ITHACA, N.Y. – The Navy heavyweight rowing program had a solid day of racing on Saturday in Central New York. Taking on the No. 4 Syracuse Orange and No. 12 Cornell Big Red over a six-race slate at the Cayuga Inlet, the Mids recorded two wins and three more runner-up results. Victories by Navy's fourth and fifth varsity eight crews highlighted the action.
 
"I'm very proud of all our boats today," remarked Rob Friedrich, the Tom & Candy Knudson Director of Navy Rowing. "A few injured athletes are now back in the mix and our lineups have changed significantly from the first two weeks of racing. I think it has made our entire fleet faster.

The day began with the fifth varsity eights from Navy and Cornell going head-to-head in a two-boat contest. Racing over a 2,000-meter stretch of the Cayuga Inlet, the Mids controlled the pace throughout and rolled to a 7.1-second victory over the Big Red, 5:57.0 to 6:04.1.
 
The Orange joined the competition in the next race, the third varsity eight. Syracuse collected the win by a 3.6-second margin over Navy, 5:42.4 to 5:46.0. The Mids cleared the Big Red by 3.3 seconds as the hosts clocked in with a 5:49.3 result.
 
The first varsity eight crews took center stage next with the Goes Cup on the line. The Orange were challenged early, but pulled away quickly to clear the field by 9.5 seconds with a final time of 5:33.8. The Mids and Big Red were in a tightly-contested two-boat race for second place. Down the stretch, Cornell held on for a 0.7-second margin edging Navy, 5:43.3 to 5:44.0.
 
The Stagg Trophy competition, that centers on the cumulative results of the V8, 2V and 3V contests, concluded next as the second varsity crews did battle down the Inlet. Nearly mirroring the third varsity race, the teams were spaced out by three-plus seconds in each position as Syracuse took the honors with a winning time of 5:42.4. Navy was 3.6 seconds back at 5:46.0 and 3.3 seconds ahead of Cornell, who clocked in at 5:49.3.
 
The Mids picked up their second win of the day in the fourth varsity eight contest. Navy and Syracuse broke away from Cornell by the midway point before the Mids overtook the Orange down the stretch. At the finish line, Navy posted a time of 5:53.4, while Syracuse had a 5:56.5 time. Cornell placed third at 6:02.7.
 
In the final race of the day, the fifth varsities were in action again as the eights were divided up into four-man crews. In the closest contest, the Big Red held off the Mids by 2.1 seconds, 6:38.5 to 6:40.6. The Orange's 5V4 entry rounded out the field with at time of 6:44.4 that ranked third.

"Even though we lost to an exceptional crew in the Syracuse varsity and were nipped at the line by Cornell, we are showing much better speed in the varsity boat," said Friedrich. "Both our 2V and 3V hung tough with Syracuse, who is ranked near the top of the standings in the Eastern Sprints. Outpacing Cornell in those events just proved to our athletes that all of our hard work is paying off. Our deep fleet was formidable today, winning both the 4V and 5V races. Special recognition to our 4V, who came from behind to pass both Cornell and Syracuse on their way to an impressive victory.

"We hope to build on this momentum and gain speed for our next few races. Our team is motivated and focused to finish the season on a high note."
 
Navy will continue Cup racing next Saturday when it travels to Philadelphia for a tri-meet with Penn and Harvard with the Adams Cup on the line.
 
Race Results
 
First Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:33.8
Cornell – 5:43.3
Navy – 5:44.0
 
Second Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:43.5
Navy – 5:46.7
Cornell – 5:51.4
 
Third Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:42.4
Navy – 5:46.0
Cornell 5:49.3
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Navy – 5:53.4
Syracuse – 5:56.5
Cornell – 6:02.7
 
Fifth Varsity Eight
Navy – 5:57.0
Cornell – 6:04.1
 
Fifth Varsity Four
Cornell – 6:38.5
Navy – 6:40.6
Syracuse – 6:44.4

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight	Fourth Varsity Eight	Fifth Varsity Eight
Bow	Billy Duffy	Sam Beach	Rory Hagerty	George Wright	Gabe Eller *
2	Nick Bostock	Robert Freimuth	Mark Ostrowski	Matthew Derrick	Fletcher Matthews
3	Josiah Glynn	Ethan Barton	Reed Romo	Chris Spencer	Lucas Padilla
4	Nick Duncan	Benjamin Vogel	Matthew Lexa	Kyle Perry	Gavin Frazer *
5	Aidan Leavy	Carey Hutchens	Nathaniel Erickson	Tripp Richardson	Claudio Montero
6	Reed Schilb	Connor Feeley	William Wright	Nathan Pawlowicz	Alex Coelho
7	John McNicholas	Will Holsinger	Alex Vogel	Josh Herbert	Sawyer Stevens *
Str.	Adrien Richez	Duncan Ayles	Ryan Hollenbach	Alexander Grande	Colin Lang *
Cox.	Alex Coleman	Ava Izenour	Zack Shieh	Bradley Glass	Emily Kraft *

*-Raced in 5V4 Eller (B), Frazer (2), Stevens (3), Lang (S), Kraft (C)