ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With extremely high expectations after winning the IRA National Championship last season, the Navy lightweight crew team had a stellar start to its 2022 campaign as the Mids swept the Princeton Tigers in a three-race slate of contests on Saturday morning. Racing on a 2,000-meter stretch of the Severn River, the Mids (1-0) earned a pair of five-plus second victories by its second and third varsity crews before capturing their third win over the Tigers (0-1) with a 1.4-second decision in the first varsity competition with the Murtaugh Cup on the line.
The action on Saturday morning went in reverse order as the third varsity eight event went first. With its fourth varsity eight crew racing as a guest, Navy finished one-two in the contest with the Mids' 3V8 clocking in with a victorious time of 6:13.1, while their brethren in the 4V8 boat came in second place at 6:18.1. Navy's 4V8 bested Princeton's 3V8 by 0.8 seconds.
Next down the Severn was the second varsity eights from each squad. Breaking away over the course of the race, Navy cruised across the finish line with a 5.7-second margin over victory over Princeton, 6:08.4 to 6:14.1.
With the conditions getting tougher and the chop and wind increasing over the morning regatta, the teams left it all out on the water in the day's final race, the first varsity eight event. Racing for the right to take home the Murtaugh Cup, Navy posted a time of 6:02.3, while Princeton was 1.4 seconds back at 6:03.7.
That victory by the Mids' V8 gave them possession of the Murtaugh Cup for the first time since 2017. The victory also clinched the three-race sweep of the Tigers for the first time since 2008.
"After a long hiatus from our traditional cup racing season, it was awesome to get the opportunity to start the 2022 season at home," remarked head coach
Shawn Bagnall. "There is a gravity and respect that comes with racing our counterparts in the Eastern Sprints League, and the Murtaugh Cup against Princeton is one that we know we had bring our best effort. We were fortunate enough to have decent racing conditions on the Severn, and I thought that our crews executed well in this early season racing.
"It is imperative that we improve each week or we will fall behind, and I know our athletes are excited to get back to work on Monday and address some spots in our racing that were less than exceptional. We want to thank both the Princeton squad for making the trip to Annapolis, as well as all the volunteers and fellow coaches at Hubbard Hall that made this day possible."
Navy will look to continuing building off this momentum with another conference head-to-head matchup next Saturday morning. Racing on neutral waters in West Windsor, N.J., Navy and Yale will battle for supremacy, as well as for the Eads Johnson and Van Amringe Cups.
Results
First Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:02.3
Princeton – 6:03.7
Second Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:08.4
Princeton – 6:14.1
Third Varsity Eight
Navy 3V – 6:13.1
Navy 4V – 6:18.1
Princeton – 6:18.9
Navy HWT/LWT Exhibition
Navy HWT 6V – 6:33.2
Navy HWT 7V – 6:35.4
Navy LWT 5V – 6:45.6
Navy LWT 6V – 6:51.7
Boat Lineups
