WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy lightweight rowing team had a successful start to its slate of postseason action as the Mids' five-boat fleet came away with four podium results. Racing on a 2,000-meter stretch of Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday, the Mids' first, third, fourth and fifth varsity eight crew all garnered medals with their fifth boat winning gold and fourth squad earning a silver to lead the way.
Navy's first varsity eight crew was fast throughout the day as it initially laid down a time of 5:43.265 in its qualifying heat. Coming back in the grand finals in the afternoon, the Mids found themselves in an ultra-competitive six-boat contest. The quartet of Princeton, Harvard, Navy and Penn all opened the first 500 meters within 1.42 seconds of each other. Over the next 500 meters the Tigers pulled away putting nearly five seconds of space between themselves and the second-place Quakers. That move was matched by Harvard and Navy over the ensuing 500 meters as the first-place Princeton and fourth-place Penn with Harvard and Navy in the middle were separate by less than three seconds. The tight race went down to the final 500 meters and the Tigers held on for the 0.806-second margin of victory over the Crimson, 5:35.420 to 5:36.226. The Mids claimed the bronze with a time of 5:38.968, 1.06 seconds ahead of the Quakers' 5:40.028.
The Mids' second varsity eight was relegated to the petite final in the afternoon after its 5:48.585 qualifying time from morning heat racing was just over two seconds out of the final advancement position. Taking on Columbia and Georgetown in a three-team final, Navy overcame Columbia's brisk opening sprint that saw the Lions jump out to a 0.38-second lead at the quarter mark. Settling into the middle 1,000, the Mids slowly overtook the Lions and held a 2.13-second advantage at the 1,500-meter mark. Navy added nearly a second to its lead down the stretch and won by 2.936 seconds over Columbia, 5:49.870 to 5:52.806. That result ranked Navy's 2V8 seventh overall in the league.
Navy's third varsity eight claimed the program's second bronze of the afternoon. After posting a time of 5:50.030 in their qualifying heat to earn the third seed, the Mids held that seed in the grand final. Breaking out of the 500-meter sprint in fourth place, Navy raced past Harvard and into medal position by the 1,500-meter mark. The Yale-Cornell-Navy placement held over the final quarter of the race as the Bulldogs won with a time of 5:54.200, while the Big Red and Mids clocked in at 5:54.267 and 6:00.155, respectively.
The Mids upgraded their medal haul in the next race, the fourth varsity eight. Yale and Cornell initially sprinted out to a lead over the opening 500 meters with Navy crossing the checkpoint in third. The Mids dispatched of the Bulldogs over the ensuing 1,500 meters and cruised into a silver medal with a final 5:56.459 time. Cornell won at 5:53.769, while Yale claimed bronze with a 6:00.575.
Navy's fifth varsity eight finished atop its classification in a blended lightweight fifth varsity/heavyweight sixth varsity event. Going head-to-head in the lightweight category versus Yale, the Mids led wire-to-wire checking in first at all four markers. In the overall four-boat field, Navy's lightweight 5V8 placed first at 5:50.360 ahead of the heavyweight 6V8 brethren, who clocked in at 5:53.894. The Harvard heavies placed third at 6:00.898, while the Yale lights crossed with a time of 6:13.837.
In the final team standings for the Jope Cup, Princeton won the team points title with 28.0, followed close behind by Harvard and it's 24.0 points. Navy's boats combined to score 16.0 points and ranked sixth overall in the field.
Postseason action will continue for Navy in three weeks as the Mids will battle the nation's best at the IRA National Championship. The multi-day competition is scheduled for June 2-4 in West Windsor, New Jersey.
Results
First Varsity 8
Second of 4 in Heat 2 – 5:43.265
Grand Final
Princeton – 5:35.420
Harvard – 5:36.226
Navy – 5:38.968 (3rd Overall)
Penn – 5:40.028
Cornell – 5:40.988
Yale – 5:41.349
Second Varsity 8
Fourth of 4 in Heat 2 – 5:48.585
Petite Final
Navy – 5:49.870 (7th Overall)
Columbia – 5:52.806
Georgetown – 5:54.936
Third Varsity 8
Second of 4 in Heat 1 – 5:50.030
Grand Final
Yale – 5:54.200
Cornell – 5:54.267
Navy – 6:00.155 (3rd Overall)
Harvard – 6:01.219
Princeton – 6:05.219
Penn - 6:07.947
Fourth Varsity 8
Grand Final
Cornell – 5:53.769
Navy – 5:56.459 (2nd Overall)
Yale – 6:00.575
Princeton – 6:07.575
Dartmouth – 6:09.143
Fifth Varsity 8
Grand Final
Navy 5V8 LWT – 5:50.360 (1st Overall-LWT)
Navy 6V8 HWT – 5:53.894 (1st Overall-HWT)
Harvard 6V8 HWT – 6:00.898
Yale 5V8 LWT – 6:13.837
Boat Lineups
