May 15, 2011

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Navy heavyweight rowing team had all five boats finish in the top five of their respective finals on Sunday at the Eastern Sprints Championship on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. Navy's varsity eight crew qualified for the IRA National Championship by placing ninth overall.

"It was certainly a better day today than we had here last year," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "We're excited about the varsity qualifying for the IRA National Championship."

In soggy conditions, Navy's varsity eight crew finished third in its heat with a time of 5:52.862 to earn a spot in the petite final. In the final, Navy posted a 5:49.0, to take third place, which was less than three seconds behind first-place Yale. Dartmouth finished second with a time of 5:48.057.

Navy's first freshman crew posted a time of 6:10.061 in its heat, which was good for second place and a spot in the grand final.

The Mids posted another strong row in the grand final as they improved on their time and placed fourth with a 6:03.697, which was just over one second behind third-place Northeastern.

"The plebes were great today," said Clothier. "For them to get into the grand final was the story of the day for us."

Like the first freshman, Navy's second freshman boat also performed well. The Mids finished just over one second behind first-place Wisconsin. Navy beat out BU for second place by over 3.5 seconds.

The third varsity eight also worked its way into the grand final with a strong showing in its heat. Navy placed second behind Wisconsin in the morning heat, posting a 6:16.200, and then took fifth in the grand final with a time of 6:10.530.

Navy's second varsity boat took second in the petite final. The Mids took third in their heat with a time of 6:03.992, and then responded with a 6:02.106 to take second place in the petite final behind Cornell.

In its only race of the day, the fourth varsity eight boat placed second to Harvard, clocking a 6:20.452.

"We're excited about going on to the national championship," said Clothier. "We'll work hard in the next few weeks and then see what we can do."

Fourth Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1. Harvard 6:16.365, 2. Navy 6:20.452, 3. Brown 6:25.783

Freshman Eight - Heat
1. Princeton 6:06.342, 2. Navy 6:10.061, 3 .Dartmouth 6:16.040, 4. Wisconsin 6:16.794, 5. MIT 6:22.562, 6. Penn 6:25.01

Freshman Eight - Grand Final
1. Harvard 5:54.521, 2. Princeton 6:00.422, 3. Northeastern 6:02.531, 4. Navy 6:03.697, 5. Cornell 6:05.975, 6. BU 6:06.017

Second Freshman Eight - Grand Final
1. Wisconsin 6:02.172, 2. Navy 6:03.436, 3. BU 6:07.069, 4. Cornell 6:15.613, 5. Penn 6:26.333, 6. Dartmouth 6:37.011

Second Varsity Eight - Heat
1. Princeton 5:59.808, 2. Yale 6:00.608, 3. Navy 6:03.992, 4. Penn 6:13.220, 5. Holy Cross 6:28.991, 6. Rutgers 6:35.001

Second Varsity Eight - Petite Final
1.Cornell 5:56.759, 2. Navy 6:02.106, 3. Dartmouth 6:05.057, 4. Penn 6:05.718, 5. BU 6:08.674, 6. Columbia 6:12.828

Third Varsity Eight - Heat
1. Wisconsin 6:13.286, 2. Navy 6:16.200, 3. Princeton 6:17.597, 4. Yale 6:17.602

Third Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1. Wisconsin 5:53.374, 2. Harvard 5:55.399, 3. Cornell 6:00.792, 4. Brown 6:04.394, 5. Navy 6:10.530, 6. Princeton 6:18.291

Varsity Eight - Heat
1. Wisconsin 5:47.600, 2. Brown 5:49.356, 3. Navy 5:52.862, 4. Columbia 5:56.630, 5. Northeastern 6:00.118, 6. Rutgers 6:15.191

Varsity Eight - Petite Final
1. Yale 5:46.747, 2. Dartmouth 5:48.057, 3. Navy 5:49.000, 4. Cornell 5:50.060, 5. Georgetown 5:52.750, 6. Columbia 5:52.781

Rowe Cup Standings
1. Harvard, 41.0
2. Princeton, 34.0
3. Wisconsin, 28.0
4. Brown, 25.0
5. Syracuse, 23.0
6. Navy, 19.0
7. Yale, 18.0
8. Cornell, 18.0
9. Boston University, 18.0
10. Dartmouth, 11.0
11. Northeastern, 10.0
12. Columbia, 5.0
13. Penn, 3.0
14. Georgetown, 3.0
15. Rutgers, 0.0
16. MIT, 0.0
17. George Washington, 0.0
18. Holy Cross, 0.0