June 5, 2008

CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- Led by the varsity and freshman eight boats advancing to the championship semifinal round of racing, the Navy rowing heavyweight program enjoyed a strong opening day to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Thursday on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Navy's varsity boat, the 10th seed in the field of 24 boats, began the day by placing third in its initial morning trial heat. Second-seeded Wisconsin won the heat with a time of 5:51.061, with No. 7 Northeastern finishing just a few feet behind the Badgers in second with a clocking of 5:51.997. Navy's time of 5:53.301 allowed the Mids to edge Michigan for third place by two seconds (5:55.343).

"We had a great middle 1,000 meters," said Navy heavyweight head coach Rick Clothier. "We were still in second place over Northeastern with about 25 strokes to go, but to their credit the Huskies did a nice job of coming back and closing out the race."

The third-place showing dropped the Mids into one of the afternoon's repechage races, where only the victorious crews advanced on to one of Friday's championship semifinals. The Mids did just that, winning their race by 3.6 seconds over second-place Purdue.

"It was about the first time all year we were able to build an early lead and not have to press during the remainder of the race," said Clothier of the afternoon's effort by his boat. "We had a very good start and were able to row a very controlled, economical race."

The win moves Navy into Friday's 12 Noon championship semifinal contest where the Mids will compete against top-seeded Washington, No. 4 California, No. 6 Yale, No. 7 Northeastern and No. 11 Harvard. Washington and Cal won their trial heat races Thursday, Northeastern and Harvard placed second in their trial heats, and Navy and Yale won their respective repechage races. The top-three finishing boats in the semifinal will qualify for Saturday's grand final, with the remaining boats slated to compete in the petite final.

"We have a challenging race ahead of us Friday," said Clothier.

Also advancing to its championship semifinal round of racing was Navy's freshman eight crew. The Mids qualified for the semifinal by also winning its repechage race in one of the closest contests of the entire day. Navy posted a winning time of 6:00.965 to edge second-place Cornell by a less than five-hundredth of a second, which works out to a few inches.

"It was an amazing finish," said Clothier. "It is the first time in a few years that we have qualified our freshman boat for one of the championship semifinals, so I am very happy for (assistant coach) Mike Guerrieri and his freshman team."

Advancing directly from Thursday morning's trial heat into Saturday's grand final was Navy's varsity four without coxswain crew. The boat was able to bypass Friday's day of racing entirely by winning its trial heat by 2.6 seconds. Members of Navy's lightweight program comprise this boat and are the defending IRA champions.

Varsity Eight
Trial Heat -- 3rd of 6 -- Wisconsin, 5:51.061; Northeastern, 5:51.997; Navy, 5:53.301; Michigan, 5:55.343; Boston Univ., 6:03.566; George Washington, 6:16.450
Repechage Race -- 1st of 4 -- Navy, 6:04.130; Purdue, 6:07.723; Georgetown, 6:07.809; Gonzaga, 6:20.476
Friday's Schedule -- Championship Semifinal, 12 p.m.

Second Varsity Eight
Trial Heat -- 5th of 5 -- California, 5:56.777; Brown, 6:00.684; Harvard, 6:04.377; George Washington, 6:19.385; Navy, 6:23.752
Repechage Race -- 2nd of 4 -- Princeton, 6:06.700; Navy, 6:09.044; Yale, 6:09.827; Holy Cross, 6:19.986
Friday's Schedule -- Consolation Semifinal, 11:36 a.m.

Freshman Eight
Trial Heat -- 5th of 6 -- Harvard, 5:59.938; Wisconsin, 6:03.061; Northeastern, 6:03.278; Yale, 6:13.976; Navy, 6:15.757; George Washington, 6:29.969
Repechage Race -- 1st of 4 -- Navy, 6:00.965; Cornell, 6:00.999; Columbia, 6:11.912; Michigan, 6:20.201
Friday's Schedule -- Championship Semifinal, 1 p.m.

Varsity Four with Coxswain
Time Trial -- 14th of 24 -- 5:51.00
Friday's Schedule -- Consolation Semifinal, 2:24 p.m.

Varsity Four w/o Coxswain
Trial Heat -- 1st of 6 -- Navy, 6:25.294; Harvard, 6:27.831; Wisconsin, 6:33.373; Cornell, 6:40.265; Brown, 6:43.459; Rochester, 6:59.962
Friday's Schedule -- none
Saturday's Schedule -- Grand Final, 11:14 a.m.

Freshman Four with Coxswain
Time Trial -- 16th of 21 -- 6:09.339
Friday's Schedule -- Consolation Semifinal, 9:12 a.m.

Varsity Pair
Trial Heat -- 2nd of 4 -- Wisconsin, 7:32.356; Navy, 7:36.106; Georgetown, 7:39.085; George Washington, 7:41.961
Friday's Schedule -- Repechage Race, 7:36 a.m.