ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The offseason awards continued rolling in for the Navy women's rowing program as the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association announced late last week the organization's Regional Staff of the Year honors. In recognition of the Mids' record-breaking season the team's coaching staff was named CRCA Region 2 Staff of the Year.

The CRCA Staff of the Year Award is intended to recognize a staff that fits one or more of the following criteria: outstanding success during the current season, demonstrated great team improvement from the prior season, fulfilled team's potential and demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach.

Checking off a numerous array of those prerequisites during the 2019 season, the coaching staff of head coach Joe Schlosberg, assistant coaches Jessica Deitrick and Taylor Ruden and volunteer assistant coach Steve Root were honored for their work with the Mids. Schlosberg just completed his fourth year with the program, while Deitrick and Ruden have been with the Mids since August 2016. Root, an instructor at the Naval Academy has been a volunteer on staff since the 2013-14 season.
 
The Navy coaching staff was one of five nationally to be honored by the CRCA. Other regional winners included, Princeton (Region 1), Texas (Region 3), Michigan (Region 4) and the University of Washington (Region 5).

Navy took home this prestigious honor following the 2018 season, as well, joining Texas as the only staffs to repeat in both 2018 and 2019.

The 2019 season saw the Midshipmen win the program's fifth straight Patriot League title and earn their fifth straight automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. After each of the team's V8, 2V8 and V4 boats won their individual event titles against Patriot League foes in Worcester, Mass. on May 17, all three crews found similar speed at the NCAA Championship regatta, May 31-June 2 in Indianapolis. Following three days of racing at the national championship, all three boats raced in C-Finals with the V8 leading the way with a 15th-place finish, one spot ahead of the V4. Navy's 2V8 rounded out the trio of successful efforts with an 18th-place result. This was the first time in program history that all three Midshipmen crews qualified for and raced in C-Finals at the same NCAA Championship. 

In the final USRowing/CRCA Coaches' Poll of the 2019 season, Navy was ranked 17th overall. They were the only non-Power 5 or Ivy League school to finish the year in the top-20.