RALEIGH, N.C. – The Navy women's rowing team began action at the 2025 Lake Wheeler Invitational with two sessions of competitive racing against a pair of ranked opponents and five more from Power 4 conferences on Friday. Looking to make their final racing, lineup and strategic adjustments before the fast-approaching Patriot League Championship in three weeks, the Mids had four boats on the waters of Lake Wheeler on Friday.
At the conclusion of eight separate races, two for each crew, the program saw improvements from session one to session two by three of its four boats including a runner-up result in the first varsity four contest and a third-place result from its first varsity eight crew.
During the morning session, Navy was matched up against No. 12 Virginia, No. 20 Columbia, Gonzaga, Kansas and Miami before turning its attention to Boston College, Clemson, Gonzaga, Louisville and Villanova in the afternoon.
The Mids' first varsity eight found itself in a fast heat as Virginia and Columbia posted the two quickest times of all 18 crews at the meet in the morning session at 6:23.450 and 6:30.102, respectively. Navy fought alongside Miami and Gonzaga for a good portion of the first half of the race before the Hurricanes and Bulldogs separated to finish third and fourth with times of 6:34.920 and 6:34.938, respectively. The Mids closed out their 2,000-meter piece strong and crossed in fifth place at 6:44.512 just under four seconds ahead of the Kansas Jayhawks' 6:48.408.
In the afternoon, Navy was competitive with the top of the field and into the back stretch of the race as it finished 7.464 seconds shy of Clemson's first place time of 6:38.163. Battling to keep contact with Gonzaga, the Bulldogs clocked in 5.18 seconds ahead of the Mids to grab second place, 6:40.447 to 6:45.627. Navy's time bested Louisville (6:49.081), Boston College (6:53.991) and Villanova (6:56.351) in the heat.
The Mids' second varsity eight also saw a two-place improvement between the morning and afternoon sessions. Unable to match Virginia and Columbia's top-end speed and Miami comfortably in third place, Navy found itself in a three-team race for fourth with Gonzaga and Kansas. The Mids lost contact ever so-slightly with the Bulldogs over the final 500 meters as Gonzaga crossed in fourth place at 6:50.240, while the Jayhawks edged the Mids for fifth place by under two seconds, 6:53.360 to 6:55.292.
Navy's 2V8 effort in the afternoon saw it shave nearly two seconds off its time and jump up to fourth place. In the mix throughout in an extremely competitive heat, first through six was separated by just 12.168 seconds. After Clemson and Gonzaga went one, two with respective times of 6:44.632 and 6:47.292, Navy and Louisville sprinted to the finish line and came within 2.06 seconds of each other as the Cardinals held onto third place, 6:51.260 to 6:53.320 over the Mids. Boston College (6:56.532) and Villanova (6:56.800) came in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Navy's first varsity four crew was the most successful in Friday's racing as it posted the best finishes in both the morning and afternoon sessions. During their first action of the day, the Mids' V4 settled into the middle of the six-boat pack and found itself in a scrap with Gonzaga and Miami. Tight throughout the 2,000 meters of racing, the Bulldogs clocked in 2.14 seconds ahead of the Mids to grab third place, 7:30.494 to 7:32.634. The Hurricanes were over four seconds off of the Mids' pace and finished in fifth at 7:36.716. Kansas placed sixth at 7:45.352.
In the afternoon, Navy's V4 shaved two seconds off its original time and moved up the standings two spots to achieve second place. Clemson was the flag bearer for the session with a victorious time of 7:23.789, while Navy came in second at 7:30.189. The Gonzaga Bulldogs challenged the Mids for a bit, but crossed the finish line four seconds back at 7:34.385. The rest of the field finished with Louisville in fourth (7:38.667), Boston College in fifth (7:43.377) and Villanova (8:05.671) in sixth.
The final boat in action on day one of the invitational was Navy's second varsity four. The Mids' initial effort on Friday saw them come in fifth place as part of a fairly spaced-out field. After Virginia and Columbia went one, two at 7:28.403 and 7:32.261, respectively, Miami was over 10 seconds back in third at 7:42.801 with Gonzaga five seconds further back at 7:48.033. Navy's official time for its 2V4 crew was 7:55.163 and out-paced Kansas by 5.43 seconds as the Jayhawks registered an 8:00.593 result.
A similar storyline occurred in the afternoon's session as Clemson cruised to a victory at 7:31.160 with Gonzaga over 11 seconds back at 7:42.478. Boston College and Louisville were in contact for the majority of the piece though the Eagles came in at 7:49.594 versus a 7:54.486 mark for the Cardinals. Navy rowed across the finish line in fifth place at 8:00.758.
The third and final session of racing at the Lake Wheeler Invitational is on tap for Navy on Saturday morning starting at 9:40 a.m. with the Mids' 2V4 leading off the quartet of contests.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Session 1: Heat 2
Virginia – 6:23.450
Columbia – 6:30.102
Miami – 6:34.920
Gonzaga – 6:34.938
Navy – 6:44.512
Kansas – 6:48.408
Session 2: Heat 1
Clemson – 6:38.163
Gonzaga – 6:40.447
Navy – 6:45.627
Louisville – 6:49.081
Boston College – 6:53.991
Villanova – 6:56.351
Second Varsity Eight
Session 1: Heat 2
Virginia – 6:32.324
Columbia – 6:40.624
Miami – 6:47.842
Gonzaga – 6:50.240
Kansas – 6:53.360
Navy – 6:55.292
Session 2: Heat 1
Clemson – 6:44.632
Gonzaga – 6:47.292
Louisville – 6:51.260
Navy – 6:53.320
Boston College – 6:56.532
Villanova – 6:56.800
First Varsity Four
Session 1: Heat 2
Columbia – 7:21.208
Virginia – 7:22.260
Gonzaga – 7:30.494
Navy – 7:32.634
Miami – 7:36.716
Kansas – 7:45.352
Session 2: Heat 1
Clemson – 7:23.789
Navy – 7:30.189
Gonzaga – 7:34.385
Louisville – 7:38.667
Boston College – 7:43.377
Villanova – 8:05.671
Second Varsity Four
Session 1: Heat 2
Virginia – 7:28.403
Columbia – 7:32.261
Miami – 7:42.801
Gonzaga – 7:48.033
Navy – 7:55.163
Kansas – 8:00.593
Session 2: Heat 1
Clemson – 7:31.160
Gonzaga – 7:42.478
Boston College – 7:49.594
Louisville- 7:54.486
Navy – 8:00.758
Boat Lineups
