WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Navy lightweight rowing program had a strong day of action on Sunday at the 2015 EARC Sprints. Racing on a 2,000-meter course on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., the Mids saw five of their six boats compete in grand finals and a sixth miss qualifying by 0.337 seconds.

"As everyone knows, the Sprints are always a tough fight and this weekend was no exception," said head coach Shawn Bagnall. "The coaching staff was proud of the way our boats raced, especially really pressing in the heats and falling just 0.3 seconds short of qualifying all our boats for the grand finals."

Navy's top crew, the varsity eight boat, faced a stiff task in its morning heat racing and were nudged out of the final transfer spot by Yale with a 5:46.559 to 5:46.896 margin. In the petite final, the Mids completed the race with a time of 5:53.814 to finish second behind Penn's 5:51.654 time.

The highest placing crew for Navy on the day was its fifth varsity entry. The Mids' of the fifth varsity eight boat earned a 2.166-second gold medal victory over Cornell with a 6:04.143 to 6:06.309 result.

The fourth varsity boat nearly matched its teammates' gold medal success as the crew was edged out by Cornell in the grand final by 1.328 seconds. Navy came in second with a time of 6:04.255, while the Big Red finished at 6:02.927.

The Mids' third and final top-three finish came courtesy of its third varsity eight crew. After qualifying third overall in the morning heat races at 5:53.693, Navy came out in the afternoon and laid down a time of 5:56.961 to finish behind Cornell (5:52.694) and Princeton (5:53.461).

The fifth Navy crew to race on Sunday was the second varsity eight boat. The Mids completed the course on Lake Quinsigamond with a grand final time of 6:05.052, good for sixth overall.

"We continue to build our team for long-term success and qualifying this squad for the IRA National Championship again is a great step in that progression," said Bagnall. "The future is very bright for the Navy Lightweights and we look forward to finishing the 2015 season strong."

Navy will be back on the water in two weeks at the IRA National Championships. The lightweight portion of the national event will be contested on Sunday, May 31.

Results

First Varsity 8

Petite Final

Penn -- 5:51.654

Navy -- 5:53.814

Dartmouth -- 5:56.726

Georgetown -- 6:08.191

Second Varsity 8

Grand Final

Harvard -- 5:54.609

Cornell -- 5:56.217

Princeton -- 5:57.430

Columbia -- 5:58.253

Yale -- 5:59.927

Navy -- 6:05.052

Third Varsity 8

Grand Final

Cornell -- 5:52.694

Princeton -- 5:53.461

Navy -- 5:56.961

Yale -- 5:57.090

Harvard -- 6:03.421

Penn -- 6:05.669

Fourth Varsity 8

Grand Final

Cornell -- 6:02.927

Navy -- 6:04.255

Harvard -- 6:11.429

Princeton -- 6:20.601

Dartmouth -- 6:27.919

Penn -- 6:35.484

Fifth & Sixth Varsity 8

Grand Final

Navy -- 6:04.143

Cornell -- 6:06.309

Princeton -- 6:17.277

Harvard -- 6:21.735

Princeton 6V -- 6:33.825

Boatings

First Varsity 8
Cox: Madison Beiler, Kevin Leyland, Austin Bentley, Anlon McGuigan, Stephen Walsh, Jordan Spear, Austin Treubert, Andrew Schutta, Matthew Walsh

Second Varsity 8
Cox: Anna Vargas, Liam Moffett, Thomas Coffin, Evan Kolodziejczak, Nick Connelly, Andrew Karas, Nick Skeen, Patrick Leech, Mitchell Bond

Third Varsity 8
Cox: Grace Albertson, Will Herbert, Bryan Colasacco, Michael Pentaleri, Hank Forsythe, Brant McGuigan, Sam Haber, Matt Shirey, Conor White

Fourth Varsity 8
Cox: Emily Peterson, Colby Ko, Ian Best, Christopher Leigh, Joseph Yates, Patrick Shaw, Phillip Ellsworth, Andrew Peterman, Phil Villani

Fifth Varsity 8
Cox: Noreen Domingo, Andrew Grothmann, Alan Orr, Wyatt Jennings, Alex Wieman, Luke Dalton, Adam Montgomery, Brent Niewoehner, Joseph Ellis