BOSTON – Racing as one of three teams on the Charles River on Saturday morning, the No. 14 Navy heavyweight squad was challenged throughout a five-race slate by No. 5 Harvard and No. 15 Penn. At the completion of the action, the Mids were victorious in the fifth varsity contest and came in runner-up in three other races.
 
That victorious fifth varsity crew was the first on the Charles River on Saturday and went up against Harvard's fifth and sixth boats. Fast from the start, the Mids clocked in with a time of 6:09.2 that bested the Crimson's 5V by 5.1 seconds. Harvard's 6V finished over 37 seconds back at 6:51.6.
 
"The 5V remains undefeated and has taken down another great team," remarked Rob Friedrich, the Tom & Candy Knudson Director of Navy Rowing.  "They are representing our deep fleet, that didn't travel this weekend and they did not disappoint."
 
Next up was the Adams Cup contest between the first varsity crews from Navy, Harvard and Penn. Competitive over the opening 1,500 meters, the host Crimson pulled away from the Mids over the final quarter of the race for a seven-second margin of victory at 5:49.8 to 5:56.8. Navy nearly held that same margin over Penn as the Quakers were 6.3 seconds back at 6:03.1.
 
"Today was a step forward," said Friedrich. "Harvard's first varsity is a very good boat and we held onto them until the last 500 meters. It was a better race and something to build from over the next few weeks."
 
Harvard won its second straight race as the Crimson cruised and posted a 5:53.2 time in the second varsity eight matchup. Ten seconds back, Penn and Navy were in a tight battle for second place that saw the Quakers edge the Mids by just 0.6 seconds, 6:03.9 to 6:04.5.
 
"Our 2V was disappointed to lose a very close race with Penn," commented Friedrich. "They could have definitely raced better. Today was a learning moment."
 
Navy closed out its morning on the Charles River with a pair of runner-up results by its third and fourth varsity boats. In the 3V8 event, Harvard, Navy and Penn filed across the finish line with significant separation as the Crimson clocked in first at 5:56.9, 10.7 seconds ahead of the Mids, who posted a 6:07.6, while the Quakers were 7.8 ticks back at 6:15.4.
 
In the fourth varsity eight contest that was one-on-one duel between Harvard and Navy, the Crimson collected their fourth win and clinched The Clothier Team Points Cup with a 6:01.5 to 6:15.4 final decision.
 
"Our 3V and 4V crews raced well, but fell to some very fast Harvard boats," said Friedrich. "I still feel very good about what we are developing in those boats."
 
Navy will conclude its regular season next Sunday, May 1 with a neutral side quad-meet in West Windsor, N.J. The Stevenson Cup will be up for grabs between Navy and Columbia with Hobart and George Washington racing alongside to the two trophy rivals as guests.

Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Harvard – 5:49.8
Navy – 5:56.8
Penn – 6:03.1
 
Second Varsity Eight
Harvard – 5:53.2
Penn – 6:03.9
Navy – 6:04.5
 
Third Varsity Eight
Harvard – 5:56.9
Navy – 6:07.6
Penn – 6:15.4
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Harvard – 6:01.5
Navy – 6:15.4
 
Fifth Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:09.2
Harvard – 6:14.3
Harvard 6V – 6:51.6

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight	Fourth Varsity Eight	Fifth Varsity Eight
1	Reed Schilb	Mark Ostrowski	Hill Atwell	Alexander Sidhu	Gabriel Eller
2	John McNicholas	Nick Bostock	George Wright	Rory Hagerty	Fletcher Matthews
3	Will Geib	Aidan Leavy	Reed Romo	Josh Herbert	Alex Coelho
4	James Walsh	Ethan Barton	Matthew Lexa	Harrison Kaplan	Nathaniel Erickson
5	Ian Dennis	Alex Sucato	Will Holsinger	William Wright	Josiah Glynn
6	Griffin Dunne	Luke Phelan	Evan Robertson	Carey Hutchens	Joseph Colley
7	James Sills	Jack Mollohan	Sam Beach	Robert Freimuth	Ryan Hollenbach
Str.	James Pushner	Connor Feeley	Duncan Ayles	Jack Gill	John Haffner
Cox.	Matthew Catanoso	Alex Coleman	Zack Shieh	Ava Izenour	Julia Matais