WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy heavyweight crew concluded a successful two-day showing at the 31
stAnnual George Washington Invitational with six more wins on Saturday. Competing in a total of 10 races on the Potomac River over a 24-hour span, the Mids went 10-0 to claim the Oliver T. Carr Bowl as overall champion of the event. Each of Navy's first, second and third varsity boats won twice on Saturday.
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No. 15 Navy faced a much stiffer challenge in the first session of the day on Saturday than Friday afternoon as the Mids' top two boats faced off against No. 21 Drexel. Both the first and second varsity eights from Navy were up to the task and came away with two victories though by much closer margins. First up on Saturday was a first varsity bout between the Mids and Dragons. Navy started fast and held the advantage throughout the 2,000-meter race as it turned a 2.63-second lead at the quarter-mark out to a 7.47-second lead at 1,500 meters. Going down the stretch, Drexel was able to inch a bit closer, though Navy still was victorious by 5.78 seconds, 5:33.51 to 5:39.29.
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The second varsities from both institutions were up next. The Mids and Dragons gave the fans along the Potomac River course, 2,000 meters of stroke-for-stroke action as the margin at each of the first three 500-meter checkpoints was less than a second in favor of Navy. A strong sprint to the line by the Mids gave them a slight margin of breathing room by 1.14 seconds, 5:38.81 to 5:39.95.
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The matchups changed for the third varsity race in session one as Navy went head-to-head with Georgetown. The Mids' 3V8 was dominant from the start as their 4.94-second lead at 500 meters quickly turned into 10.69 by 1,000 meters and 16.67 by 1,500 meters. At the conclusion of the race, Navy was victorious by 23.77 seconds, 5:50.15 to 6:13.92.
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In the second session of the day, Navy was back to producing at a high level as its first varsity crew got out of the gate fast again in a one-on-one matchup versus R/V Holy Cross. Ahead by 3.51 seconds after 500 meters, the Mids continued putting distance between themselves and the Crusaders during the next segment as they were up by 8.27 seconds by the 1,000-meter mark. Down the stretch, Navy doubled that advantage to win by 18.58 seconds, 5:36.03 to 5:54.61.Â
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The Mids' second varsity eight was in for another competitive contest in the following race as they ran into a game Crusaders crew. Navy jumped out to a 2.31-second lead by the 500-meter mark and slowly crept away for a 6.88-second margin by the 1,500-meter checkpoint. Over the final 500 meters, Holy Cross shaved nearly a second off its deficit as Navy won by 5.94 ticks, 5:42.01 to 5:47.95.
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Navy's third crew finished off the 6-0 day and 10-0 George Washington Invitational with a 10.54-second victory. After holding 1.47 and 4.03 margins over the first two markers, the Mids made a significant move over the next 500 meters to go up 8.11 seconds by the three-quarter checkpoint. Over the last portion of the race, Navy added further distance between itself and George Washington to win by a time of 5:47.03 to 5:57.57.
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"I thought all of our boats had two good races today," remarked head coach
Rob Friedrich. "It was a solid weekend overall for us. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are starting to see our hard work pay off."
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The Mids will be back in action next Saturday when they host the 2019 Goes Trophy competition. The Severn River will see Navy, Cornell and Syracuse battle it out beginning at 7:30 a.m.
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Race Results
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First Varsity EightÂ
    8:00 AM
Navy – 5:33.51
Drexel – 5:39.29
    11:24 AM
Navy – 5:36.03
Holy Cross – 5:54.61
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Second Varsity Eight
    8:30 AM
Navy – 5:38.81
Drexel – 5:39.95
    12:00 PM
Navy – 5:42.01
Holy Cross – 5:47.95
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Third Varsity EightÂ
    8:48 AM
Navy – 5:50.15
Georgetown – 6:13.92
    12:12 PM
Navy – 5:47.03
George Washington – 5:57.57
Boat Lineups
