ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Winners of six of the last seven Patriot League Championships, the Navy women's rowing team has its eyes squarely on getting back to the top of the conference after finishing third at the 2022 league meet. Two days of racing at the 2023 Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational kicks off the spring campaign for the Mids as they will be matched up against a field of top-notch national opponents. Including this weekend's action, Navy will participate in four competitions as a lead up to the Patriot League Championship on May 12. The Oak Ridge Rowing Association on Melton Lake will host a 10-team field that will be racing over three sessions on Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19.

The field for the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational consists of No. 5 Yale, No. 16 Duke, No. 18 Indiana, No. 19 Tennessee, R/V Alabama, R/V Clemson, R/V Louisville, R/V Navy, R/V Wisconsin and Notre Dame (all rankings are from the final 2022 CRCA Coaches Poll, 6/2/22).

The Mids will be busy throughout the weekend racing in 15 separate events over the three sessions. The team's top-three varsity eight crews, as well as its first and second varsity fours, will all be in action three times. Saturday's morning session starts at 11:14 a.m. with a 3V8 race versus Alabama and Louisville. The ensuing four races (V8, V4, 2V8, 2V4) will go off in eight-minute increments. After a five-hour break, the Mids will be back on the water in a late afternoon session from 5:02 p.m. to 5:34 p.m. The same order of racing, 3V8, V8, V4, 2V8 and 2V4, will feature Navy heading down Melton Lake alongside Duke, Indiana and Yale.

The competition will round out on Sunday morning with Navy in the first relay of races versus Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Yale. The five-race slate is scheduled to begin at 8:34 a.m. with the 3V8 before concluding at 9:06 a.m. with the 2V4 crew.

Last Time at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite
Last year at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational, the Mids had a strong debut to their season as Navy crews won six races (2V8-AM, 3V8-PM, 4V8-AM/PM and V4-AM/PM) and finished runner-up on five other occasions over a 12-race slate on Saturday before coming back on Sunday and recording one win (4V8) and a trio of runner-up performances.

2022: A Retrospect
The Mids' 2022 season concluded last May with a third-place result at the Patriot League Championship. Racing three boats in the league championship, the Mids collected one win and one runners-up outcome amongst the nine-team field. Navy's first varsity four crew led the way on the Cooper River as it controlled its event and collected the victory. As a program, Navy finished third in the team standings behind Boston University and Bucknell.
 
The six-time defending champions, Navy nearly captured its seventh straight win, but came up four points short. Boston University won the team title with 50 points, while Bucknell was second with 48. The Mids rounded out the top-three with a total of 46 points. The trio of Georgetown, Lehigh and MIT were closely packed in fourth, fifth and sixth with respectively totals of 31, 29 and 28 points before Colgate (16), Holy Cross (13) and Loyola (8) earned the seventh, eighth and ninth-place finishing positions.

Looking Ahead to 2023
The Mids are an extremely young team heading into the spring season with 22 freshmen and 11 more sophomores on their roster. The squad returns 10 athletes that competed at last year's Patriot League Championship, including juniors Dani Baldwin, Lauren Day and Sarah Zanzuri, and sophomore Lizzie Jendrysik, who all raced in the first varsity eight. Four more Mids return from the team's championship second varsity eight crew: senior team captain Sofia Ferguson, junior Brigid Welch and sophomores Noelle de Vente and Amelia Snyder. Senior Phoebe Haller and sophomore Mariella Vergara garnered experience last spring as members of Navy's first varsity four. Additionally, Nicole Dado, Katie Hammonds and Irene Norman will provide veteran leadership and experience as members of Navy's five-person Class of 2023.

This past fall, the team competed in a trio of events, the Navy Day Regatta on October 16, the Head of the Charles Regatta on October 23 and the Rivanna Romp on November 13. 

Race Schedule
Saturday
Morning Session
11:14 AM - Third Varsity Eight (Navy, Alabama, Louisville)
11:22 AM - First Varsity Eight (Navy, Alabama, Louisville)
11:30 AM - First Varsity Four (Navy, Alabama, Louisville)
11:38 AM - Second Varsity Eight (Navy, Alabama, Louisville)
11:46 AM - Second Varsity Four (Navy, Alabama)

Afternoon Session
5:02 PM - Third Varsity Eight (Navy, Duke, Indiana)
5:10 PM - First Varsity Eight (Navy, Duke, Indiana, Yale)
5:18 PM - First Varsity Four (Navy, Duke, Indiana, Yale)
5:26 PM - Second Varsity Eight (Navy, Duke, Indiana, Yale)
5:34 PM - Second Varsity Four (Navy, Duke, Indiana, Yale)

Sunday 
Morning Session
8:34 AM - Third Varsity Eight (Navy, Notre Dame, Wisconsin)
8:42 AM - First Varsity Eight (Navy, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Yale)
8:50 AM - First Varsity Four (Navy, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Yale)
8:58 AM - Second Varsity Eight (Navy, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Yale)
9:06 AM - Second Varsity Four (Navy, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Yale)