ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Competing on the Severn River for its only home meet of the 2025 schedule, the No. 20 Navy heavyweight rowing team faced stiff opposition from No. 9 Syracuse and No. 15 Cornell throughout Saturday's five-race slate. The highly ranked Orange collected victories from its top-four boats, while the Midshipmen were able to send their fans home happy as their sixth varsity eight pulled an upset and was victorious in the fifth varsity eight event.
Leading off the competition was the fifth varsity eight race. Facing off with its Hubbard Hall brethren, Navy's fifth and sixth varsity eight crews dueled with Cornell's fifth boat over a 2,000-meter stretch of the Severn River. The Mids' 6V8 was fast from start-to-finish and led for nearly the entire race as they immediately built a strong base rhythm off an excellent opening sprint. With the 6V8 crew leading the way, Navy's 5V8 went stroke-for-stroke with Cornell for the majority of the race as neither team was able to earn more than a few seats of separation until a late push by the Mids powered the team to finish line and gave Navy a one, two finish with respective times of 6:30.8 and 6:35.1. Cornell finished 2.4 seconds back in third place at 6:37.5.
The Goes Trophy contest took center stage next with a three-way battle between Navy, Syracuse and Cornell's first varsity eight crews. All three boats got off to a strong start, though the Mids were the early leader with a slight advantage through the 250-meter mark. With all of the teams within striking distance of the lead, the Orange found that next gear first and broke out to an advantage before the quarter buoy and led for the final 1,500 meters of racing. Syracuse earned the Goes Trophy victory with a time of 6:07.0 ahead of Cornell at 6:13.5 and Navy at 6:19.2.
A similar jockeying for position occurred in the ensuing second varsity eight race. The Big Red earned the early lead with an aggressive opening sprint and crossed the 500-meter marker first. The Orange over-powered the Big Red during the next quarter segment and took the lead before the half-way point of the race. The two schools from central New York pulled away from Navy over the second half of the race as Syracuse held on for the 5.7-second victory over Cornell, 6:11.2 to 6:16.9. Navy completed its race at 6:24.1.
Syracuse's third varsity crew left little up for debate with a dominant wire-to-wire victory in the 3V8 contest. The Orange shot out with a strong sprint and settled into a high base rate to brake out to open water advantages over both the Big Red and Mids by the 1,000-meter juncture. A spread-out final margin saw Syracuse post a victorious time of 6:23.4 to out-pace Cornell (6:32.5) and Navy (6:48.1).
The final event of the day was for fourth varsity eight supremacy. The three crews were evenly matched through the opening sprint, though Syracuse appeared to be the first team past the quarter marker of the race. The Orange continued to build out their lead, while the Mids focused on staying in contact with the Big Red during the middle 1,000 meters. Once the teams passed the Academy Bridge, Cornell accelerated away from Navy and sprinted through the finish line to come in runner-up. Syracuse secured its fourth victory of the meet with a time of 6:26.4, 10.1 seconds ahead of Cornell's 6:36.5. Navy crossed the finish line at the end of the sea wall with a 6:46.4 time.
In addition to retaining the Goes Trophy, Syracuse also earned the Stagg Cup for the team points title on Saturday.
Navy will begin the second half of its regular season next Saturday, April 26 with racing in Boston versus Harvard and Penn with the Adams Cup on the line.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 6:07.0
Cornell – 6:13.5
Navy – 6:19.2
Second Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 6:11.2
Cornelly – 6:16.9
Navy – 6:24.1
Third Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 6:23.4
Cornell – 6:32.5
Navy - 6:48.1
Fourth Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 6:26.4
Cornell – 6:36.5
Navy – 6:46.4
Fifth Varsity Eight
Navy 6V – 6:30.8
Navy 5V – 6:35.1
Cornell – 6:37.5
Boat Lineups
