April 18, 2009

BOSTON - The Navy men's lightweight crew team posted three victories in five races at Harvard on Saturday morning on the Charles River.

"Our second varsity, third varsity and second freshman crews all performed well today," stated Navy head coach Nick Baker. "They did a solid job to get three victories against a Harvard team that had swept each of the last-two weekends."

The first varsity race featured two of the top-five crews in the nation, as the Mids were ranked fifth and the Crimson were ranked second nationally. Navy got off to a solid start, taking an early lead before Harvard rowed back to take a one-seat lead. The Midshipmen maintained within striking distance for the rest of the race, but could not make a final push as they were edged by less than a second, 6:06.45-6:07.40. The Crimson's narrow victory earned them the Haines Trophy - which is presented to the winner of the first varsity race - after the Mids won the trophy last season.

"The first varsity race was very tight with around a half-dozen lead changes," said Baker. "We had great rowing conditions and it was a race between two good crews. Unfortunately, we came up on the short end by less than a second against the second-ranked boat in the country. We know that we need to improve, but today was certainly something that we can build upon."

Navy's second varsity eight boat took an early lead and was able to hold off the host Crimson to win the race by just over a second, 6:17.78-6:19.12. The Midshipmen also came away victorious in the third varsity event, as they battled back from an early deficit to defeat Harvard, 6:26.47-6:28.31.

In the second freshman race, the Midshipmen defeated Harvard's second and third freshman crews by at least 10 seconds. Navy produced a time of 6:40.15, followed by Harvard's second freshman time of 6:50.31 and its third freshman time of 7:14.06.

The Mids fell behind early in the first freshman race and could not overcome the distance needed to catch up as they fell, 6:25.27-6:37.96.

The Midshipmen (3-3) will return home to host their lone home race of the year against Penn next Saturday, April 25, on the Severn River.

NAVY at HARVARD - April 18, 2009
First Varsity (Haines Trophy) - Harvard 6:06.45, Navy 6:07.40
Second Varsity - Navy 6:17.78, Harvard 6:19.12
Third Varsity - Navy 6:26.47, Harvard 6:28.31
First Freshman - Harvard 6:25.27, Navy 6:37.96
Second Freshman - Navy 6:40.15, Harvard (2F) 6:50.31, Harvard (3F) 7:14.06