WASHINGTON, D.C. - The No. 18 Navy heavyweight rowing team opened the first day of competition at the George Washington Invitational with an emphatic 5-0 performance as the Mids swept all five events that they raced in on Friday. Taking on crews from No. 16 Georgetown, R/V Drexel and Michigan, Navy won the first through fifth varsity races on the 2,000-meter Potomac River course.

The Mids' lower boats got the day going strong as the fifth varsity crew opened with a 32-second victory over Michigan at 5:51.50 to 6:23.50. The fourth varsity followed up in the next race versus Michigan with a 17.3-second margin of victory, 5:55.00 to 6:12.30.

Drexel joined the mix for a three-team race at the third varsity level. Navy made it three-for-three as they knocked off the Dragons by 8.5 seconds and the Wolverines by 10.3 seconds. The Mids clocked in at 5:56.40.

The final two events saw Navy take on Georgetown and Michigan. In second varsity race, the Mids earned a 5.4-second win as they completed the 2,000 meters in a time of 5:45.10. The Hoyas finished second at 5:50.50 with the Wolverines coming in third at 5:57.70.

The final race of the day was the first varsity competition. Navy wrapped up its five-race sweep with 2.1-second victory at 5:32.10 to 5:34.20 over Georgetown. Michigan was 14.5 seconds behind in third place at 5:46.60.

"It was a solid day for all of our boats," remarked head coach Rob Friedrich. "We still have a long way to go and are looking forward to making more improvements for our races tomorrow."

Navy will conclude the two-day invitational event on Saturday morning with five more races beginning at 8:40 a.m. with 5V8 action and going through 12 p.m. with the 1V8 event.

RESULTS

First Varsity 8
Navy - 5:32.10
Georgetown - 5:34.20
Michigan - 5:46.60

Second Varsity 8
Navy - 5:45.10
Georgetown - 5:50.50
Michigan - 5:57.70

Third Varsity 8
Navy - 5:56.40
Drexel - 6:04.90
Michigan - 6:06.70

Fourth Varsity 8
Navy - 5:55.00
Michigan - 6:12.30

Fifth Varsity 8
Navy - 5:51.50
Michigan - 6:23.50

BOATINGS

First Varsity 8
Coxswain: Nick Street, Stroke: Joseph Merkel, Jared Taintor, Owen Firebaugh, Andrew Knoll, John Lamb, Brandon Sagawinia, Harrison Bleckley, Nathaniel Auzenbergs

Second Varsity 8
Coxswain: Kathryn Fung, Stroke: Gage Butler, Zach Scholz, Michael Palaski, Caleb Robertson, Jacob Klosowski, Martin Duffy, David Russell, Dwayne Williams

Third Varsity 8
Coxswain: Eli Wood, Stroke: Luka Bakic, George Gilliam, Charlie Linder, Aaron Hanko, Matthew Gregory, Justin Desautels, Jack Gainer, Parker Novakovic

Fourth Varsity 8
Coxswain: Elise Odom, Stroke: Cedric Bevis, Noah Stewart, Ben Dunphy, Matthew Bute, Griffin Hamilton, George Williams, Jack Eichen, Luke Sullivan

Fifth Varsity 8
Coxswain: Tiffany Johnstone, Stroke: Owen Shenk, Karl Troyer, Alec Gould, Caleb Buckley, Evan Camp, Aaron Bullis, Eric Towe, Tucker Nixon