ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Postseason action lies ahead for the No. 20 Navy heavyweight and No. 8 lightweight crew programs this Sunday with competition at the 2025 Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Sprints in Worcester, Massachusetts. Racing on a 2,000-meter stretch of Lake Quinsigamond, the event annually hosts some of the top rowing squads from across the country in a day-long competition. The heat racing begins at 8 a.m. before the championship finals are showcased starting at 1:00 p.m. 10 different crews will be representing Hubbard Hall at the Sprints with five boats entered from both the heavyweight and lightweight ranks.

For fans unable to attend the races a live webstream on Overnght and results will be provided. Overnght is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

In heavyweight action, Navy's first varsity eight crew is seeded 14th in the field, while its second varsity is ranked 12th heading into Sunday's racing. Going through the rest of their entries, the Mids' 3V8 is seeded 12th with their 4V8 ranked 10th and 5V8 projected third.

The seeding for the lightweight competition has not been publicly announced by the EARC. In the national IRA poll, the Mids' lightweight V8 boat is ranked eighth with their 2V8 in ninth place. Navy will also have its 3V8, 4V8 and 5V8 racing at Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday.

Scouting the Opposition
The heavyweight field at the 2025 EARC Sprints is 15 teams deep and consists of Boston U., Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Holy Cross, Navy, Northeastern, Penn, Princeton, Syracuse, Wisconsin and Yale.

In the lightweight competition, 10 programs will be racing in Worcester, with the following field: Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Navy, Penn, Princeton and Yale.

Most Recent Eastern Sprints Competition: May 19, 2024 in Worcester, Mass.
The Navy heavyweight rowing program had its depth showcased on Sunday with the first of two postseason competitions, the 2024 Eastern Sprints. Taking on conference foes over the course of 2,000 meters of competition on Lake Quinsigamond, the Mids fielded boats in six varsity eight classifications and saw all six crews race in either grand or petite final action. Navy's sixth varsity eight led the way with a victory in its respective grand final.

Taking on a three-team field of Dartmouth and Brown for the title of top sixth varsity eight crew in the conference, Navy was strong from start-to-finish and rolled to the victory with a time of 6:13.253. The Mids' result was 4.38 seconds ahead of the Big Green's 6:17.633 and 5.396 seconds faster than the Bears' 6:18.649.

The first varsity eight concluded the racing on Sunday with a strong effort in its respective petite final. Following a 5:43.057 qualifying time, the Mids were in the thick of the action in the petite final. The trio of Cornell, Navy and Columbia were in a tight clash over 2,000 meters for positions three through five and ended up finishing within 3.042 seconds of each other. At the end of the race, the Big Red clocked in at 5:41.904, a second-and-a-half ahead of the Mids' 5:43.516. The Lions were a second-plus back in fifth at 5:44.946. Navy's V8 result was 11th-best for the championship.

At the conclusion of racing, the Rowe Cup was awarded to Princeton for finishing first in the team-point standings. As a program, Navy placed 11th overall with 7.0 points.

Last Five Eastern Sprints (HWT)
2024 - V8 (11th) // Team (11th)
2023 - V8 (14th) // Team (t-11th)
2022 - V8 (11th) // Team (8th)
2021 - Cancelled: COVID-19 Pandemic
2020 - Cancelled: COVID-19 Pandemic

The Navy lightweight crew program had five entries in the 2024 Eastern Sprints Championship. Taking on conference rivals from across the Eastern Sprints League, the Mids collected three top-five results over an action and drama-packed day of racing at Lake Quinsigamond.

The first varsity eight opened its day of racing with an initial time of 5:40.202 in heat number two. That time was sixth-fastest and would've advanced the Mids into the grand finals if they were racing in the first heat, but unfortunately, they were on the outside looking in and left to compete in the petite final for positions seven through nine at the championship. Navy was locked in and laser-focused in the petite final and cruised to a 5.274-second victory over Georgetown, 5:41.968 to 5:47.242. Again, the Mids' V8 found itself in a wrong-place at the wrong-time situation as that time would've slotted them fourth overall compared to teams in the grand final. The petite final victory ranked Navy seventh in the field.

The ultimate heart-break for Navy came in the fourth varsity eight contest, which saw its 4V and 5V crews racing against Cornell, Yale and Penn. In a fairly straight-forward race, the Mids' 4V went wire-to-wire over the 2,000 meters and crossed the finish line in first place over a second ahead of the runner-up Big Red and nearly eight seconds better than the Bulldogs, but a post-race protest was lodged claiming that the Mids momentarily left they lane. Following an official review, the committee ruled that Navy would be penalized and dropped back to third place. Navy's 5V came in fourth place as all times from the race were officially scrubbed from the competition. Unofficially, the 5V was two seconds shy of Yale's 4V and three-plus seconds ahead of Penn's 4V.

In the Jope Cup team standings, Navy tied for sixth with 17 points, though held the tie-breaker over Columbia due to its petite final win in the V8 competition.

Last Five Eastern Sprints (LWT)
2024 - V8 (7th) // Team (t-6th)
2023 - V8 (3rd) // Team (6th)
2022 - V8 (2nd) // Team (t-1st)
2021 - Cancelled: COVID-19 Pandemic
2020 - Cancelled: COVID-19 Pandemic

Race Schedule
8:10 AM - Fourth Varsity HW Eight-Heat 2 (Navy, Penn, Princeton, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Yale)
8:20 AM - Third Varsity HW Eight-Heat 1 (Dartmouth, Harvard, Holy Cross, Navy, Syracuse)
8:50 AM - Third Varsity LW Eight-Heat 1 (Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Navy, Penn)
9:20 AM - First Varsity HW Eight-Heat 2 (Cornell, Navy, Northeastern, Penn, Princeton)
9:50 AM - First Varsity LW Eight-Heat 1 (Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Navy, Princeton)
10:10 AM - Second Varsity HW Eight-Heat 1 (Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Navy, Northeastern)
10:40 AM - Second Varsity LW Eight-Heat 1 (Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Navy, Princeton)
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1:24 PM – Grand Final: Fifth Varsity HW Eight (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Navy, Penn, Princeton, Yale)
1:39 PM - Grand Final: Fourth Varsity LW Eight (Cornell, Navy 4V, Navy 5V, Penn, Princeton)
1:54/2:04 PM - Petite/Grand Finals: Fourth Varsity HW Eight
2:16/2:26 PM - Petite/Grand Finals: Third Varsity LW Eight
2:38/2:48/2:58 PM - Third/Petite/Grand Finals: Third Varsity HW Eight
3:18/3:28 PM - Petite/Grand Finals: Second Varsity LW Eight
3:40/3:50/4:00 PM - Third/Petite/Grand Finals: Second Varsity HW Eight
4:12/4:22 PM - Petite/Grand Finals: First Varsity LW Eight
4:34/4:44/4:54 PM - Third/Petite/Grand Finals: First Varsity HW Eight