BOSTON – In a matchup of two top-seven teams, the seventh-ranked Navy lightweight crew team found itself in a nip-and-tuck battle with the fourth-ranked Harvard Crimson across a slate of five races on Saturday morning on the Charles River. Racing alongside the University of Delaware, Harvard and Navy went one-two in all of the competitions from fifth varsity all the way up to first varsity with three of those races decided by 1.9 seconds or less. Unfortunately, for the visiting Mids, the Crimson were able to retain the Haines Trophy in a hard-fought first varsity eight race.
 
Dealing with some tough water conditions periodically, the Mids, Crimson and Blue Hens raced their top-three boats first before wrapping up the meet with the fourth and fifth boats. First up were the third varsity eight crews. In the largest margin of victory on the day, the Mids' 3V8 cruised to an 8.3-second win over the Crimson, 6:40.55 to 6:48.85. The Blue Hens were slightly over five seconds back in third at 6:54.318.
 
In a precursor to the tight racing that would come in the Haines Trophy event, the second varsity crews from Harvard and Navy went down the 2,000-meter course in close proximity as the Crimson held on for the 1.826-second victory, 6:37.879 to 6:39.705. Delaware clocked in at 6:45.061.
 
After a slight delay to get all three boats in the first varsity eight settled in at the starting line with choppy water conditions, the next six and a half minutes were action-packed as the Crimson jumped out to an early lead and were up by around four seats at the 1,000-meter mark. Realizing that Harvard was beginning to pull away, Navy started its comeback attempt and nearly pulled even within the next 500 meters. Down the stretch, both crews were going stroke-for-stroke before Harvard edged ahead late for a 1.184-second victory at 6:20.380 to 6:21.564. Delaware posted a time of 6:27.582.
 
The ensuing fourth varsity eight race went the way of Harvard as the hosts got out fast and won by 6.18 seconds over Navy, 6:42.520 to 6:48.700. Delaware was well off the pace in third at 7:15.648.
 
The fifth varsity crews closed the meet with an ultra-competitive contest that went down to the end as the Mids came out on top by 0.791 seconds with a time of 6:39.659 versus a 6:40.450 effort for the Crimson. The Blue Hens clocked in third at 7:18.490.
 
"Luckily we had decent enough water in Boston to get the racing completed this morning," remarked head coach Shawn Bagnall. "The 3V and 5V had solid races, and while we fell short in the 1V and 2V, the team continues to make improvements week to week. We're all-in for the work ahead."
 
The Mids will be back in action next Saturday morning at home in the Callow Cup meet versus the Penn Quakers. The two teams are slated to hit the Severn River beginning at 7:30 a.m.
 
Race Results
 
First Varsity Eight
Harvard – 6:20.380
Navy – 6:21.564
Delaware – 6:27.582
 
Second Varsity Eight
Harvard – 6:37.879
Navy – 6:39.705
Delaware – 6:45.061
 
Third Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:40.550
Harvard – 6:48.854
Delaware – 6:54.318
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Harvard – 6:42.520
Navy – 6:48.700
Delaware – 7:15.648
 
Fifth Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:39.659
Harvard – 6:40.450
Delaware – 7:18.490

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight	Fourth Varsity Eight	Fifth Varsity Eight
1	Drew Bennett	Andy Laberee	Joshua Freitas	Chris Greubel	Seamus Tomb
2	Ben Capannari	Myles Knight	Jesse Hall	Asher Elkins	Charlie Goodrich
3	Theo Freidenrich	Tyler Schatz	Brendan Finn	Jack Spector	Matthew Fox
4	John Schoenewolf	Creig Tarrant	Jerra Ewing	John Feng	Howard Francis
5	Riki Gagnon	Kaden Dohm	Karl Schwarzkopf	Ben Blakeslee	Taylor Porges
6	Chandler Washburn	Noah Chaskin	Brendan Philbin	Morgan Whetstone	Harrison Boldt
7	Ben Skinner	Max Gelbach	Leor Golan	Patrick Watler	George Heinen
8	Duke Brady	Clay Jackson	Matthew Pentaleri	Brycen Groess	Luke Waldo
Cox.	Pat Urrutia	Jack Ransick	Christophe Theodore	Maggie Scholl	Brendan Farmer