WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Looking to defend its title from 2021, the Navy lightweight rowing team had a host of strong efforts on Friday with the first day of competition at the 2022 IRA National Championship. Returning to Mercer Lake for the second consecutive year against a deep field of national programs, the Mids saw all three of their entrees advance to grand final action. Navy's second varsity eight and varsity four highlighted the team's performance on Friday with wins in their respective races.
 
The second varsity eight was dominant in its lone race on Friday as the crew led wire-to-wire over a seven-team field. After opening a 1.59-second advantage at the 500-meter mark of the 2,000-meter race, the Mids continued to pace the field with a 3.09-second lead at the 1,000-meter point and a 2.81-second advantage at the 1,500-meter mark. Comfortably ahead of second-place Cornell, Navy cruised across the finish line with an official time of 6:01.321. The Big Red were 2.466 seconds off the pace at 6:03.787. The Mids will now be the top-seed in Sunday's grand final that goes off at 9:40 a.m.
 
The other Navy boat that collected a victory on day one of the national competition was the varsity four. Posting a time of 6:10.909 in a morning time trial, the Mids came out in the afternoon and led from start-to-finish. Breaking out quickly over second-place Dartmouth by 1.92 seconds at the first checkpoint, Navy pressed on, building out a 2.96-second lead at mid-point and a 2.28-second edge over Dartmouth at the 1,500-meter mark. With a hold on one of the top-two positions that would automatically advance to Saturday's grand final, the Mids coasted home with a 1.526-second victory over the Big Green, 6:18.506 to 6:20.032. The Grand Final for the V4 classification will be contested at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday.
 
Navy's first varsity eight was also in action on Friday. Racing in heat number two, the Mids' opening sprint left them in second place behind the Georgetown Hoyas at the 500-meter mark. Competitively rowing alongside Georgetown over the next 1,000 meters, Navy was overtaken in the last 500 meters by Columbia to finish in third place with a time of 5:45.612. Georgetown won the overall heat at 5:43.214, while Columbia was 0.616 seconds faster than Navy at 5:44.996. All three teams will advance to Sunday's grand final that is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start.
 
The action slows down for the Navy lightweights on Saturday as just the V4 boat will be racing. The Mids will be looking to retain top honors in the V4 classification in the 11:20 a.m. Grand Final.
 
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Third of 4 in Heat 2
Georgetown – 5:43.214
Columbia – 5:44.996
Navy – 5:45.612
Penn – 5:52.278
    Next Up: Grand Final – Sunday, 10:30 AM
 
Second Varsity Eight
First of 7 in Heat 1
Navy – 6:01.321
Cornell – 6:03.787
Columbia – 6:08.657
Penn – 6:10.241
Georgetown – 6:13.027
Yale – 6:14.999
Princeton
    Next Up: Grand Final – Sunday, 9:40 AM
 
Varsity Four
2nd of 14 in Time Trial - 6:10.909

First of 7 in Semifinal ABC
Navy – 6:18.506
Dartmouth – 6:20.032
Columbia – 6:23.606
Yale – 6:27.262
Georgetown – 6:33.534
Florida Tech – 6:44.866
Mercyhurst – 6:54.734
    Next Up: Grand Final – Saturday, 11:20 AM