WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy lightweight crew program had a stellar start to its 2019 postseason with five top-three performances by its six boats at the Eastern Sprints on Sunday. Racing on a 2,000-meter course on Lake Quinsigamond, the Mids' depth was showcased as its first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth varsity crews all came away with medals. Navy's third crew highlighted the all-day action with a victory in its respective classification, while its first varsity came in third to earn its best finish since 2006. As a program, the Mids placed third in the Jope Cup standings.
 
"It would be difficult for us coaches to be more proud of the team we took to the Eastern Sprints this weekend," exclaimed head coach Shawn Bagnall. "Our whole squad raced with tremendous intent and purpose and it showed in each event today."
 
Navy's day of racing on Sunday consisted of heat racing in the morning for its top three boats and direct grand final contests for its fourth, fifth and sixth varsity boats.
 
Originally seeded seventh coming into the championship, the Mids' first varsity eight continued outperforming projections all day. After turning in the fourth fastest time amongst nine teams in the morning heats, Navy came back in the grand final and found itself within 0.696 seconds of the Yale Bulldogs, who came in second at 6:37.257. Challenged by Princeton (fourth, 6:38.497), the Mids crossed the finish line in third place at 6:37.953. Penn won the V8 race with a time of 6:34.753. 
 
"The First Varsity 8+ put together two races today that undoubtedly they won't forget," remarked Bagnall. "Both the heat and Grand Final were "street brawl" affairs, and the stiff headwind added to that vibe in the racing. After a strong start in the final, they just got down to work and battled with the front runners all the way down. Once the dust had settled, they had a very close third place finish, and the first Eastern Sprints First Varsity 8+ medal for Navy since 2006."
 
Navy's second varsity eight found itself racing in an ultra-competitive four-team qualifying heat. With the top-three boats advancing to the afternoon's grand final, the Mids came up just short from claiming the last qualifying spot as Columbia placed third at 6:17.227 ahead of Navy's 6:20.537. In the petite final with positions seven through nine up for grabs, the Mids turned in a dominant 12.982-second victory with a time of 6:45.512. Had they been racing in the grand final, that time by the Mids would've been good for second place.
 
"The 2V had their best race of the year in the Petite Final, after just missing out on the Grand Final," said Bagnall. "Looking at their effort in that final, I have no doubt there's a good number of those athletes that are anxious to prove their speed in the 4's at the IRA National Championships."
 
The Mids' third varsity crew took top-billing for the racing on Sunday with a pair of standout performances. After finishing first in heat number two with a 6:44.855 result, Navy repeated that effort with an outright win in the grand final. Taking on a six-team field, the Mids completed the 2,000-meter race with a time of 6:41.518, 1.208 seconds ahead of its nearest competitor, Yale (6:42.726). Navy and Yale were the class of the final as Columbia finished in third over 11 seconds back at 6:53.938.
 
"Our 3V, led by Assistant Coach James Sands, threw down fantastic pieces in both the heat and final, always maintaining their composure when the heat was turned up, and came away with the 3V Sprints title. They're just a great group that dedicated themselves to improving all year long," exclaimed Bagnall. 
 
Navy's fourth varsity eight stepped to the line in a six-team grand final on Sunday afternoon. In a fairly spaced out contest, the Mids settled into third place with a time of 6:43.011, that was just over three seconds shy of second-place Harvard (6:39.787) and similarly 3.4 seconds ahead of fourth-place Columbia (6:46.411). Yale took first place at 6:33.563.
 
"The 4V squared-off against some quality teams and once the dust had settled, came away with a Sprints medal," remarked Bagnall. "Not an easy task in any boat class in this league." 
 
The Mids fifth and sixth crews closed out the action with a combined race versus Harvard's fifth varsity boat. Competing for the fifth varsity eight gold medal, the Crimson edged out the Mids' 5V by 2.208 seconds, 6:46.934 to 6:49.142. Navy's 6V was 2.336 seconds back at 6:51.478.
 
"The 5V and 6V battled a slick Harvard crew, and while not the result (2nd and 3rd) that they trained for, the majority of those lineups are young athletes/walk-ons to the sport of rowing and will have a huge positive impact in the years to come," said Bagnall. 
 
At the conclusion of racing, the Jope Cup team points standings were tallied and Yale finished in first with 34.0 points. Penn came in second with 32.0 points, one spot ahead of Navy, who notched 27.0 points. The Mids surpassed both Cornell (25.0) and Columbia (25.0) in the standings.
 
"The team overall finished third in the Jope Cup Team Points trophy standings; that's indicative of the commitment these guys have to one another, regardless of what boat they race in," remarked Bagnall. "We're excited to work into Commissioning Week and the National Championships in two weeks."
 
The Eastern Sprints concluded a standout weekend for Navy Crew at Lake Quinsigamond as the Mids' women's program won the Patriot League Championship on Friday. Combined with the ninth-place result by the heavyweight team in the Rowe Cup standings at the Sprints, Navy had the fourth highest cumulative total at the Eastern Sprints with 40.0 points. The top-four in the combined team point standings went Yale (71.0), Harvard (58.0), Princeton (56.0) and Navy (40.0).
 
Next up for Navy is the IRA National Championships in Gold River, California from May 31 through June 2.

Results

First Varsity Eight
Heat 2 - 3rd of 4 - 6:30.716
Grand Final
Penn - 6:34.753
Yale - 6:37.257
Navy - 6:37.953
Princeton - 6:38.497
Columbia - 6:43.225
Georgetown - 6:46.449

Second Varsity Eight
Heat 2 - 4th of 4 - 6:20.537
Petite Final
Navy - 6:45.512
Georgetown - 6:58.494
Dartmouth - 7:15.530

Third Varsity Eight
Heat 2 - 1st of 4 - 6:44.855
Grand Final
Navy - 6:41.518
Yale - 6:42.726
Columbia - 6:53.938
Harvard - 6:55.690
Penn - 6:58.354
Cornell - 7:07.360

Fourth Varsity Eight
Grand Final
Yale - 6:33.563
Harvard - 6:39.787
Navy - 6:43.011
Columbia - 6:46.411
Cornell - 6:48.475
Penn - 6:59.067

Fifth Varsity Eight
Grand Final
Harvard - 6:46.934
Navy 5V - 6:49.142
Navy 6V - 6:51.478

Boat Lineups

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

 

	Fifth Varsity Eight	Sixth Varsity Eight
1	Taylor Porges	Christian Meza
2	Howard Francis	Will Jarrett
3	Wesley Nourachi	Seamus Tomb
4	Harrison Boldt	Daniel McNeill
5	Matthew Fox	James Waaler
6	Gracen Glaubitz	Ethan Valk
7	Jack Spector	David Jackson
8	John Feng	Luke Waldo
Cox.	Cullen Harper	Brendan Farmer