FAIRFAX, Va. – In its penultimate regular season action of 2021, the Navy heavyweight rowing team split a pair of competitions on Sunday. Racing on a 2,000-meter stretch of the Occoquan Reservoir at the Sandy Run Regional Park in Northern Virginia against Syracuse in the morning and Jacksonville in the afternoon, the Mids went 1-1 in first varsity eight competitions before collecting three wins over the other four combined races.
"It was a good learning experience for our team today," remarked head coach
Rob Friedrich. "Syracuse looked very sharp and we came out a little flat in the morning. I thought we had better races in the afternoon, but we still have a lot of speed to gain throughout the rest of the season.
"We have a young team and their learning curve is steep. Today was a good wake up call for our athletes and I know they are committed to competing with the top teams in the country."
Navy's first varsity eight was tested early on Sunday with a head-to-head battle versus a common foe in Syracuse. Regular combatants in the annual Goes Trophy competition that dates back to 1955, the Mids and Orange were racing this year without Cornell. Syracuse led throughout most of the contest slowly inching out ahead of Navy over the course of the race to take a final margin of victory of 7.47 seconds, 5:58.10 to 6:05.57.
In the afternoon, Navy's top boat had to deal with a game Jacksonville squad. The Mids broke away from the starting line fast and ended up earning a wire-to-wire victory as they cleared the Dolphins by the halfway mark and were more than two boat lengths away by the 1,500-meter buoy. At the end, Navy's V8 was victorious by 15.47 seconds, 6:11.32 to 6:26.79.
A similar series of outcomes occurred for the Mids' 2V8 crew in their action on Sunday. In the morning race between the second varsity boats from Navy and Syracuse, the Orange held a lead for the majority of the action eventually clearing the Mids by the 1,500-meter mark. Continuing strong down the stretch Syracuse defeated Navy, 6:13.73 to 6:24.40.
Navy's 2V8 had a dominant rebuttal in the afternoon versus Jacksonville as the Mids jumped out to an early lead and put substantial distance between itself and the Dolphins as they raced down the course on the Occoquan. At the end of the 2,000-meter event, Navy's 2V8 won by 27.66 seconds, 6:13.97 to 6:41.63.
The Mids' third varsity athletes saw two types of racing on Sunday as Navy entered a pair of V4 boats against Syracuse in the morning before teaming up for a 3V8 contest against Jacksonville later on in the day. The Mids' V4 led by coxswain
Lakayla DeShields found itself in a tight race with coxswain
Alex Coleman's four-man Navy boat. DeShields' crew ended up winning the competition with a time of 7:09.0 versus a 7:14.0 result for Coleman's crew. Syracuse's V4 was more than 10 seconds off the pace back at 7:24.46.
In the afternoon Navy's combined 3V8 team overpowered Jacksonville with an over 40-second victory. The Mids cruised to the finish line with a time of 6:38.70, while the Dolphins clocked in at 7:18.85.
The heavyweight team will close out its regular season next Sunday with a series of racing versus Boston University at Overpeck Park in Northern New Jersey.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:58.10
Navy – 6:05.57
Second Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 6:13.73
Navy – 6:24.40
Third Varsity Fours
Navy – 7:09.0 (DeShields)
Navy – 7:14.01 (Coleman)
Syracuse – 7:24.46
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First Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:11.32
Jacksonville – 6:26.79
Second Varsity Eight
Navy 6:13.97
Jacksonville – 6:41.63
Third Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:38.70
Jacksonville – 7:18.85
Boat Lineups
