HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England – The 2019 Henley Royal Regatta got underway on Wednesday as Navy had its men's coxed four crew on the water with a head-to-head matchup versus Bath University in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup event. One of 16 teams racing in the bracketed four-day knock-out competition, Navy came up against a high-level United Kingdom crew that held off the Americans by three-quarters length.
 
Even over the first quarter of the race, Bath pulled ahead of Navy in the middle portion of the 2,112-meter contest on the River Thames. Unfazed by its deficit, the crew of Drew Bennett, Owen Firebaugh, Ben Skinner, John Schoenewolf and coxswain Pat Urrutia kept contact with the Bath boat and gave the fans in attendance an exciting sprint to the end. Bath University was able to hold off that final push by Navy to advance to the quarterfinals with a three-quarter length victory. Bath will take on the crew from Oxford Brookes University on Thursday after Oxford defeated the University of Michigan in their respective first round matchup.
 
Navy's five-man crew was made up of four lightweight rowing participants and one heavyweight, Firebaugh. Wednesday marked the final collegiate-level competition for the trio of Bennett, Skinner and Firebaugh, who were commissioned in May as officers in the United States Navy (Bennett, Skinner) and the United States Marine Corps (Firebaugh).
 
Next up for Navy's fleet at the Henley Royal Regatta is competition in the Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Challenge Cup on Thursday afternoon. One of 10 teams vying for the trophy, Navy will have the heavyweight pair of Brandon Sagawinia and James Pushner represented the program in a head-to-head matchup versus Yale's duo of Fergus Hamilton and Daniel Williamson. The Navy-Yale showdown is scheduled 1:50 pm ET (6:50 pm BST). All action at this week's regatta will have live video hosted on YouTube.