PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 6 Navy lightweight rowing team had an action-packed weekend of competition as part of the 2025 National Collegiate Lightweight Invitational (NCLI) at Lake Carnegie with racing against four Eastern Sprints League foes over three sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
Navy opened up the multi-day meet on Saturday with a head-to-head matchup versus No. 8 Yale, that saw the Bulldogs edge the Mids by 0.2 seconds to win back the Eads Johnson Cup in the first varsity eight race. On Sunday, Navy had a pair of matchups, first a three-way competition against No. 3 Cornell and No. 10 Columbia in the morning and a one-on-one bout with No. 5 Dartmouth in the afternoon. The Mids finished second of three crews in the morning V8 race, though they out-paced the Lions to retain the WIT Cup. In the final set of races, the Mids' V8 came up just short against the Big Green in a competitive concluding piece.
"This was our first time attending this event, and it was an outstanding display of the speed and competitiveness of our league," remarked head coach
Shawn Bagnall. "Each week there are no "easy outs". This year is proving to be that and then some.Â
"The highlight of the weekend, while a loss, had to be our 1st Varsity 8+ race against Yale. They rowed an outstanding race; you can't get much closer than 0.2 seconds. After that gutting loss, the guys regrouped on Sunday morning for a strong win against Columbia to secure the WIT Cup. There's room for improvement in that boat, and we have a good idea of where to find that speed in the coming weeks. Throughout the weekend, our 3V and 4V battled it out, and we got a chance to see a couple of the other deep teams in the league at that level in Penn and Cornell. It was an informative weekend for those very young lineups."
Navy vs. Yale
The action at Lake Carnegie began on late Saturday afternoon with Navy facing off with Yale. Racing in reverse order, an intrasquad third varsity eight versus fourth varsity eight contest between Midshipmen teammates led off the series as the Bulldogs did not have a third varsity available for the contest. The Mids' 4V won the battle of Hubbard Hall combatants with a 4.3-second margin of victory, 6:01.8 to 6:06.8.
The initial Navy-Yale matchup of the series started in a near deadlock as both teams were in sync by the 400-meter mark. The Bulldogs started ramping up their speed after the quarter post and broke out to a multi-seat advantage within the next 100 meters that stretched out to six-plus sets by the 1,000-meter point. Yale kept its speed up over the second half of race and pulled away for a 6.3-second victory, 5:52.2 to 5:58.5.
The first varsity eights rounded out the Navy-Yale showdown on Saturday with the Eads Johnson Cup on the line. The Mids held a slight edge over the Bulldogs after the opening sprint to the 500-meter mark. The action continued as a stroke-for-stroke duel as Navy crossed the halfway point with a two-seat lead on Yale. The Bulldogs had a strong rebuttal to the Mids' challenge and pulled even over the next quarter of the race. Breaking out to as much as a two-seat lead down the stretch, Yale withstood a valiant final push by Navy as the Mids left it all out on the water and came up just 0.2 seconds short with the final decision going to the Bulldogs, 5:34.3 to 5:34.5.
Navy vs. Columbia w/Cornell
All four the Mids' crews were in action on Sunday morning as part of a four-race series against Columbia and Cornell with Penn participating as a guest in the third and fourth varsity contests. The 4Vs led off the racing and were strong from start to finish as Navy broke out to a multiple seat advantage over Cornell and Penn by the quarter pole and extended it out to a near open water lead by the halfway mark. A game Quaker crew fought to get in contact with the Mids over the second 1,000 meters and moved up down the stretch to challenge Navy to the finish line, though the Mids held on for the 2.0-second margin of victory, 6:21.7 to 6:23.7 over the Quakers. The Big Red were 4.2 seconds back at 6:25.9.
Columbia joined the competition on the ensuing race, the third varsity eight. Spanning four crews across the waters of Lake Carnegie, Penn and Cornell dictated the early action, though Navy stayed in contention in the battle of supremacy. The Quakers and Big Red were nearly even at the halfway mark, but over the next 500 meters, Penn began to put distance between itself and Cornell, while Navy settled into third place. Racing down to the finish line, the Quakers earned the 3V victory by two seconds over the Big Red, 6:08.5 to 6:10.5. The Mids clocked in third at 6:13.1 with the Lions well off the pace with a 6:32.2 time.
In the second varsity eight contest, a strong sprint off the line by Columbia jolted the Lions out to a six-plus seat lead over the field as Navy and Cornell were nearly locked in stroke-for-stroke. The Mids attempted to move back up the Lions' boat over the ensuing 1,000 meters, though Columbia kept responding to the best shots to hold onto the lead. The race tightened up in the final 500 meters as Columbia crossed with a victorious time of 6:11.4. A late push by Cornell edged out Navy by a matter of feet; officially the margin was 0.5 seconds, 6:14.4 to 6:14.9.
An extremely competitive showdown between Navy, Columbia and Cornell reached a climax in the first varsity eight race. All three crews were efficient and formidable from the start. The Mids and Big Red held an early lead over the Lions by the 500-meter mark. Cornell accepted the challenge from Navy and used to next 1000 meters to accelerate from the field up course. Leading by over half of a boat at the mid-way point, the Big Red broke out to an open water advantage against the Mids in the second half of the race. In a battle for the WIT Cup, an annual competition between the V8s from Navy and Columbia, the Mids made sure the trophy would be heading back to Annapolis as they too broke out to an open water margin of their own over the Lions. Heading down to the finish line, Cornell won with a time of 5:51.6, while Navy retained the WIT Cup with a 5:58.4 effort versus a 6:02.2 result for Columbia.
Navy vs. Dartmouth
The action-packed weekend of racing concluded with a unique matchup of Navy and Dartmouth. Rarely meeting in competition outside of the Eastern Sprints Championship or the IRA National Championship, the Mids and Big Green went head-to-head over a trio of races on Sunday afternoon. First up was a third varsity eight race that was dominated by Navy as the Mids' 3V cruised to a victory with a time of 6:18.6. Racing as a guest, the Mids' 4V also had no problem knocking off the Big Green's 3V entry as they clocked in at 6:24.6, a full 21 seconds ahead of Dartmouth's 6:45.6 result.
The competition significantly ratcheted up in the final two races between Navy and Dartmouth as the second varsity eight contest was tight throughout the 2,000 meters of Lake Carnegie. Staying in contact down to the finish line, the Big Green held on for a 2.8-second margin of victory, 6:17.0 to 6:19.8 over the Mids.
Another stroke-for-stroke battle occurred in the first varsity eight race as Dartmouth had an answer for Navy's push down the stretch to secure the win by 2.4 seconds, 5:58.2 to 6:00.6.
"Within the team, there is still a good bit of selection/sorting to do amongst the lineups," commented Bagnall at the conclusion of this weekend's racing. "In the years where the team is deep, it often takes a few weeks for the truth to reveal itself, and we'll be at that process the next month. Clearly, we believe there are some faster combinations within our squad, and we're excited to sort out our best speed by the Eastern Sprints.Â
"Finally, our gratitude to the Princeton Coaching Staff, the US Rowing Officials, and all the volunteers. They helped to make it a great weekend of the highest caliber US lightweight men's and women's collegiate racing."
Navy will have a brief recess from competition as the Mids will take a week off before making the short trip to Washington, D.C. for a head-to-head bout with Georgetown on April 12. The Mids' and Hoyas' V8 crews will headline the matchup with a race for the Forster Cup.
Race Results
Navy vs. Yale (Saturday, 4:40 PM)
First Varsity Eight
Yale – 5:34.3
Navy – 5:34.5
Second Varsity Eight
Yale – 5:52.2
Navy – 5:58.5
Third Varsity Eight
Navy 4V – 6:01.8
Navy 3V – 6:06.1
Â
Navy vs. Columbia & Cornell (Sunday, 9:30 AM)
First Varsity Eight
Cornell – 5:51.6
Navy – 5:58.4
Columbia – 6:02.2
Â
Second Varsity Eight
Columbia – 6:11.4
Cornell – 6:14.4
Navy – 6:14.9
Third Varsity Eight
Penn – 6:08.5
Cornell – 6:10.5
Navy – 6:13.1
Columbia – 6:32.2
Fourth Varsity Eight
Navy – 6:21.7
Penn – 6:23.7
Cornell – 6:25.9
Â
Navy vs. Dartmouth (Sunday, 1 PM)
First Varsity Eight
Dartmouth – 5:58.2
Navy – 6:00.6
Second Varsity Eight
Dartmouth – 6:17.0
Navy – 6:19.8
Third Varsity Eight
Navy 3V – 6:18.6
Navy 4V – 6:24.6
Dartmouth – 6:45.6
Boat Lineups
