ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's rowing program will be on the grandest national stage this weekend with three days of competition at the 2019 NCAA Championship. Racing at the Indianapolis Rowing Center in the capital city of Indiana, the Midshipmen will have its first and second varsity eight crews in action, as well as its first varsity four crew. Navy, the five-time defending champions of the Patriot League, will kick off its competition with three qualifying heats on Friday morning with the potential for repechage action in the afternoon. On Saturday, teams will race in semifinal competition before the championship finals go off on Sunday morning.

This will be the seventh NCAA Championship with an expanded field as Navy is one of 11 teams that earned an automatic bid by virtue of winning its conference title. In total, there will be 22 schools competing in each of the three boat classes - varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four.

The three-day event will have both free LIVE VIDEO and LIVE RESULTS available. For all the latest on all the championship action stay tuned in with Indiana University's CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL.

Friday's action will consist of qualifying heat competitions for the Mids' first and second varsity eight boats, as well as their first varsity four crew. The first varsity eight will take to the water first starting at 9:12 a.m. Less than an hour later, the 2V8 boat will race in heat one at 9:48 a.m. before the Mids' V4 crew races in heat two at 10:48 a.m. The top two boats in each of the morning heats automatically advance to Saturday's semifinals, while the rest will race again in repechage action. Repechages are scheduled in the afternoon on Friday between 4:12 and 5:12 p.m.

Navy's first varsity eight crew, seeded 15th overall will be matched up versus No. 2 Princeton, No. 7 Brown, No. 10 Iowa and No. 18 UCF, while its second varsity crew, slotted as No. 17 will race against No. 1 Washington, No. 8 Princeton, No. 9 Brown and No. 16 UCF in their respective qualifying heats. The second heat for the varsity four consists of No. 2 Stanford, No. 7 Duke, No. 10 Yale and No. 15 UCF. The Mids are seeded 18th in the V4 field.

On Saturday, the Mids' three boats will race in either A/B or C/D Semifinals between 8:12 and 10:24 a.m.The top three crews from the A/B semifinals will advance to the Grand Final with the remaining teams heading to the Petite Final. The top three crews from the C/D semifinals will compete in the C final, while the remaining competitions will race in the D final. On Championship Sunday, the A, B, C and D Finals will be held starting at 8:12 a.m. and going through 11:12 a.m.

Last Year at the NCAA Championships
Navy had a regatta for the record books on the weekend of May 25-26 at the 2018 NCAA Championship as the program received outstanding performances from all three of its boats, including its second varsity eight and first varsity four crews that raced in C Finals. The combination of a 14th-place result by the Mids' first varsity four, an 18th by the second varsity eight and a 19th by the first varsity eight allowed Navy to finished a program-best 17th overall at the national championship that saw weather condense the event from three days into two at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.

On the strength of the highest results in program history for all three of its individual boats, Navy ranked 17th in the standings with 31 team points. Gonzaga (30), Northeastern (26) and UCF (22) rounded out the top-20.

Looking Back at 2019 Patriot League Championship
Navy qualified for competition at the NCAA Championship by earning the automatic bid from the Patriot League. On Friday, May 17, the Mids won their fifth straight league title as they 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.

Check out the Patriot League's video recap of the 2019 Championship Regatta with highlights and interviews with Head Coach Joe Schlosberg, Megan Hanson and Brianna Warren. PL VIDEO RECAP

This is the sixth time in program history that Navy has competed at the national championship meet. Prior to this weekend, the team has gone in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Race Schedule
Friday (Heats)
9:12 AM - First Varsity Eight, Heat #2 (Princeton, Brown, Iowa, Navy, UCF)
9:48 AM - Second Varsity Eight, Heat #1 (Washington, Brown, Princeton, UCF, Navy)
10:48 AM - First Varsity Four, Heat #2 (Stanford, Yale, Duke, UCF, Navy)

Friday (Repechages)
4:12-4:24 PM - First Varsity Eight Repechage Heats #1/2
4:36-4:48 PM - Second Varsity Eight Repechage Heats #1/2
5:00-5:12 PM - First Varsity Four Repechage Heats #1/2

Saturday (Semifinals)
8:12-8:48 AM - First Varsity Eight, 4 races
9:00-9:36 AM - Second Varsity Eight, 4 races
9:48-10:24 AM - First Varsity Four, 4 races

Sunday (Finals)
8:12-11:12 AM, 4 finals per class ... A, B, C, D