ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Postseason action at the 2022 Patriot League Championship lies ahead for the Navy women's rowing program on Friday in Cherry Hill, N.J. Racing on a 2,000-meter stretch of water on the Cooper River, the Mids will be on the hunt for their seventh straight conference title and ninth in program history. All-time, Navy has won league titles in 2005, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The winner of Friday's Patriot League Championship will earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2022 NCAA Championship that is set for Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., May 27 through 29. The racing on Friday begins at 8:00 a.m. with preliminary heats before advancing to championship finals at 12:30 p.m. All of the action will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live results provided by Regatta Timing.

ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Navy is seeded top-four in all three classifications: first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four. The Mids' V4 boat is the highest ranked as it is seeded number one overall in the nine-team field. Navy's 2V8 is ranked second overall, while the Mids' V8 is seeded fourth in its event. Boston University is the top-seed in both the V8 and 2V8 classifications. The boats were seeded based on a coaches' vote in consideration of regular season results.

Navy's official race times for the morning prelims are set for 8:00 AM - First Varsity Eight ... 8:45 AM - Second Varsity Eight ... 9:00 AM - First Varsity Four. Each classification will have two heats of either four or five crews. The top-three finishing boats in each of the two heats advance to grand final action, while the remaining squads will race in the petite finals for positions, seven through nine.

This year's championship will be scored on a weighted scale, with nine points for the winner of the varsity four race, 18 for the second varsity eight and 27 for the varsity eight. The Patriot League Championship will be awarded to the school that accumulates the most total points in the three races. If there is a tie in final point total, the higher-place finisher of the varsity eight race is crowned Patriot League champion. Awards will also be given for Coach of the Year and Boat of the Year.

The complete field at the Cooper River this Friday will consist of Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Loyola, MIT and Navy.

Navy at the Patriot League Championship
Competing at the Patriot League Championship since 2005, the Mids have won 27 individual boat titles: six in the first varsity eight, 11 in the second varsity eight and 10 in the first varsity four events. The program swept the three-race slate completely in 2005, 2015, 2019 and 2021. These boat titles had direct impact on Navy taking home the league team championship eight times: 2005, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. (There was no championship in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Last Five Patriot League Championships
2021: V8-1st ... 2V8-1st ... V4-1st
    Navy 54 team points // Bucknell 47
2020: Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019: V8-1st ... 2V8-1st ... V4-1st
    Navy 54 team points // Bucknell 48
2018: V8-1st ... 2V8-1st ... V4-5th
    Navy 50 team points // Boston 46
2017: V8-2nd ... 2V8-1st ... V4-1st
    Navy 51 team points // Boston 46

Most Recent Patriot League Championship ~ May 14, 2021
The Navy women's rowing program continued its string of dominance over the Patriot League with a clean sweep at the league's 2021 Championship on Friday. Racing on the Cooper River 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. 

The three-race sweep was the second in as many league championships as the Mids placed first in the V8, 2V8 and V4 contests in 2019. In recognition of Navy's team title, head coach Joe Schlosberg was honored as the 2021 Patriot League Coach of the Year.

The grand final of the first varsity eight competition opened extremely even with Navy, Boston and Bucknell starting out nearly equal with Lehigh and Colgate close behind the lead trio. The Mids slowly crept ahead taking a one-seat lead by the quarter point of the race. Navy continued its pace and pulled away to as much as an eight-seat lead over Bucknell at the 1,500-meter mark. Down the stretch, a game Bison squad tried to make a late run at the Mids' lead, but Navy would not be denied. The Mids clocked in 2.748 seconds ahead of the Bison, 6:34.638 to 6:37.386. Navy's V8 was named the 2021 Patriot League Boat of the Year.

Friday's Schedule of Events
Heat Racing
8:00 AM - Varsity Eight (Heat 1)
#1 Navy, #4 Georgetown, #5 MIT, #8 Holy Cross, #9 Loyola

8:45 AM - Second Varsity Eight (Heat 2)
#2 Navy, #3 Bucknell, #6 Colgate, #7 Lehigh

9:00 AM - Varsity Four (Heat 1)
#1 Boston Univ., #4 Navy, #5 MIT, #8 Holy Cross, #9 Loyola

Finals
12:30 PM - First Varsity Four - Petite Final (Positions 7-9)
12:45 PM - Second Varsity Eight - Petite Final
1:00 PM - First Varsity Eight - Petite Final
1:15 PM - First Varsity Four - Grand Final (Positions 1-6)
1:30 PM - Second Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1:45 PM - First Varsity Eight - Grand Final

**Note, the awards ceremony is slated to begin at 2:15 PM