ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With postseason action lying ahead for the Navy women's rowing team next month, the Mids will be looking to put the finishing touches on its race lineups, strategies and overall speed at the 2025 Lake Wheeler Invitational this Friday and Saturday. 18 talented teams from across the nation make up the field and are set to challenge Navy throughout the competition that consists of two sessions of racing on Friday and one on Saturday morning at Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, N.C. The Mids are set to have four crews in action in the multi-day event that is co-hosted by the University of North Carolina and Duke. The racing on Friday morning for Navy begins at 10:10 a.m. with its second varsity four crew before the second session gets going with that same crew at 2:50 p.m. The third and final round of the competition is scheduled for a 9:40 a.m. start on Saturday morning.
The field for this weekend's Lake Wheeler Invitational is headlined by four teams ranked in this week's CRCA Top-25 Poll: No. 12 Virginia, No. 18 Duke, No. 20 Columbia and No. 24 North Carolina. The rest of the 18-team field includes, Boston College, Boston University, Clemson, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Jacksonville, Kansas, Louisville, Miami, Rhode Island, Tulsa, Villanova and Washington State.
In the first session on Friday that runs from 10:10 AM to 11:40 AM will see Navy go up against Columbia, Gonzaga, Kansas, Miami and Virginia over first and second varsity eight and first and second varsity four contests. The Mids will be on the waters of Lake Wheeler every 30 minutes; 10:10 (2V4), 10:40 (V4), 11:10 (2V8) and 11:40 AM (V8). The matchups in the second session on Friday will change over to Boston College, Clemson, Gonzaga, Louisville and Villanova. The 2V4, 1V4, 2V8 and V8 races are scheduled for 2:50 (2V4), 3:25 (V4), 3:55 (2V8) and 4:25 PM (V8). The competition will conclude on Saturday morning between 9:40 AM and 11:10 AM and consist of Navy racing against Boston College, Kansas, Georgetown, North Carolina and Tulsa in 30-minute increments in the same 2V4, V4, 2V8 and V8 order.
The 2025 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 26-27, 2024
Navy continued its fine-tuning for next month's Patriot League Championship with two sessions of racing at the Lake Wheeler Invite on Friday. Taking on a deep and talented field of national programs, the Mids competed in five different classifications during contests in the morning and again later in the afternoon in Raleigh.
The Mids' first varsity eight crew was competitive in the mid-pack of both of their races on Friday. In its initial session, Navy found itself in a one-on-one battle with Louisville down the stretch of the 2,000-meter piece. At the line, the Cardinals held off the Mids, 6:56.079 to 6:58.814 as Navy crossed in fifth place; UNC was sixth at 7:01.234. UCF won the heat with a time of 6:47.931. Five hours later, Navy and Louisville returned with even closer stroke-for-stroke racing in a sprint for fourth place once again. The Cardinals made it two-for-two on Friday surviving Midshipmen efforts as they clocked in just 0.474 seconds ahead, 7:10.393 to 7:10.867. Georgetown finished sixth at 7:20.377. Washington State pulled off an upset of the 16th-ranked Duke crew for the heat victory, 6:53.353 to 6:56.271.
Entering three varsity eight crews and a pair of fours, the Mids collected two top-three results with their first varsity four leading the way with a runner-up result. Overall, Navy passed at least one power-five conference boat in every race on Saturday. The opponents for Navy's three NCAA boats (V8, 2V8, V4) were R/V UCF, Boston College, Kansas, Louisville and Tulsa.
The Mids' first varsity four crew led the way on Saturday and found itself in a two-way battle for second place. After posting times of 8:09.956 and 7:58.177 on Friday, Navy's crew was fast and right in the mix on Saturday. While UCF was the class of the heat with a victorious time of 7:29.152, Navy and Kansas were locked in stroke-for-stroke to the line with the Mids nipping the Jayhawks by 0.048 seconds, 7:40.582 to 7:40.630. The pair was over seven seconds ahead of fourth-place Tulsa (7:48.114), 15 seconds ahead of fifth-place Boston College (7:55.778) and 20 seconds ahead of sixth-place Louisville (8:02.166).
Navy's first varsity eight carried on the theme of improving times from Friday as it bested times of 6:58.814 and 7:10.867 with a speedy 6:52.817 on Saturday. Right in the thick of the action, second through fifth place was separated by just 3.872 seconds. UCF cleared the field with a victorious time of 6:43.481 before a crowded group of crews finished in quick succession with Louisville (6:48.945) and Tulsa (6:49.081) placing second and third. Tight to the end of the 2,000-meter course, Boston College recorded a fourth-place time of 6:51.433, 1.384 seconds faster than Navy's 6:52.817. Kansas brought up the rear of the V8 heat at 6:56.309.
Last Time Out - April 19 vs. Georgetown, Annapolis
Taking to the waters of the Severn River for a regular season competition for the just the third time since 2012, the Navy women's rowing team went head-to-head with Patriot League and local rival Georgetown over a four-race series on Saturday morning. At the conclusion of the racing, the Mids came away with a victory in the first varsity eight contest, while posting solid 2,000-meter pieces in the remaining three events.
The fans, who packed themselves along the seawall of Hospital Point were treated to a competitive stroke-for-stroke first varsity eight race right out of the gate. Starting out down the Severn River, the Mids and Hoyas were fairly even following the opening sprint. After settling into its base rhythm, Navy made a small move and began taking a handful of seats between the 500 and 1,000-meter juncture of the race. By the midway point, the Mids had broken out to a half boat lead. Down the stretch at the Navy had answers for each of Georgetown's attempts at the lead and the hosts held on for a 2.18-second victory, 7:25.31 to 7:27.49.
The Hoyas took the remaining three races of the contest ... 2V8 - 7:33.19 to 7:38.76 ... V4 - 8:15.88 to 8:20.95 ... 2V4 - 8:31.81 to 8:54.35
Spectator Information / UNC Race Day Guide
Lake Wheeler Park, Raleigh, NC
6404 Lake Wheeler Road, Raleigh, NC 27603
Race Schedule
Friday
Session #1 (Columbia, Gonzaga, Kansas, Miami, Virginia)
10:10 AM - Second Varsity Four
10:40 AM - First Varsity Four
11:10 AM - Second Varsity Eight
11:40 AM - First Varsity Eight
Session #2 (Boston College, Clemson, Gonzaga, Louisville, Villanova)
2:50 PM - Second Varsity Four
3:25 PM - First Varsity Four
3:55 PM - Second Varsity Eight
4:25 PM - First Varsity Eight
Saturday
Morning Session (Boston College, Kansas, Georgetown, Tulsa, UNC)
9:40 AM - Second Varsity Four
10:10 AM - First Varsity Four
10:40 AM - Second Varsity Eight
11:10 AM - First Varsity Eight
