May 13, 2012

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Navy men's heavyweight rowing team placed four boats in the top six and as a team, placed fifth overall at the EARC Sprints on Sunday in Worcester, Mass. Navy's varsity eight crew placed fifth, which was its best finish since taking third in 2004.

As a team, Navy placed fifth in the Rowe Cup standings, which was one slot higher than last season.

"It's a tough league and there are a lot of good teams, so I was very pleased," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "Overall, we moved up from where we were last year and the varsity improved as well."

The varsity, second varsity, third varsity and freshman crews all placed second in their respective trial heats, earning a spot in the grand final races.

In a hard-fought heat race on Lake Quinsigamond, Wisconsin just edged Navy for first place, 5:59.64-6:00.25. Boston University placed third with a time of 6:00.51.

In the final, just four second separated third through six places. Wisconsin turned in a 5:59.68 to take third, Princeton clocked a 6:02.09 to take fourth, Navy a 6:03.67 for fifth place and Syracuse a 6:03.91 to take sixth. Brown won the race with a 5:49.60.

In the second varsity final, Navy beat Cornell across the line, 6:06.20-6:08.38, to take fifth. Wisconsin won the race with a time of 5:57.21.

Navy's top freshman crew competed in the grand final for the second consecutive year where it narrowly finished behind Princeton and took sixth place. The Mids clocked a 6:17.75, while the Tigers put up a 6:16.56.

In its only race of the day, the second freshman boat was just edged by Wisconsin for the top spot in the finals. The Badgers clocked a 6:36.357, while Navy turned in a 6:36.599.

The third varsity turned in a time of 6:23.83 to take fourth place in the grand final.

The fourth varsity placed third in its only competition of the day with a time of 6:09.06.

Navy will be back in action at the IRA National Championships on May 31-June 2 in Camden, N.J.

V8 - Heat 3
1 Wisconsin 5:59.641
2 Navy 6:00.251
3 BU 6:00.519
4 Yale 6:04.744
5 G Washington 6:17.304
6 Holy Cross 6:28.747

V8 - Grand Final
1 Brown 5:49.608
2 Harvard 5:49.910
3 Wisconsin 5:59.685
4 Princeton 6:02.096
5 Navy 6:03.677
6 Syracuse 6:03.918

F8 - Heat 2
1 Cornell 5:53.849
2 Navy 5:56.894
3 Wisconsin 5:57.435
4 Syracuse 6:02.001
5 Georgetown 6:10.728
6 Rutgers 6:28.029

F8 - Grand Final
1 Harvard 6:02.621
2 Northeastern 6:04.801
3 Cornell 6:07.154
4 Brown 6:10.108
5 Princeton 6:16.568
6 Navy 6:17.750

2V8 - Heat 2
1 Wisconsin 5:58.227
2 Navy 6:04.259
3 Yale 6:07.789
4 Penn 6:11.215
5 George Washington 6:26.005

2V8 - Grand Final
1 Wisconsin 5:57.211
2 Harvard 5:57.854
3 Princeton 6:00.201
4 Brown 6:00.762
5 Navy 6:06.206
6 Cornell 6:08.386

3V8 - Heat 1
1 Brown 6:01.091
2 Navy 6:05.644
3 Cornell 6:05.688
4 Holy Cross 6:32.783

3V8 - Grand Final
1 Brown 6:11.100
2 Wisconsin 6:14.721
3 Harvard 6:14.856
4 Navy 6:23.831
5 Princeton 6:23.864
6 Cornell 6:32.533

2F8 - Grand Final
1 Wisconsin 6:36.357
2 Navy 6:36.599
3 Harvard 6:47.721
4 Cornell 6:51.244
5 Penn 7:12.973

4V8 - Grand Final
1 Harvard 6:06.418
2 Brown 6:08.516
3 Navy HW 6:09.061
4 Navy LW 6:40.658