Sept. 30, 2010

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's heavyweight and lightweight rowing teams will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., this weekend for the Poughkeepsie Regatta on Saturday, Oct. 2, at Longview Park on the Hudson River. The race, hosted by Marist College, will feature some of the same institutions that competed in the original Intercollegiate Rowing Association's (IRA) National Championship, including, Columbia, Cornell, Penn and Syracuse.

The Regatta was a staple in Poughkeepsie during the early part of the 20th century and last year marked the first time since 1949 that the Regatta was held in Poughkeepsie. The race will be on a four-mile course similar to the original IRA's National Championship Regatta, which was held in Poughkeepsie from 1895-1949.

Navy's lightweight team will join Cornell and Marist while the heavyweight team will compete against several schools, including Cornell, Penn, Army and Marist. The lightweight team won last year's event.

"We're looking forward to this weekend," said Navy heavyweight head coach Rick Clothier. "It's early in the season, so we don't know exactly what to expect, but it should be a really good race."

The lightweight team will also be in action on Saturday at the Occoquan Challenge at the Occoquan Reservoir at Sandy Run Regional Park in Fairfax, Va. Sunday's race will be a stake race.

"We're very excited to start the fall season," said lightweight head coach Steve Perry. "We've been training hard and we are excited to see what we can do."