CAMDEN, N.J. – After a challenging regular season with multiple ebbs and flows, the Navy heavyweight rowing team was on the hunt for redemption on the grandest stage, the IRA National Championship. The Mids took a major step forward on Friday in doing that as their first varsity eight crew qualified for tomorrow's AB Semifinals. Navy's second and third varsity eights were also in action in the first of three days of competition on the Cooper River in southern New Jersey.
First onto the 2,000-meter course on Friday morning, the first varsity eight crew was a part of an extremely fast heat that saw the winning time by Dartmouth rank first overall of 24 entrants in the classification. The six-team heat number four began with Princeton, Dartmouth and Wisconsin bunched at the front within 1.976 seconds of each other after 500 meters of racing. The same trio crossed in that order at the ensuing checkpoint at 1,000 meters as Navy lurked less than a second behind Wisconsin. The Mids also had to deal with a challenge from the then-fifth place Boston University Terriers, who were 0.43 seconds back at the mid-way mark. Over the second half of the race, the Big Green and Tigers separated from the pack a bit and pulled away for open water with Dartmouth crossing in first at 5:32.560 and Princeton 1.55 seconds back at 5:34.110. Navy made its move into the AB Semifinal advancement position in the final 500 meters with a 1:23.475 segment to push past Wisconsin, who posted a 1:25.390 over the same span to the finish line. At the conclusion of the race, the Mids placed third with a time of 5:39.510, while the Badgers were 1.02 seconds behind at 5:40.530. BU and Holy Cross rounded out the field at 5:41.310 and 5:52.990, respectively. Navy's V8 will next compete in the AB Semifinals on Saturday beginning at 12:40 p.m. The top three teams from that semifinal will advance to the grand final, while the others will compete for positions 7-12 in the nation in the petite final on Sunday.
Navy's second varsity eight was the next crew in action on the Cooper River in a heat featuring West Coast powers Cal and Stanford, as well as the always fast Yale Bulldogs. A tough start left the Mids temporarily reeling as they stood fifth of six boats after the opening 500 meets. Composing itself over the next 500 meters, Navy's 2V8 moved along the course in fifth place behind Temple at the 1,000-meter checkpoint. An aggressive move over the next quarter of the race saw the Mids not only surpass the Owls, but do so while moving out to a near two-second advantage (1.997). Unfortunately for the upset-minded squad, the top three crews of Cal, Yale and Stanford were able to pull away and held an open-water advantage over Navy to the finish line as the Mids had to settle for fourth place. The Bears (5:40.360), Bulldogs (5:43.970) and Cardinal (5:49.190) all advanced to Saturday's AB Semifinals with the Mids (5:57.420), Owls (5:59.320) and Gonzaga Bulldogs (6:06.840) turning their focus to the CD Semifinals. Navy will be in the CD Semifinal that is set for 1:44 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
The final heavyweight crew in action on Friday was the Mids' third varsity eight. Taking on a five-team field of Washington, Syracuse, Northeastern and Georgetown, Navy was once again aiming to secure one of the top three positions. In the most straightforward contest of the day, Washington broke out to an early lead and led wire-to-wire with Syracuse keeping in contact throughout and passing the quarter checkpoints in second place throughout. A similar alignment of Northeastern in third, Navy in fourth and Georgetown in fifth occurred at each of the 500, 1,000 and 1,500-meter markers, as well as at the finish line. The top three of Washington (5:44.430), Syracuse (5:47.010) and Northeastern (5:49.950) all attained qualification in Saturday's AB Semifinals over Navy (6:04.270) and Georgetown (6:10.890). With a smaller field in the 3V8 classification, the Mids will step away from the action tomorrow and prepare for Sunday's C Final that is tentatively set for 9:36 a.m.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Third of 6 in Heat 4
Dartmouth – 5:32.560
Princeton – 5:34.110
Navy – 5:39.510
Wisconsin – 5:40.530
Boston Univ. – 5:41.310
Holy Cross – 5:52.990
   Next Up: AB Semifinals – Saturday, 12:40 p.m.
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Second Varsity Eight
Fourth of 6 in Heat 2
Cal – 5:40.360
Yale – 5:43.970
Stanford – 5:49.190
Navy – 5:57.420
Temple – 5:59.320
Gonzaga – 6:06.840
   Next Up: CD Semifinals – Saturday, 1:44 p.m.
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Third Varsity Eight
Fourth of 5 in Heat 1
Washington – 5:44.430
Syracuse – 5:47.010
Northeastern – 5:49.950
Navy – 6:04.270
Georgetown – 6:10.890
   Next Up: C Finals – Sunday, 9:36 a.m.
Boat Lineups
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