April 9, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's heavyweight crew team opened its spring slate on Thursday morning with victories in all three races against Holy Cross on the calm waters of the Severn River. Each of the wins over the Crusaders came by a margin of at least eight seconds.

"I am proud of our guys. They had a very nice first race," stated Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "We feel very fortunate about the weather, as we have had some very tough conditions ever since Sunday. Because of that, I was a little concerned with preparation coming into the race. This was our first race of the season and Holy Cross had already competed against three different opponents. However, our guys raced with a lot of poise - in particular the first varsity."

In the first varsity race, Navy used a strong surge over the second half of the race to record a 5:49.07-5:57.83 victory over Holy Cross. The two teams were neck-and-neck over the first-500 meters, but the Mids kept an even pace and were able to begin pulling away near the halfway mark in the race. The Crusaders did pull within a boat-and-a-half length with less than

"We were under-stroking and that helped Holy Cross keep the first quarter of the race very close," said Clothier. "Our coxswain was able to keep his composure and kept thinking that the plan would pay off - which we started seeing about 800 meters in."

Navy's second varsity eight opened up a sizeable lead early and was able to cruise to a first-place time of 6:01.49. The third varsity boat also took part in the race with Holy Cross's second varsity crew and turned in a strong final-1,000 meters to defeat the Crusaders by nearly seven full seconds, 6:10.23-6:17.19.

In the final event of the day, Navy's first freshmen crew stormed out to an early lead that it continually built upon in posting a solid first-place time of 6:00.17. Navy's second freshman boat also finished ahead of the visiting Crusaders by more than 11 seconds, 6:22.10-6:33.69.

The Midshipmen (1-0) will return to action this Saturday when they head to the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., for the George Washington Invitational. The Mids will take to the water against Georgetown in the morning before competing against host George Washington in the afternoon.

NAVY vs. HOLY CROSS • APRIL 9, 2009
First Varsity Eight: Navy 5:49.07, Holy Cross 5:57.83
Second Varsity Eight: Navy (2V) 6:01.49, Navy (3V) 6:10.23, Holy Cross 6:17.19
Freshmen Eight: Navy (1F) 6:00.17, Navy (2F) 6:22.10, Holy Cross 6:33.69, Navy (3F) 6:43.28