st of 6
Grand Final - 6:13.113 - 3rd of 6
Yale, 6:09.684; Georgetown, 6:11.904; Navy, 6:13.113; Cornell, 6:14.235; Delaware, 6:16.093; Princeton, 6:17.468
Second Freshman - 1st of 6
Grand Final - 6:15.354 - 1st of 6
Navy, 6:15.354; Cornell, 6:18.070; Harvard, 6:22.170; Yale, 6:30.475; Delaware, 6:31.901; MIT, 6:47.094
