FAIRFAX STATION, Va. – The No. 12 Navy heavyweight rowing program turned in an impressive day of racing on Sunday as the team showcased its speed and depth at the Occoquan Collegiate Invitational hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy. Competing in morning duel races and afternoon finals, the Mids came away with seven victories over eight events in the regatta that was held at the Occoquan Reservoir at Sandy Run Regional Park in Northern Virginia.
 
"It was a solid day of racing from all of our boats," remarked Rob Friedrich, the Tom & Candy Knudson Director of Navy Rowing. "The conditions were definitely challenging and I thought we handled it well. Our second varsity was disappointed with their afternoon row, but I give a lot of credit to that Drexel 2V that fought hard as we almost caught them on the final sprint."
 
Each of Navy's first, second, third, fourth and fifth varsity eight crews were in action twice on the Occoquan. In the morning, Navy was matched up against Holy Cross and Drexel in all of its competitions before advancing to afternoon contests versus winners of the morning duels.
 
The Mids' first varsity knocked off four opponents on Sunday starting with the No.21 Crusaders of Holy Cross. In the morning head-to-head matchup, Navy rolled to a 22.25-second victory, 6:47.65 to 7:09.90. The Mids picked up their pace in the afternoon and finished atop the leaderboard of the grand final with a time of 6:31.50. Navy's time was 4.4 seconds ahead of No. 16 Drexel's 6:35.9. No. 23 Georgetown and R/V Hobart placed third and fourth in the final with respective times of 6:48.3 and 7:05.2.
 
Navy's second varsity eight's day also began with a significant head-to-head victory over Holy Cross as the Mids cruised to a 7:04.00 to 7:25.80 win in the morning. In the afternoon grand final, Navy ran up against a game Drexel squad and found them in a stroke-for-stroke battle for most of the 2,000 meters. The Dragons withstood the Mids' last push to the finish line and held on for the slim 6:39.2 to 6:39.4 victory. Georgetown clocked in over 20 seconds behind Navy in third at 7:00.0. Saint Joseph's rounded out the four-team field with a time of 7:19.6.
 
The Mids' third varsity eight was successful in both of its contest on Sunday. In the morning head-to-head versus Drexel, Navy breezed to the finish line with a 21.2-second margin of victory, 6:51.7 to 7:12.9. The Mids mirrored that dominance in the afternoon and increased their margin to 36.9 seconds over Saint Joseph's, who placed second, 7:10.2 to 7:47.1. Jacksonville was off the pace in third place with a final result of 8:21.7.
 
Navy's fourth and fifth varsity eight competed twice alongside each other in the fourth varsity division against Drexel and Holy Cross. Both Midshipmen crews were at the front of the pack in the morning race as Navy's 4V clocked in first with a time of 7:08.04, while Navy's 5V was a little over six seconds back at 7:14.20. Drexel and Holy Cross came in over 30 seconds back of the Mids' fifth boat with times of 7:47.7 and 8:29.5, respectively. Getting back on the water three hours later, Navy's fourth and fifth boats went head-to-head and gave the spectators a great thrill with the 4V holding on for a 0.7-second margin of victory, 6:54.1 to 6:54.8. Drexel and Holy Cross finished in third and fourth place again with respective times of 7:30.6 and 7:54.9.
 
"We have a lot of young guys and walk-on rowers in many of our boats and they've been learning how to go faster each week. It'll be great to see what they'll accomplish by the season's end," concluded Friedrich.
 
Navy will turn its attention back to trophy racing next Saturday when it hosts Cornell and Syracuse with the Goes Trophy on the line in Annapolis.
 
Results
 
Morning Session
First Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:47.65
Holy Cross – 7:09.90
 
Second Varsity Eight
Navy – 7:04.00
Holy Cross – 7:25.80
 
Third Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:51.70
Drexel – 7:12.90
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Navy 4V – 7:08.04
Navy 5V – 7:14.20
Drexel – 7:47.70
Holy Cross – 8:29.50
 
Afternoon Session
First Varsity Eight Grand Final
Navy – 6:31.5
Drexel – 6:35.9
Georgetown – 6:48.3
Hobart – 7:05.2
 
Second Varsity Eight Grand Final
Drexel – 6:39.2
Navy – 6:39.4
Georgetown – 7:00.0
Saint Joseph's – 7:19.6
 
Third Varsity Eight Heat
Navy – 7:10.2
Saint Joseph's – 7:47.1
Jacksonville – 8:21.7
 
Fourth Varsity Eight Heat
Navy 4V – 6:54.1
Navy 5V – 6:54.8
Drexel – 7:30.6
Holy Cross – 7:54.9
 
Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight	Fourth Varsity Eight	Fifth Varsity Eight
1	Ian Dennis	Mark Ostrowski	Alexander Sidhu	William Wright	Alexander Grande
2	Billy Duffy	Rory Hagerty	Will Holsinger	Matthew Lexa	Gabriel Eller
3	Will Geib	John McNicholas	George Wright	Patrick Daly	Fletcher Matthews
4	James Walsh	Luke Phelan	Ethan Barton	Reed Romo	Lucas Padilla
5	Reed Schilb	Aidan Leavy	Alex Sucato	Robert Freimuth	Adrien Richez
6	Griffin Dunne	Nick Bostock	Sam Beach	Jack Gill	James Joyce
7	James Sills	Jack Mollohan	Hill Atwell	Evan Robertson	John Haffner
Str.	James Pushner	Connor Feeley	Duncan Ayles	Harrison Kaplan	Casimir Pozecki
Cox.	Matthew Catanoso	Alex Coleman	Ava Izenour	Zack Shieh	Maeve Swick