April 22, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy heavyweight rowing team will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday where it will compete against Harvard and Penn. Saturday's first varsity race will mark the 75th meeting for the Adams Cup. Also in action on Saturday will be Navy's second varsity, a pair of third varsity boats, and the first and second freshman boats.

Navy's first varsity boat enters Saturday with a 3-2 mark on the season.

About the Adams Cup
The Adams Cup is presented to the winner of the first varsity race between Navy, Harvard and Penn. The trophy is named after Charles Francis Adams, a Harvard graduate and former Secretary of the Navy.

Harvard has captured the cup in each of the last 10 seasons, while Navy has finished second the past eight seasons. Harvard has won the cup 47 times, while Navy, which has won it 13 times, last took it home in 1996.

Last Season at the Adams Cup
Competing on the Charles River in Boston, Harvard just edged Navy - by 1.98 seconds - for first place. The Mids finished over 10 seconds ahead of third-place Penn.

Quoting the Coach
Coach Rick Clothier's take on this weekend's race...

"We look forward to the competition - the Adams Cup has always been a super regatta. Harvard is ranked very highly and Penn had a great race last weekend, so it should be another great Adams Cup."

The Last Time Out
In competing for the Goes Trophy, Navy dropped a hard-fought race as Syracuse claimed the win by finishing just over four seconds ahead of Navy. Cornell crossed the finish line 1.5 seconds ahead of the Mids to take second place.

The Mids claimed victories in the second varsity and both freshman races, but it was Syracuse that took home the Stagg Trophy for compiling the most points in all the races.

Up Next
Navy will meet Columbia and George Washington in Princeton, N.J., on Saturday.