OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Navy women's rowing team kicked off its 2023 spring season with a five of its crews in action at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite on Saturday. Following a week of training over spring break, the Mids got the chance to test themselves versus a plethora of high-level opponents, including three that ended last season ranked in the top-20 and two more that were receiving votes. Over 10 individual races on Saturday, Navy boats recorded four runner-up results on Melton Lake in Eastern Tennessee.
The Mids were challenged in day one racing by No. 5 Yale, No. 16 Duke, No. 18 Indiana, R/V Alabama and R/V Louisville. The first session of the day ran from 11:10 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. before Navy returned for an afternoon session from 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Navy's first varsity eight crew began its day with a competitive third-place result versus Alabama and Louisville. The Crimson Tide won the heat with a time of 6:24.666 ahead of the Cardinals and Mids, who finished in a tight race for second place with respective times of 6:27.019 and 6:28.656. Coming back five hours later in a four-boat heat, Navy posted a similar time at 6:31.658, though ran into a fast trio of opponents in Yale (6:11.507), Duke (6:18.019) and Indiana (6:23.654).
The Mids' second varsity crew turned in comparable pieces on Saturday with a time of 6:40.934 in the morning session that ranked them second of three teams before returning and posting a 6:42.402 in the afternoon. In the morning heat, Navy finished runner-up to Alabama (6:29.688), but held off Louisville by 3.656 seconds as the Cardinals crossed the finish line at 6:44.590. In the second race of the day, the field was spaced out with Yale (6:11.900) cruising over Duke (6:26.356) and Indiana (6:31.775).
Navy's third varsity eight improved over its two races on Melton Lake as it began Saturday with a second-place time of 7:06.393 before shaving over six seconds off its later result with a 7:00.312 result. In regards to their standings, the Mids finished behind the Crimson Tide (6:43.010) and in front of the Cardinals (7:08.263) in the morning session, while coming in third of three boats as the Blue Devils (6:41.843) and the Hoosiers (6:52.271) posted faster pieces in the afternoon.
Moving to the fours, Navy entered both its first varsity four and second varsity four boats in the invitational. The Mids' first varsity four challenged the Crimson Tide for the event win during the morning session as Alabama edged Navy, 7:11.313 to 7:14.107. The Mids easily cleared the host Cardinals by over 27 seconds as Louisville posted a 7:41.456 time. In the afternoon, Navy ran into an extremely fast trio of opponents as the Mids' time of 7:21.405 finished fourth behind Yale (6:48.833), Duke (7:03.502) and Indiana (7:09.169).
The final boat in action on Saturday was the second varsity four, who started its day by posting a time of 7:33.002 to finish second behind Alabama in the morning before knocking nearly four seconds off of its time in the later session. In that second race, the Mids found themselves in a tight battle for third place with the Hoosiers of Indiana. Down the stretch, Indiana held off Navy, 7:28.625 to 7:29.053.
Navy will conclude its racing at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite on Sunday with all five of its crews taking to Melton Lake one more time. The Mids' 3V8 will be first on the water beginning at 8:34 a.m.
Results
First Varsity Eight
AM
Alabama - 6:24.666
Louisville – 6:27.019
Navy – 6:28.656
PM
Yale – 6:11.507
Duke – 6:18.019
Indiana – 6:23.654
Navy – 6:31.658
Second Varsity Eight
AM
Alabama – 6:29.688
Navy – 6:40.934
Louisville – 6:44.590
PM
Yale – 6:11.900
Duke – 6:26.356
Indiana – 6:31.775
Navy – 6:42.402
Third Varsity Eight
AM
Alabama – 6:43.010
Navy – 7:06.393
Louisville – 7:08.263
PM
Duke – 6:41.843
Indiana – 6:52.271
Navy – 7:00.312
First Varsity Four
AM
Alabama – 7:11.313
Navy – 7:14.107
Louisville – 7:41.456
PM
Yale – 6:48.833
Duke – 7:03.502
Indiana – 7:09.169
Navy – 7:21.405
Second Varsity Four
AM
Alabama - 7:19.302
Navy – 7:33.002
PM
Yale – 6:53.624
Duke – 7:06.324
Indiana – 7:28.625
Navy – 7:29.053
Boat Lineups
