PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Navy rowing program was well represented at the Navy Day Collegiate Head Race on Saturday with 20 boats competing against a deep field of Philadelphia universities in its first action of the fall 2021 season. Racing on a 4,000 meter stretch of the Schuylkill River in single-file, time trial events, Midshipmen crews representing the heavyweight, lightweight and women's teams finished atop the standings for two events and second in two other contests. Navy's top heavyweight crew was victorious in the men's varsity eight race, while Navy's female freshmen eight crew was the class of its event.
 
In the first competition of the day, Navy had 11 combined boats over the heavyweight and lightweight teams racing in the men's varsity eight event. Hubbard Hall's finest turned in strong results in their first action of the fall season as Navy HWT A and Navy LWT A swept the top-two positions as the Mids' top heavyweight crew clocked in at 11:45.6, slightly over 15 seconds ahead of the Mids' first varsity lightweight crew, who posted a 12:01.0. Navy LWT B made it three Midshipmen crews in the top-four as they finished the 4,000-meter piece in fourth with a time of 12:07.1. Navy HWT B and Navy LWT C rounded out Navy's run of teams in the top-10 as they recorded efforts of 12:19.4 and 12:22.3 to rank eighth and ninth respectively. In total, 31 boats representing Navy HWT, Navy LWT, Penn HWT, Penn LWT, Temple, Drexel, Saint Joseph's and La Salle were racing in the men's varsity eight competition on Saturday.
 
"We had a solid day of racing today, but still have a lot of speed to gain," remarked heavyweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "We focused on racing a controlled rhythm today and I thought all of our boats did that well. We have some good depth and it's exciting to see these guys get some collegiate racing experience."
 
Navy's women's team was in action across three classifications. First up was the women's varsity eight race in which four Midshipmen crews were entered. Navy's first varsity boat laid down a quality 4,000-meter piece with a time of 13:48.3 that was good for second overall in the field of 13. Navy's second crew finished three spots back in fifth with a 14:25.8 time. Navy raced against Penn, Temple, Saint Joseph's, Jefferson University and La Salle in this event.
 
A quartet of Navy four-women crews were next up to get on the water in the varsity four contest. The Mids and the Penn Quakers found themselves in a tight race at the top of the standings as their respective lead boats were separated by less than two seconds as Penn A clocked in at 15:44.9, while Navy A's time was 15:46.7. The same two programs battled for third and fourth place though this time the Mids bested the Quakers, 15:50.8 to 15:51.9.
 
The final event involving Navy women's rowing was the freshmen eight race. Seeing collegiate action for the first time ever, the Mids' plebe boat scorched its competition with a 50.4-second margin of victory over second-place Penn. Navy's time was 14:30.1.

"We had a solid day of performances today," remarked women's head coach Joe Schlosberg. "We got in some good racing highlight by our Freshmen 8. There's a ton of room to learn, adjust and grow from today and that's what we're going to do."
 
The Navy heavyweight and lightweight teams will be on the water next weekend at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. The women's squad will turn its attention to competition versus Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 30.
 
Results

Men's Varsity 8 (31 boats entered)
1. Navy HWT A – 11:45.6
2. Navy LWT A – 12:01.0
3. Penn LWT A – 12:06.2
4. Navy LWT B – 12:07.1
5. Penn LWT B – 12:14.0
8. Navy HWT B – 12:19.4
9. Navy LWT C – 12:22.3
12. Navy HWT C – 12:28.4
15. Navy HWT E – 12:41.8
17. Navy HWT D – 12:45.1
18. Navy HWT F – 12:49.9
19. Navy LWT D – 12:50.3
23. Navy LWT E – 13:01.1
 
Women's Varsity 8 (13 boats entered)
1. Penn A – 13:25.9
2. Navy A – 13:48.3
3. Penn B – 13:48.6
4. Temple A – 14:22.9
5. Navy B – 14:25.8
9. Navy C – 14:46.5
11. Navy D – 15:27.1
 
Women's Varsity 4 (15 boats entered)
1. Penn A – 15:44.9
2. Navy A – 15:46.7
3. Navy B – 15:50.8
4. Penn C – 15:51.9
7. Navy D – 16:18.6
8. Navy C – 16:20.8
 
Women's Freshmen 8 (3 boats entered)
1. Navy – 14:30.1
2. Penn – 15:20.5
3. La Salle – 16:08.9