April 25, 2010

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - The Navy women's crew team produced a first-place time in the varsity four race to produce a second-place team score at the 2010 Patriot League Championship on Sunday morning on the Cooper River.

Bucknell claimed its fifth-consecutive title with a team score of 35 points, just four beyond Navy's 31-point showing. Holy Cross came in third with 18 points, followed by Colgate's 16 points, MIT's 15 points and Lehigh's six points.

In the varsity eight race, Bucknell posted a first-place time of 7:11.60, just 2.20 seconds ahead of Navy's 7:13.80 clocking. The Midshipmen were 6.30 seconds faster than third-place Colgate.

"Bucknell took the lead in the first-1000 meters of the race, but we began to narrow the deficit in the next-500 meters and were within a couple of seats by the end of the race," stated Navy head coach Mike Hughes. "It was a barn-burner of a race. Two seconds is just a whisper."

The Midshipmen also placed second in the second varsity eight competition with a time of 7:32.09, which was 9.26 seconds behind Bucknell's 7:22.83 showing.

In the varsity four race, Navy's boat ran over a rock during warmups that caused the fin and rudder to break off. Without a chance to repair the shell, Bucknell had Navy use one of its spare four-oared boats for the championship. Competing in a boat that it had never used before, the Midshipmen went out and recorded a first-place time of 8:16.10, a solid 4.20 seconds ahead of Bucknell.

The Midshipmen will return to action on Saturday, May 1, when they head back to Cherry Hill, N.J., for the ECAC Mid-Atlantic/New England Region Championship.

2010 Patriot League Team Scores
1. Bucknell, 35 points
2. Navy, 31 points
3. Holy Cross, 18 points
4. Colgate, 16 points
5. MIT, 15 points
6. Lehigh, 6 points

Varsity Eight
1. Bucknell, 7:11.60 (18)
2. Navy, 7;13.80 (15)
3. Colgate, 7:20.10 (12)
4. MIT, 7:30.10 (9)
5. Holy Cross, 7:36.20 (6)
6. Lehigh, 7:41.90 (3)

Second Varsity Eight
1. Bucknell, 7:22.83 (12)
2. Navy, 7:32.09 (10)
3. Holy Cross, 7:43.31 (8)
4. MIT, 7:57.54 (6)
5. Colgate, 8:06.93 (4)

Varsity Four
1. Navy, 8:16.10 (6)
2. Bucknell, 8:20.30 (5)
3. Holy Cross, 9;10.80 (4)
4. Lehigh, 9:22.10 (3)