OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – After entering six crews in 12 total races on Saturday, the Navy women's rowing team had each of its six crews race one more time on Sunday with action on day two of the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite at Melton Lake. Competing versus collegiate combatants for the first time in 2022 this weekend, the Mids took on a pair of top-20 opponents and a third that was receiving votes in the most recent national poll on Sunday and came away with one win and a trio of runner-up performances.
Navy's fourth varsity eight collected the program's lone first place result of the day as the Mids cruised to a 14.366-second margin of victory over R/V Indiana, 7:01.401 to 7:15.767. No. 20 Tennessee was off the pace in third place with a 7:26.215 time. Navy's 4V8 went three-for-three over the duration of the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite with three victories of seven-plus seconds.
The Mids' first varsity four crew posted the first of the team's three runner-up results as they found themselves in a two-boat race with No. 14 Duke. Close throughout, the Blue Devils held off the Mids late and earned a 7:14.718 to 7:17.157 victory. Tennessee brought up the rear in the three-team heat at 7:33.162. Navy's V4 collected two earlier wins on Saturday.
The same Duke-Navy rivalry played out over the second varsity four and third varsity eight classifications with the Blue Devils knocking off the Mids. In the 2V4 contest on Sunday, Duke out-paced Navy, 7:29.187 to 7:42.916 before the 3V8 race was slightly closer with a 6:46.090 to 6:55.545 final result. Navy's 2V4 finished in second place in all three of its races at the invite, while the crew of the 3V8 boat had one win and two runner-ups at Melton Lake.
Navy's first varsity eight was challenged by a pair of top-20 crews and turned in its second fastest time of the weekend as the Mids clocked in with 2,000-meter result of 6:38.575. Duke and Tennessee finished one-two with respective times of 6:26.453 and 6:30.839. The best performance of the Navy's V8 was a second-place result on Saturday afternoon.
The Mids' 2V8 battled the Blue Devils and Lady Vols in their final heat of the weekend. With first to third place separated by 8.29 seconds, Duke crossed the finish line with a winning time of 6:38.785 ahead of Tennessee at 6:43.982 and Navy at 6:47.075. The Mids' 2V8 collected one win on Saturday to highlight its action at the invite.
"This weekend of racing was good to allow us to get our feet wet with some very competitive teams," remarked head coach
Joe Schlosberg. "We had put in an incredibly hard week of training coming into this racing. We had some great moments and lots of moments to learn from. Now it's time to regroup, make some adjustments and keep getting faster."
Navy will continue its early season action with racing in the Northeast next Sunday at the Doc Hosea Invite in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Results
First Varsity Eight
Duke – 6:26.453
Tennessee – 6:30.839
Navy – 6:38.575
Second Varsity Eight
Duke – 6:38.785
Tennessee – 6:43.982
Navy – 6:47.075
Third Varsity Eight
Duke – 6:46.090
Navy – 6:55.545
Tennessee – 7:06.733
Fourth Varsity Eight
Navy – 7:01.401
Indiana – 7:15.767
Tennessee – 7:26.215
First Varsity Four
Duke – 7:14.718
Navy – 7:17.157
Tennessee – 7:33.162
Second Varsity Four
Duke – 7:29.187
Navy – 7:42.916
Tennessee – 7:57.861
Boat Lineups
