ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy heavyweight rowing team had a strong showing in its final home meet of the spring versus Harvard and Penn on Saturday. Racing on the lower course on the Severn River, the Mids recorded three runner-up finishes of two seconds or less. No. 11 Navy finished second to No. 5 Harvard in both the Adams and Clothier Cup team standings and ahead of No. 8 Penn.

Saturday's first race was the first varsity eight competition where all three squads were fighting for the right to take home the Adams Cup, a prestigious trophy that's been around since 1933. In a tight and hard-fought race, Harvard escaped with a minuscule, 0.61-second victory at 6:02.24 to 6:02.85 over Navy. Penn finished third at 6:11.94.

"Our varsity had the best race of their season," remarked Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "All three crews came off the line at the same speed but then Harvard and Navy started inching out in the second 500 meters. Navy and Harvard alternated one-seat leads all the way down the course until the finish...it was very intense. The finish line judge said it was three feet. It was disappointing to be that close and not come away with a win, but I'm proud of their effort today."

In the second varsity race, all three teams navigated the 2,000-meter course in a tight pack as Harvard finished first at 6:07.53 before Penn at 6:08.89 and Navy at 6:11.59.

"Our second Varsity had a better race than last week," said Friedrich. "They were six seats down on Harvard at the 1000-meter mark but let Penn and Harvard pull away in the last 750 meters of the race. I thought our plebes had a solid race and were able to come from a length down on Penn to within 2 seats. We have five novices in that boat and they are gaining speed each week."

Navy finished second to Harvard in both of the third and fourth varsity races by narrow margins. In the 3V8, the Mids came in 2.45 seconds behind the Crimson at 6:12.15 to 6:14.60, while in the Mids in the 4V8 event were 1.34 seconds off the pace at 6:29.59 to 6:30.93.

In the freshmen eight race, Harvard timed in at 6:08.09 ahead of Penn and Navy, who posted times of 6:16.24 and 6:16.84, respectively.

"Overall, I am happy that the team has been gaining speed each week," said Friedrich. "They are focused on the upward trend and excited for the last few weeks of training before Eastern Sprints."

Navy will have one more regular season meet before moving onto the Eastern Sprints (May 17). Next Saturday the Mids will head to Princeton, N.J. to race against George Washington and Hobart College.

Results

First Varsity 8

Harvard -- 6:02.24

Navy -- 6:02.85

Penn -- 6:11.94

Second Varsity 8

Harvard -- 6:07.53

Penn -- 6:08.89

Navy -- 6:11.59

Third Varsity 8

Harvard -- 6:12.15

Navy -- 6:14.60

Penn -- 6:26.20

Fourth Varsity 8

Harvard -- 6:29.59

Navy 4V -- 6:30.93

Navy 5V -- 6:45.36

Penn -- 7:04.05

Freshmen 8

Harvard -- 6:08.09

Penn -- 6:16.24

Navy -- 6:16.84

Exhibition

Navy HWT 3F -- 6:55.10

Navy LWT 5V -- 7:09.34

Boatings

Varsity 8

C: Brandon Karpf, Stroke: Luke Aleksandravicius, Mike Hamp, Tim Tracey, Patrick Bunce, Julian Hagberg, Dylan Cawdery, Hank McDonald, Bow: Peter Lutter

Second Varsity 8

C: Shawn Banani, Stroke: Scott Gibson, Tip Myers, Tony Galli, Tom Egger, Andrew Craig, Nathaniel Vallancey-Martinson, Christian Mellos, Bow: Alejandro Fernandez

Third Varsity 8

C: Luis Penichet, Stroke: Joshua Schmidt, Zach Scholz, Keefe Rafferty, David Sands II, Ethan Scully, Stryker Smith, Wilson Valle, Bow: Sawyer Rogers

Fourth Varsity 8

C: Eli Wood, Stroke: Ethan Dalton, Max Kirchofer, Terry Renfro-Pihut, Ryan Adair, Michael Hayes, Alex Heille, Brent Bohanan, Bow: Caleb Robertson

First Freshmen 8

C: Nick Street, Stroke: Nate Gibeley, Connor Harris, Noah Stewart, Gage Butler, Cameron Baxley, Ben Dunphy, Klaus Payne, Bow: Charles Linder

Fifth Varsity / Second Freshmen 8

C: Chris Wood, Stroke: Jonathan Wabeke, Dan Weathers, Jack Gainer, Parker Novakovic, Harrison Samario, Eli Bittleson, Andrew Wisegarver, Bow: Steven Dull

Third Freshmen 8

C: Nick Street, Stroke: Zerek Olson, Grant Guttschow, Jesus Escudero, Tim Caudill, Ben Kondrup, Rob Monroe, Ryan Iverson, Bow: Alex Reiser