ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy lightweight crew team will continue its regular season racing this Saturday morning with a multi-team meet in Boston. The No. 7 Mids will be heading out the Charles River with action against the No. 1 Harvard Crimson and No. 8 MIT Engineers. The first strokes between the three teams are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The entire schedule of competition on the Charles River will kick off with the Haines Trophy contest on the line for the first varsity eights between Navy and Harvard at 8:30 a.m.; MIT will compete as a guest in that race. 30 minutes later, the second varsity eight crews will take out down the 2,000-meter course on the Charles River before the third varsity eights conclude the action at 9:30 a.m. with Navy's 4V8 racing alongside as a fourth crew in the field.

Saturday's regatta will be broadcast on the ESPN+ platform. 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 Navy-Harvard Matchup: April 20, 2024 
The No. 5 Navy lightweight crew team welcomed the nation's top-ranked team, the Harvard Crimson for a three-race competition on the Severn River on Saturday. Racing for the right to take home the Haines Trophy for a victory in the first varsity event and the Col. Michael Paulovich (USMC, ret.) Team Points Trophy for overall program success, the Crimson swept the action over the Mids.

After Harvard won the first two races, the attention for both programs turned to the race for the Haines Trophy. Battled for between the first varsity crews from Navy and Harvard since 1964, the Crimson made sure that they'd be taking home both the Haines and Paulovich Trophies with a 9.6-second margin of victory, 5:41.0 to 5:50.6.

What's at Stake
Haines Trophy
Named after Bert Haines, the Harvard lightweight head coach from 1936 to 1952, the trophy is awarded to the winner of the first varsity eight race between Navy and Harvard. Raced for since 1964, the Crimson hold the series lead, 47-9 with the Mids earning the trophy most recently in 2022.

Michael Paulovich Points Trophy
Introduced into the Navy-Harvard rivalry in 2018, the Paulovich Trophy goes to the highest-scoring program. Michael Paulovich was a four-year member of the Harvard lightweight program before entering the United States Marine Corps in 1979. A strong supporter of both Harvard and Navy, he served until 2007. Harvard earned the trophy in 2018, 2019 and 2023 with Navy capturing it in 2022.

Last Time Out - April 12 at Georgetown
One year after its run of eight straight Forster Cup wins came to an end, the Navy lightweight rowing team regained control of the trophy with a strong outing on Saturday versus Georgetown. Across the three-race slate of action on a 2,000-meter stretch of the Potomac River, the Mids (2-4) collected victories over the Hoyas (5-6) in the first and third varsity eight contests.

Looking to win back the Forster Cup, the Mids' first varsity was locked in from the start and had an aggressive opening sprint. Matching Georgetown's stroke rate over the middle portion of the piece, Navy withstood a final push and crossed in first place with a time of 5:42.2, 2.8 seconds ahead of the hosts' 5:45.0.

Race Schedule
8:30 AM - First Varsity Eight
9:00 AM - Second Varsity Eight
9:30 AM - Third Varsity Eight (w/Navy 4V)