RALEIGH, N.C. – After weather sidelined the Navy women's rowing team last weekend at the Clemson Invitational, the Mids came in conflict with Mother Nature once again this weekend at the Lake Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina as the action was condensed to just Saturday after Friday's heat racing was shelved due to un-rowable conditions. Once they finally got on the water at Lake Wheeler, the Mids were up to the task of racing versus a strong nine-team field of national programs. On the strength of a win by its first varsity eight crew and two more grand final performances, Navy placed second overall in the team standings at the inaugural competition.
 
Navy had five boats entered in races on Saturday with three eights and a pair of fours. Each crew raced in a three-boat qualifying heat and later a three-boat final.
 
"It was great to finally line up and race again," exclaimed head coach Joe Schlosberg. "We had to shake some rust off with the morning heats, but I know that just about every boat was able to make adjustments and race better in the finals." 
 
The Mids' first varsity eight was the class of the field with a pair of victories on Saturday. Racing in the third qualifying heat, Navy clocked in with a time of 6:31.772 to best UCF and North Carolina, who registered times of 6:35.070 and 6:46.237, respectively. In the grand final, the Mids withstood another stiff challenge as they crossed the finish line, 2.598 seconds ahead of Michigan State, 6:26.570 to 6:29.168. Duke rounded out the three-team final in third place at 6:31.508. 
 
Navy's third varsity eight was the second crew on Saturday to qualify for a grand final as the Mids won heat number two by nearly six seconds over UCF, 7:02.778 to 7:08.862. Miami was well off the pace in third at 7:25.825. In the grand final, Navy found itself surrounded by a pair of Duke crews as the Blue Devils had both an 'A' boat and a 'B' boat in the competition. The Blue Devils' top boat won the grand final with a time of 6:51.656, while Duke's second boat and Navy battled down the stretch before the Blue Devils held on for a 1.707-second margin, 6:57.856 to 6:59.563.
 
The Mids' second varsity four also raced in a grand final as they qualified with the third-fastest time from the heats. Racing in the second of two heats in the 2V4 competition, Navy placed second to UCF by just over a second at 7:29.755 to 7:30.778. In the grand final, the Mids came in second place with a time of 7:28.092. Duke championed the division at 7:23.398, while UCF finished third at 7:33.409.
 
Both of Navy's second varsity eight and first varsity four crews placed second in their respective preliminary heats to advance to petite finals. The Mids' second varsity eight started its day of racing off with a time of 6:48.810 that came in runner up to Michigan State's 6:40.750. Navy breezed by Georgetown as the Hoyas were third at 7:16.312. In the petite final, Navy found itself in an ultra-competitive race as first through third was separated by 5.687 seconds. Clemson crossed the finish line first at 6:38.844 before Temple and Navy came in close behind at 6:41.253 and 6:44.531, respectively.
 
The first varsity four competition saw Navy open its day with a 7:38.120 effort in heat two to finish behind North Carolina at 7:30.039, but ahead of Georgetown at 7:44.584. Later on Saturday in the petite final, Temple and Michigan State pulled away from Navy as the Owls and Spartans sprinted to the line with times of 7:31.330 and 7:32.752. The Mids came in third place at 7:50.516. 
 
In the final team point standings, No. 17 Duke won the inaugural nine-team event with 99 points. Navy came in second with 71 points to hold off R/V UCF (70) and R/V Michigan State (66) in a close trio of teams in positions two through four in the standings. Clemson compiled 59 points to place fifth. The rest of the table saw Temple (39) in sixth, North Carolina (38) in seventh, Miami (25) in eighth and Georgetown (21) in ninth.
 
"There was some really tight racing out there today and that was good to get again before we head into the Patriot League Championship," remarked Schlosberg. "It was also great for the first varsity to be able to race the way they did in both of their races and be able to win the varsity race against Michigan State and Duke.
 
"We still have work to do (and finals to take), but we are looking forward to the Patriot League Championship in a few weeks."
 
With its regular season in the rearview mirror, the Patriot League Championship on Friday, May 17 will be next on the docket for the Midshipmen. Navy will come into the meet in Worcester, Mass. as the four-time defending league champion.
 
Race Results
 
First Varsity 8
Heat 3
Navy – 6:31.772
UCF – 6:35.070
North Carolina – 6:46.237
 
Grand Final
Navy – 6:26.570
Michigan State – 6:29.168
Duke – 6:31.508
 
Second Varsity 8
Heat 2
Michigan State – 6:40.750
Navy – 6:48.810
Georgetown – 7:16.312
 
Petite Final
Clemson – 6:38.844
Temple – 6:41.253
Navy – 6:44.531
 
Third Varsity 8
Heat 2
Navy – 7:02.778
UCF – 7:08.862
Miami – 7:25.825
 
Grand Final
Duke 'A' – 6:51.656
Duke 'B' – 6:57.856
Navy – 6:59.563
 
First Varsity 4
Heat 2
North Carolina – 7:30.039
Navy – 7:38.120
Georgetown – 7:44.584
 
Petite Final
Temple – 7:31.330
Michigan State – 7:32.752
Navy – 7:50.516
 
Second Varsity 4
Heat 2
UCF – 7:29.755
Navy – 7:30.778
Clemson – 7:33.115
 
Grand Final
Duke – 7:23.398
Navy – 7:28.092
UCF – 7:33.409

Team Standings
Duke – 99 points
Navy – 71
UCF – 70
Michigan State – 66
Clemson – 59
Temple – 39
North Carolina – 38
Miami – 25
Georgetown - 21

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight
1	Brooke Campbell	Maya McPartlin	Isabel Billinge
2	Raye Brackett	Riley Schliem	Caroline Coleman
3	Emily Krulik	Annie Pentaleri	Cara Bradley
4	Grace Lawrence	Clare McCarthy	Courtney Breen
5	Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson	Jessica Martin	Wei-Ling Moloy
6	Ashlyn Dawson	Margaret Lane	Skylar Lodice
7	Caroline Kelly	Elizabeth Downing	Katie Miller
8	Megan Hanson	Julia Bailey	Bray Zimmerman
Cox.	Polly Finch	Elizabeth Drake	Caroline Dooley

 

	First Varsity Four	Second Varsity Four
1	Sky Schork	Hanna Prince
2	Giovanni DeVito	Stephanie Read
3	Brianna Warren	Brooke Fraasch
4	Sam Fox	Katherine Long
Cox.	Dana Hirschhorn	Krystal Kim