BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Navy women's rowing team took on a trio of high ranking opponents on Saturday as they faced off against No. 14 Indiana, No. 18 Notre Dame and R/V Duke. In pursuit of the Dale England Cup, the Mids participated in six races over two sessions on Lake Lemon in Bloomington, Indiana. Navy finished fourth of four teams in the final standings for the trophy.

"This weekend we had another wonderful opportunity to race some very fast teams," remarked Navy head coach Joe Schlosberg. "Although we ended up behind the other teams, these races were hard fought and challenged us to try and find out how hard we can push ourselves."

First up for Navy on Saturday was three races in the morning session. Navy's first varsity eight began the day and placed fourth in a competitive race with a time of 6:55.7. Indiana finished first with a time of 6:45.7. The Mids were 2.6 seconds off the pace of the third-place finishing Blue Devils (6:53.1).

The second varsity eight squad for Navy came in fourth as well in their respective race with a time of 7:09.1, with Duke placing first at 6:47.3.

The first varsity four squad gave the Mids their highest finish of the day when they posted a time of 7:54.4 in a third-place showing. Navy defeated Notre Dame by 0.9 seconds and finished just one second behind Indiana. In total, the entire quartet of crews was separated by 3.9 seconds as Duke won with a time of 7:51.4.

The action picked up again at 11:30 a.m. with three more races for Navy. The pace for all three events picked up in the second session as Notre Dame won the first varsity eight race at 6:37.4, while Duke swept the second varsity eight and first varsity four races with times of 6:45.5 and 7:37.4, respectively. In order, Navy clocked in the first varsity eight race at 7:05.9, the second varsity eight race at 7:22.1 and first varsity four competition at 7:47.9. In all three events, the Mids finished in fourth place.

At the conclusion of the racing, Notre Dame, Indiana and Duke finished tied atop the standings for the Dale England Cup with identical team point totals of 108. The Fighting Irish took the trophy home to South Bend, Indiana via the second tiebreaker criteria of best combined first varsity eight time.

"This is our chance to learn from these races as we begin to get closer to our Patriot League Championship," said Schlosberg. "It was great to be able to bring part of the USNA out to the Midwest."

Navy returns to action next Saturday when they travel to Philadelphia to take on Temple in their last competition before the Patriot League Championship on May 13.

Results: Session 1

1st Varsity 8
Indiana - 6:45.7
Notre Dame - 6:46.0
Duke - 6:53.1
Navy - 6:55.7

2nd Varsity 8
Duke - 6:47.3
Indiana - 6:47.6
Notre Dame - 6:53.5
Navy - 7:09.1

1st Varsity 4
Duke - 7:51.4
Indiana - 7:53.4
Navy - 7:54.4
Notre Dame - 7:55.3

Results: Session 2

1st Varsity 8
Notre Dame - 6:37.4
Indiana - 6:38.5
Duke - 6:44.9
Navy - 7:05.9

2nd Varsity 8
Duke - 6:45.5
Notre Dame - 6:46.2
Indiana - 6:48.0
Navy - 7:22.1

1st Varsity 4
Duke - 7:37.4
Notre Dame - 7:38.1
Indiana - 7:42.4
Navy - 7:47.9

Boat Lineups

1st Varsity 8
Cox: Alexandria Switzer, Stroke: Miranda Kosmides, 7: Julia Arthur, 6: Julia Bailey, 5: Maeve Broeg, 4: Isabelle Babb, 3: Sophie Schmidt, 2: McKenna Niemer, Bow: Megan Farabaugh

2nd Varsity 8
Cox: Cynthia Nestor, Stroke: Olivia Czerewko, 7: Megan Hanson, 6: Heidi Zisselman, 5: Alyssa Dilldine, 4: Taylor Hart, 3: Kathleen Heinbach, 2: Annie Laurie Gibson, Bow: Madison Vachris

1st Varsity 4
Cox: Krysta Przestrzelski, Stroke: Justice Constantine, 3: Kelsey Hastings, 2: Emily Cecchini, Bow: Madeleine Malczynski