June 4, 2011
Complete Results | IRA Championships Central
CAMDEN, N.J. - The Navy heavyweight rowing team closed out its 2011 season on Saturday at the final day of the IRA National Championships on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. Navy's open four and varsity four boats led the way as each finished fourth overall. In total, all five of Navy's competing crews finished better in the overall standings than the year before.
"We're moving up," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier."We would like to be moving up faster, but we're on the move and every boat improved on last year. We're very excited for next year already."
A year after placing 13th, overall, last season, the varsity eight took 11th by taking fifth in the petite final. The Mids posted a 5:49.024 to finish behind Cornell, Stanford, Syracuse and Yale, respectively.
After winning its semifinal contest by just .007 on Friday, the varsity four boat competed in another hard fought race in Saturday's grand final. Washington clocked 6:19.045 to take first place, while Brown took second with a 6:21.859. Drexel just beat Navy across the finish line for third place, registering 6:23.039, to the Mids' 6:24.403. Stanford rounded out the top five with a 6:24.474.
Navy's varsity four finished 17th in 2010.
"The varsity four was in the hunt for a medal all the way until the end - we're really proud of those guys," said Clothier.
Navy's open four boat capped its strong showing at the IRA National Championship as it placed six spots ahead of where it did in 2010, by taking fourth in the grand final with a time of 6:36.077 - over two full seconds ahead of fifth-place Cornell.
Navy's freshman eight continued its impressive run at the IRA Regatta as it won the petite final with a time of 5:46.897 - more than two seconds ahead of Cornell, which took second place.
"It was great for them to have their best finish at the IRA Championships since 2002," said Clothier about the freshman boat, which placed 10th at the event last season. "I'm pretty excited about them for next year already."
In the second varsity eight petite final, Penn just edged Navy for fifth place. The Quakers crossed the finish line in 5:53.261, while Navy finished just over 0.5 later, with a 5:53.782.
Varsity Eight - Petite Final (11th overall)
1 Cornell 5:41.526
2 Stanford 5:42.892
3 Syracuse 5:43.120
4 Yale 5:43.269
5 Navy 5:49.024
6 Georgetown 5:53.262
Second Varsity Eight - Petite Final (12th overall)
1 Yale 5:46.992
2 Brown 5:49.190
3 Syracuse 5:51.263
4 BU 5:52.866
5 Pennsylvania 5:53.261
6 Navy 5:53.782
7 Dartmouth 6:02.877
Freshman Eight - Petite Final (seventh overall)
1 Navy 5:46.897
2 Cornell 5:51.429
3 Stanford 5:52.321
4 Columbia 5:55.709
5 Dartmouth 5:55.978
6 UCSD 6:01.466
Varsity Four - Grand Final (fourth overall)
1 Washington 6:19.045
2 Brown 6:21.859
3 Drexel 6:23.039
4 Navy 6:24.403
5 Stanford 6:24.474
6 Wisconsin 6:29.153
Open Varsity Four - Grand Final (fourth overall)
1 Washington 6:23.865
2 Wisconsin 6:26.918
3 Harvard 6:31.123
4 Navy 6:36.077
5 Cornell 6:38.545
6 Yale 6:43.502
