ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy heavyweight and lightweight crew programs will culminate their collegiate seasons this weekend in central New Jersey with competition at the 2021 IRA National Championships. With the COVID-19 pandemic wracking chaos throughout the landscape of collegiate athletics this past 15 months, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association has pivoted from its normal three-day championship format to a single set of finals for the lightweights on Friday and two days of action for the heavyweights on Friday and Saturday. The competition begins on Friday for Navy with seven boats in action on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey. First up, will be the heavyweight first varsity eight in a time trial at 7:05 a.m.
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) will be providing live video and results of both the heavyweight and lightweight regattas.
The action for Navy's heavyweights begins Friday morning with time trials for its first, second and third varsity eights, as well as its first varsity four crew. Seeded 11th overall in the V8 field of 31 crews, Navy will set out down the Mercer Lake course at 7:05 a.m. Less than 40 minutes later, the 10th seeded second varsity crew will post its qualifying time at 7:44 a.m.; the Mids' 2V8 is one of 27 boats slated for action. Navy's 3V8 is seeded eighth of 18 crews and is slated for its time trial at 8:23 a.m. before the heavyweight varsity four concludes the qualification action at 8:48 a.m. as the seven seed in a field of 17.
All four heavyweight events will have semifinal racing later on Friday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. and running through 5:30 p.m. The A-B-C Semifinals (top-18 time trial speeds) will help set the fields for Saturday's final action. The top-two boats in each of the A-B-C Semifinals will advance to the grand finals, while the third and fourth-place boats will move to the petite finals. The last two boats in each of the A-B-C Semifinals will close out their racing on Saturday in the C-Finals.
(Heavyweights Griffin Hamilton and Luke Phelan preview the IRAs)
Navy's lightweight team will have three entrees in its classification of the IRA Championship as the Mids will field first varsity eight, second varsity eight and straight four crew (without coxswain) at Mercer Lake. With COVID-19 protocols sidelining a portion of the regular competitors in the lightweight event, the IRA has scheduled direct grand finals for all three boats on Friday morning. The straight four (4-) kicks off the action for Navy on Friday morning with grand final competition against Mercyhurst and Gordon College at 9:40 a.m. Twenty minutes later at 10 a.m., the second varsity eight grand final commences with Navy going head-to-head with Penn and Princeton in a three-team field. The final race of the morning for the Midshipmen's lightweight contingent is set for 10:20 a.m. when Navy battles Penn, Princeton, Mercyhurst and Temple.
(Will Jarrett and Andy Laberee breakdown what lies ahead for the Navy Lightweights at the IRAs.)
Navy at the 2019 IRA National Championship
Heavyweights Place 11th in Ten Eyck Team Standings
With three of its four teams competing in petite finals, the Navy heavyweight crew program concluded the 2019 IRA National Championship with a strong all-around effort. Racing in Northern California on Lake Natoma, the Mids' second and third varsity eights, as well as its first varsity four all secured tenth-place results in their respective classifications. As a program, Navy tallied 88 points and finished 11th overall in the Ten Eyck team point standings, improving by two positions and 14 points from its most recent national championship outing. The Mids were surrounded in the standings by tenth place Dartmouth (105 points) and 12th place Cornell (81).
The first varsity eight concluded its time at the 2019 championship in the C-Final, racing for positions 13 through 18. A late sprint by the Mids helped them finish runner-up in the event, 0.745 seconds behind George Washington. The Colonials clocked in at 5:48.910 versus a 5:49.655 for the Mids. Navy's result placed them 14th overall in the nation.
Lightweight Crew Wins Pair of IRA Titles en Route to Second-Place Team Finish
Navy secured two IRA titles and the second-most points in the team point standings at the 2019 IRA National Championship. Buoyed by national champion efforts by its varsity four with a coxswain and varsity four without a coxswain crews, Navy tied for second place with Princeton in the standings at the season-ending championship at Lake Natoma in Gold River, California. Cornell was crowned the team point champions with 60 points, 36 of which came from the Big Red's V8 victory. Navy was three points back with 57 to tie with Princeton for second overall.
In an ultra-competitive first varsity eight grand final, the entire field clocked in between 5:44.426 and 5:50.086. Cornell and Princeton found itself in a one-on-one battle at the front of the field as the Big Red won with a time of 5:44.426, while the Tigers were a tick back at 5:44.849. Navy was part of a trio of crews that challenged for fourth place. As the race went final, Columbia was able to withstand the pressure to take fourth with a time of 5:47.573. Yale and Navy went stroke-for-stroke to the conclusion of the race with the Bulldogs edging the Mids by just 0.172 seconds, 5:49.914 to 5:50.086.
Race Schedule
Friday
7:05 AM - HWT V8 Time Trials
7:44 AM - HWT 2V8 Time Trials
8:23 AM - HWT 3V8 Time Trials
8:48 AM - HWT V4 Time Trials
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9:40 AM - LWT 4- Grand Finals
10:00 AM - LWT 2V8 Grand Finals
10:20 AM - LWT V8 Grand Finals
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3:00-5:30 PM - HWT Semifinals
Saturday
8:00-8:20 AM - HWT V4 Finals (C-B-A)
8:30-8:50 AM - HWT 3V8 Finals (C-B-A)
9:00-9:40 AM - HWT 2V8 Finals (E-D-C-B-A)
9:50-10:30 AM - HWT V8 Finals (E-D-C-B-A)
