ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With its eyes on postseason action next month, the Navy women's rowing team will face two days of challenging competition against a plethora of NCAA Championship caliber opponents at the 2024 Lake Wheeler Invitational this Friday and Saturday. One of 18 teams scheduled to race at Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, N.C., the Mids will be competing twice on Friday and once on Saturday against a top-notch national field that includes four ranked teams and four more that are receiving votes. The multi-day event is co-hosted by the University of North Carolina and Duke. Navy's five-boat fleet will begin action in the first session on Friday at 10:10 a.m. with its third varsity eight before the same crew leads off the second session at 3:20 p.m. The competition picks up on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. with the Mids' 3V8 crew leading off once again.

The field for this weekend's Lake Wheeler Invitational is headlined by No. 5 Tennessee, No. 10 Syracuse, No. 11 Penn and No. 16 Duke. Additionally, UCF, Alabama, Miami and Iowa are in the receiving votes section of this week's CRCA Top-20 Poll. The rest of the 18-team field includes Boston College, Boston University, Clemson, Georgetown, Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina,Tulsa and Washington State.

In the first session on Friday that runs from 10:00 AM to 12:20 PM will see Navy go up against Clemson, Iowa, Louisville, North Carolina and UCF over first, second and third varsity eight and first and second varsity four contests (Duke 4V8 will race as a guest in the third varsity eight competition in lieu of UCF). The Mids will be on the waters of Lake Wheeler every 30 minutes; 10:10 (3V8), 10:40 (2V4), 11:10 (V4), 11:40 (2V8) and 12:10 PM (V8). The matchups in the second session on Friday will change over to Duke, Georgetown, Louisville, UCF and Washington State. The same 30-minute increments over the 3V8, 2V4, 1V4, 2V8 and V8 races are scheduled to run from 3:20 PM to 5:20 PM, respectively. The competition will conclude on Saturday morning between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM and consist of Navy racing against Boston College, Kansas, Louisville, Tulsa and UCF.

The 2024 Lake Wheeler Invitational will have live stats provided online through RegattaTiming, as well as be broadcast on the ESPN+ platform via the ACC Network Extra channel. ACCNX and ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Most Recent Lake Wheeler Invitational Action - April 21-22, 2023
Navy kicked off the first of two days of action at the 2023 Lake Wheeler Invitational with solid results from across its ranks on Friday. Entering five boats in competition against high-level national opponents over two sessions at Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, the Mids posted four top-three results.

The Mids' first varsity eight crew turned in fourth- and third-place results, respectively in their two races on Friday. In the morning session versus Penn, Iowa, Miami, UCF and Kansas, Navy settled into the middle of the pack as the field separated over the course of the 2,000-meter piece. At the finish line, the Quakers were victorious with a time of 6:16.853 ahead of the Hawkeyes and Hurricanes, who posted 6:25.083 and 6:27.971 times, respectively. The Mids were slightly over four seconds back in fourth place at 6:32.157. They were over 10 seconds faster than the Knights (6:42.831) and Jayhawks (6:44.603).
 
In the afternoon V8 contest, Navy moved one spot up the leaderboard and challenged Miami for second place to the end. At the conclusion of the race, Duke came in first at 6:49.395 to outpace Miami's 6:53.587. Navy was 3.54 seconds back with a 6:57.127 mark. The Mids bettered the Oklahoma Sooners (7:00.257), UCF Knights (7:06.237) and the Georgetown Hoyas (7:09.065).

On Saturday, Navy concluded its action at the 2023 Lake Wheeler Invitational with five strong pieces from across its ranks. After competing twice on Friday against a challenging fleet of national programs, the Mids went down the waters of Lake Wheeler one more time on Saturday as the team continues to prepare for upcoming postseason racing. Navy's first varsity eight and first varsity four highlighted the Mids' effort on the day as both finished runner-up in their respective races.

Navy's first varsity eight turned in a fast and spirited 2,000-meter piece in heat number one. Part of a three-boat breakaway at the front of the six-team field, the Mids finished in the middle of the SEC pairing of Alabama and Tennessee. The Crimson Tide earned the heat's victory with a time of 6:44.600, while the Mids held off the Volunteers, 6:47.070 to 6:48.880. The rest of the field consisted of UCF (6:55.540) in fourth, Georgetown (7:00.920) in fifth and North Carolina (7:04.600) in sixth.

Last Time Out - April 6 at Atlantic-10 Invitational, Overpeck Park, Leonia, N.J.
The Navy women's rowing team had an action-packed day of racing at Overpeck Park in northern New Jersey on Saturday. The Mids were entered in 10 races over two sessions against nine different institutions as part of the Atlantic-10 Invitational. Navy's first varsity eight highlighted the competition with a victory in the afternoon session to go along with eight other runner-up results by Midshipmen crews.

The first varsity eight crew led off the action on Saturday as it was matched up in a heat against Columbia and Marist. The Lions and Mids were the class of the field as they easily cleared the Red Foxes by nearly 30 seconds. At the finish line, Columbia was victorious over Navy by 9.067 seconds, 7:36.733 to 7:45.800; Marist clocked in at 8:15.718. In the afternoon session of racing, the Mids competed against Rhode Island and Patriot League rival Bucknell. Not only did Navy's V8 improve its finish, but it also shaved 7.053 seconds off its initial time. After 2,000 meters of racing, the Mids were victorious with a 7:38.747 to best the Rams' 7:43.274 and the Bison's 8:01.155.

Spectator Information
Lake Wheeler Park, Raleigh, NC
6404 Lake Wheeler Road, Raleigh, NC 27603

Race Schedule
Friday
Session #1 (Clemson, Iowa, Louisville, North Carolina, UCF)
10:10 AM - Third Varsity Eight (w/Duke 4V8)
10:40 AM - Second Varsity Four 
11:10 AM - First Varsity Four
11:50 AM - Second Varsity Eight
12:10 PM - First Varsity Eight

Session #2 (Duke, Georgetown, Louisville, UCF, Washington State)
3:20 PM - Third Varsity Eight
3:50 PM - Second Varsity Four 
4:20 PM - First Varsity Four 
4:50 PM - Second Varsity Eight
5:20 PM - First Varsity Eight 

Saturday
Morning Session (Boston College, Kansas, Louisville, Tulsa, UCF)
9:00 AM - Third Varsity Eight
9:30 AM - Second Varsity Four
10:00 AM - First Varsity Four
10:30 AM - Second Varsity Eight
11:00 AM - First Varsity Eight