ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off of its sixth straight Patriot League Championship in 2021, the Navy women's rowing team will be back on the water with their eyes on league, regional and national success once again this spring. Starting with the 2022 Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational this Saturday and Sunday, the Mids will be competing in four regular season events before racing for league glory at the Patriot League Championship in mid-May. A win at the league championship would give Navy its seventh straight trip to the NCAA Championships. First up, is two days of racing at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on March 19 and 20. The regional event that is hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association on Melton Lake will see 11 different Division I program race over three sessions.
The field for the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational consists of No. 11 Yale, No. 14 Duke, No. 16 Alabama, No. 17 Wisconsin, No. 20 Tennessee, R/V Indiana, R/V Navy, R/V Clemson and R/V Notre Dame. The only two teams not ranked or receiving votes are Louisville and Tulsa.
The Mids will be busy throughout the weekend and racing in 18 separate events over the three sessions. The team's top-four varsity eight crews, as well as its first and second varsity fours, will all be in action three times. Saturday's morning session starts at 10:02 a.m. with a 3V8 race versus Notre Dame, Alabama and Tennessee. The ensuing four races (V8, V4, 2V8 and 2V4) will consist of Navy, Notre Dame, Tulsa and Tennessee. A 4V8 showdown between Navy, Wisconsin, Indiana and Tennessee will close out the morning slate. In the afternoon, Navy will be matched up with Indiana, Louisville and Notre Dame in V8, 2V8, 3V8, V4 and 2V4 racing with the same lineup of 4V8 crews from the morning, Navy, Wisconsin, Indiana and Tennessee competing for a second time. The afternoon session for the Mids will run from approximately 3:58 PM to 4:38 PM.
On Sunday, the 4V8 quartet of Navy, Wisconsin, Indiana and Tennessee will kick off the day at 9:54 AM. 40 minutes later, the trio of Navy, Duke and Tennessee will head out on the waters of Melton Lake for V8, 2V8, 3V8, V4 and 2V4 racing from 10:34 AM to 11:06 AM.
The Mids' 2021 season concluded with a great amount of success. Racing on the Cooper River on May 14 amongst a field of seven league foes, the Mids made certain that they would punch their ticket for a return trip to the NCAA Championship as the conference's automatic qualifier with a clean sweep of the day's grand final action in first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four competitions. Earning all 54 team points for finishing atop the standings of the three individual races, Navy was pressured by Bucknell, who garnered 47 points and Boston University, who placed third with 43 points. A few weeks later at the 2021 NCAA Championship in Sarasota, Florida, the Mids placed 18th overall in the team standings and had all three of their boats competing in C-Finals. Navy's V4 led the way with a second place result in the C-Final to rank 14th overall in the nation.
The Mids returns 18 of the 23 women that competed at the NCAA Championship last spring. Seniors Brooke Campbell, Caroline Coleman, Polly Finch, Skylar Lodice, Hanna Prince and Sky Schork all raced at last year's NCAA Championship. Fellow senior Stephanie Read was selected to serve as the team's captain this season. Additionally, Lauren Bump, Lucy Freidenrich, Grace McElroy and Chloe VonderLinden will provide veteran leadership and experience as members of Navy's 11-person Class of 2022.
This past fall, the team competed in a pair of events the Navy Day Regatta on October 16 and the Rivanna Romp on November 14.
Race Schedule
Saturday
Morning Session
10:02 AM - Third Varsity Eight (Navy, Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee)
10:10 AM - First Varsity Eight (Navy, Notre Dame, Tulsa, Tennessee)
10:18 AM - First Varsity Four (Navy, ND, TU, UT)
10:26 AM - Second Varsity Eight (Navy, ND, TU, UT)
10:34 AM - Second Varsity Four (Navy, ND, TU, UT)
10:50 AM - Fourth Varsity Eight (Navy, Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee)
Afternoon Session
3:58 PM - First Varsity Eight (Navy, Indiana, Louisville, Notre Dame)
4:06 PM - First Varsity Four (Navy, IU, UL, ND)
4:14 PM - Fourth Varsity Eight (Navy, Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee)
4:22 PM - Second Varsity Eight (Navy, IU, UL, ND)
4:30 PM - Second Varsity Four (Navy, IU, UL, ND)
4:38 PM - Third Varsity Eight (Navy, IU, ND)
Sunday
Morning Session
9:54 AM - Fourth Varsity Eight (Navy, Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee)
10:34 AM - First Varsity Eight (Navy, Duke, Tennessee)
10:42 AM - First Varsity Four (Navy, Duke, UT)
10:50 AM - Second Varsity Eight (Navy, Duke, UT)
10:58 AM - Second Varsity Four (Navy, Duke, UT)
11:06 AM - Third Varsity Eight (Navy, Duke, UT)
