ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's rowing program will be on the grandest national stage this weekend with three days of competition at the 2023 NCAA Championship. Racing on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey over a three-day period, the Mids will have their first and second varsity eight crews in action, as well as its first varsity four crew. Fresh off its dramatic come-from-behind effort at the 2023 Patriot League Championship on May 12, Navy, a nine-team conference champion, will kick off its competition with three quarterfinal heats on Friday morning. On Saturday, teams will race in semifinal competition before the championship finals go off on Sunday morning.

Navy is one of 11 teams that earned an automatic bid by virtue of winning its conference title. In total, there will be 22 schools competing in each of the three boat classes - varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four.

The three-day event will have both free live video and results available via the NCAA. 

Friday's action will consist of qualifying heat competitions for the Mids' first and second varsity eight boats, as well as their first varsity four crew. The first varsity eight will take to the water first starting at 9:36 a.m. in the fourth heat of the classification. Just over 40 minutes later, the 2V8 boat will race in heat number four at 10:24 a.m. before the Mids' V4 crew races in heat three at 11:00 a.m. The top-three boats in each of the quarterfinal heats will advance to Saturday's AB Semifinals, while the remaining squads will battle on Saturday in the CD Semifinals.

Navy's first varsity eight crew, seeded 20th overall will be matched up versus No. 4 Penn, No. 5 Yale, No. 12 SMU, No. 13 Indiana and No. 21 George Washington, while its second varsity eight, slotted No. 21 overall will open up against No. 4 Washington, No. 5 Stanford, No. 12 Duke, No. 13 Michigan and No. 20 Gonzaga in their respective heats on Friday. The third heat for the varsity four consists of No. 3 Brown, No. 6 Virginia, No. 11 Michigan, No. 14 USC and No. 22 George Washington. The Mids are seeded 19th in the V4 field.

On Saturday, the Mids' three boats will race in either A/B or C/D Semifinals between 8:12 and 10:24 a.m. The top three crews from the A/B semifinals will advance to the Grand Final with the remaining teams heading to the Petite Final. The top three crews from the C/D semifinals will compete in the C final, while the remaining competitions will race in the D final. On Championship Sunday, the A, B, C and D Finals will be held starting at 8:12 a.m. and going through 10:24 a.m.

Navy at the NCAA Championship 
2013 (Indianapolis) - 20th in team standings ... top boat result: 19th in V4
2015 (Sacramento) - team: 21st ... top boat: 17th in V4
2016 (Sacramento) - team: 19th ... top boat: 16th in V4
2017 (West Windsor, N.J.) - team: 20th ... top boat: 19th in V4
2018 (Sarasota, Fla.) - team: 17th ... top boat: 14th in V4 (all boats finished top-20)
2019 (Indianapolis) - team: 17th ... top boat: 15th in V8 (all boats made C-Finals)
2021 (Sarasota, Fla.) - team: 18th ... top boat: 14th in V4 (all boats made C-Finals)

Most Recent NCAA Championship: 2021 in Sarasota, Fla. (May 28-30)
The Navy women's rowing program concluded its three days of competition at the 2021 NCAA Championship by placing 18th in the team standings. With all three of its boats racing in C Finals on Sunday at Nathan Benderson Park, the Mids' effort was spearheaded by their varsity four crew that placed second in its event, thereby finishing 14th overall in the nation. Both Navy's varsity eight and second varsity eight crews completed their finals action with sixth-place finishes to rank 18th overall at the championship. 

Senior team captain Sofia Ferguson will be returning to the NCAA Championship for the second time in her career as she raced as part of the Mids' first varsity four back in 2021. She'll be aided in leadership roles this weekend by fellow seniors Kate Hammonds and Nicole Dado. Tentatively, Ferguson will be in Navy's first varsity eight, while Hammonds and Dado will be in the second varsity eight boat.

Looking Back at 2023 Patriot League Championship, Friday, May 12
Looking to get back onto of the top of proverbial Patriot League Women's Rowing mountain, Navy knew that it would need to vanquish a Boston University team that put an end to its run of six straight league titles last May in Cherry Hill, N.J. Seeded one and two in all three of their respective races on Friday, the Mids and Terriers were the favorites going into the day and gave the fans at Lake Quinsigamond a fight to the finish that many will not soon forget. Coming in second to Boston University in each of the varsity four and second varsity eight grand final events and trailing at the midway point of the first varsity eight contest, Navy battled back and overtook the Terriers down the stretch to win that final race and secure the 2023 Patriot League Women's Rowing Championship and automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA Championship.

Attaining the league title for the ninth time in program history, Navy and Boston University finished tied atop the standings with 51 points on Friday, but the Mids garnered the overall championship via tie-breaker as the highest finisher in the first varsity eight race.

For their valiant efforts in the first varsity eight race the crew of team captain Sofia Ferguson, Tenlea Radack, Anna Freihofer, Irene Norman, Dani Baldwin, Noelle de Vente, Lauren Day, Brienna Voss and coxswain Maeve Swick were presented with the 2023 Patriot League Boat of the Year award.
 
Additionally, head coach Joe Schlosberg was recognized by the conference as the 2023 Patriot League Coach of the Year.

Race Schedule
Friday (Quarterfinal Heats)
9:36 AM - First Varsity Eight, Heat #4 (Navy, George Washington, Indiana, Penn, SMU, Yale)
10:24 AM - Second Varsity Eight, Heat #4 (Navy, Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan, Stanford, Washington)
11:00 AM - First Varsity Four, Heat #3 (Navy, Brown, George Washington, Michigan, Southern Cal, Virginia)

Saturday (Semifinals)
8:12-8:48 AM - First Varsity Eight, 4 races (CD, CD, AB, AB)
9:00-9:36 AM - Second Varsity Eight, 4 races (CD, CD, AB, AB)
9:48-10:24 AM - First Varsity Four, 4 races (CD, CD, AB, AB)

Sunday (Finals)
8:12-10:24 AM, 4 finals per class ... (D, C, B, A)