WORCESTER, Mass. – Coming in as the favorites for Friday's 2019 Patriot League Championship, the Navy women's rowing team didn't let the outside pressure get to it as the Mids breezed to their fifth straight league title. Racing on a 2,000-meter course on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., the top-seeded Mids turned in a trio of dominant performances in the morning heats before turning around in the afternoon and sweeping the first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four races on their way to a perfect score of 54 points and the league crown.
Navy was followed in the standings by the Bucknell Bison, who placed second in all three races for a total of 48 points. Boston University and Georgetown tied for third with 39 points each, while Lehigh rounded out the top-five with 30 points. MIT (22 points), Colgate (16), Holy Cross (13) and Loyola (8) finished in positions, six through nine, respectively.
"It was another great championship regatta for this team today!" exclaimed head coach
Joe Schlosberg. "We knew what we had to do in the heats. By the 500-meter mark, the four and our two eights had the lead and were able to carry that advantage to the finish.
"In the finals, we had to make sure that we raced our race and executed the best that we could. Given our luck over the last few years, we also needed to make sure we were running clean. All three boats did a great job getting the lead, holding onto it and getting to the finish line."
The Mids' first varsity four crew of
Brianna Warren,
Sam Fox,
Margaret Lane,
Kate Long and coxswain
Dana Hirschhorn were the first to score points for Navy on Friday afternoon as they earned nine with the outright victory. After cruising to an 11.708-second victory in heat one with a time of 7:42.618, the Mids responded in strong form in the grand final with a 7:34.000 result. Pressured by Bucknell, Navy was able to keep its advantage down the stretch as the Mids clocked in 3.2 seconds ahead of the Bison. In a spaced-out field of six, Navy and Bucknell (7:37.200) were the only two boats to brake the 7:40-mark.
Navy's second varsity eight crew was next up in grand finals action and that boat like its predecessor also collected a title with a 4.704-second margin of victory over Bucknell, 6:45.088 to 6:49.792. The Mids' time in the grand final was over 14 seconds better than its qualifying heat result of 6:59.303. Racing for Navy in the 2V8 on Friday were
Julia Bailey,
Giovanna DeVito,
Riley Schliem,
Annie Pentaleri,
Sky Schork,
Jessica Martin,
Clare McCarthy and
Elizabeth Downing with
Elizabeth Drake serving as the winning coxswain.
The Mids' first varsity eight boat clinched the clean sweep and team title for Navy with a pair of dominant performances. In the morning's first heat, Navy clocked in with a time of 6:39.444 that cleared its nearest competitor, Bucknell, by 10.846 seconds. The same duo raced down the course in the grand final in first and second place as the Mids lead wire-to-wire on their way to a 5.964-second win over the Bison, 6:26.834 to 6:32.798.
Brooke Campbell,
Raye Brackett,
Emily Krulik,
Grace Lawrence,
Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson,
Ashlyn Dawson,
Caroline Kelly,
Megan Hanson and coxswain
Polly Finch made up the lineup that earned 2019 Patriot League Boat of the Year honors.
The three-race sweep by Navy was the first at the league championship since 2015 when the Mids placed first in the V8, 2V8 and V4 contests.
As part of the post-race ceremonies head coach
Joe Schlosberg was recognized as the 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year.
"I am pumped that we are able to bring the Patriot League Championship back to Annapolis for the fifth consecutive year," remarked Schlosberg. "We're looking forward to Commissioning and celebrating this senior class. Then we get to, once again, proudly represent the Naval Academy at the NCAA Championship!"
As champions of the Patriot League, Navy has earned the conference's automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships. The national meet will be held May 29 through June 2 at the Indianapolis Rowing Center. At last year's NCAA Championship meet in Sarasota, Fla., the Mids finished a program-best 17
th overall.
The league championship is the seventh in program history as Navy has taken the crown in 2005, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 prior to Friday.
Results
First Varsity 8
First of 5 in Heat 1 - 6:39.444 (+10.846)
Grand Final
Navy – 6:26.834
Bucknell – 6:32.798
Boston U. – 6:32.958
Georgetown – 6:33.518
Lehigh – 6:41.734
MIT – 6:42.274
Second Varsity 8
First of 5 in Heat 1 - 6:59.303 (+8.828)
Grand Final
Navy – 6:45.088
Bucknell – 6:49.792
Georgetown – 6:52.232
Boston U. – 6:52.376
Lehigh – 6:57.312
MIT – 7:10.554
First Varsity 4
First of 4 in Heat 1 – 7:42.618 (+11.708)
Grand Final
Navy – 7:34.000
Bucknell – 7:37.200
Georgetown – 7:41.800
Boston U. – 7:46.000
Lehigh – 7:59.500
Holy Cross – 8:09.600
Boat Lineups
