OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The opening weekend of the spring 2024 season concluded for the Navy women's rowing team on Sunday with five more races as part of the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite. Competing against No. 13 Duke, R/V Notre Dame and R/V Wisconsin over the first, second and third varsity eight, as well as the first and second varsity four classifications, Navy earned third-place results four times in the action on Melton Lake.
The first crew on the water Sunday morning was the Mids' third varsity eight. Traversing a 2,000-meter course, Duke pulled away from the field with a victorious time of 6:52.083. Navy was in contact with Notre Dame and Wisconsin for the majority of the contest, though the Fighting Irish crossed in second place at 7:00.098, while the Mids held off the Badgers for third, 7:05.454 to 7:07.967.
The ensuing race featured the first varsity eight crews from the same four institutions with a similar outcome of Duke, Notre Dame, Navy and Wisconsin. The action at the front of the pack was much closer as first to third was separated by just over six seconds as the first-place Blue Devils clocked in at 6:34.095 ahead of the Irish and Midshipmen, who posted respective times of 6:37.647 and 6:40.735. Wisconsin finished 11.078 seconds behind Navy at 6:51.813.
The third of five races on Sunday morning was the first varsity four competition. Duke continued its lock atop the standings as the Blue Devils out-paced the field with a time of 7:22.733 that bested Notre Dame by over seven seconds as the Irish recorded a runner-up time of 7:30.031. In a spread-out field, Navy came in third at 7:40.698, while Wisconsin ended up fourth at 7:49.791.
The Mids' fourth and final third-place result came in the second varsity four event. While Duke breezed to the victory, the action for second place was hotly-contested as Wisconsin edged Navy by a hair over two seconds at 7:35.757 to 7:37.764. Notre Dame completed the 2,000-meter piece in fourth at 7:45.030.
Navy's second varsity eight was fifth crew in action at Melton Lake. Duke was victorious for the fifth time in the session at 6:37.028 as Notre Dame came in 11 seconds behind at 6:48.267. Wisconsin and Navy rounded out the field with respective times of 6:50.283 and 6:56.123.
"This was good, hard weekend of racing," remarked head coach
Joe Schlosberg. "As in the past, one of the great things about this event is being able to try some things, make adjustments and come right back in a short time period and race again.
"We know that we have work to do, but we had a productive week of training heading into the weekend of racing and are looking forward to developing more speed this spring."
Navy will be away from collegiate competition next weekend before taking on regional foes at the 2024 Doc Hosea Invitational in Cherry Hill, N.J. on Saturday, March 30.
Â
Results
First Varsity Eight
Duke – 6:34.095
Notre Dame – 6:37.647
Navy – 6:40.735
Wisconsin – 6:51.813
Second Varsity Eight
Duke – 6:37.028
Notre Dame – 6:48.267
Wisconsin – 6:50.283
Navy – 6:56.123
First Varsity Four
Duke – 7:22.733
Notre Dame – 7:30.031
Navy – 7:40.698
Wisconsin – 7:49.791
Third Varsity Eight
Duke – 6:52.083
Notre Dame – 7:00.098
Navy – 7:05.454
Wisconsin – 7:07.967
Second Varsity Four
Duke – 7:12.657
Wisconsin – 7:35.757
Navy – 7:37.764
Notre Dame – 7:45.030
Boat Lineups
Â
Â
