PHILADELPHIA – After opening its season two weeks ago with action versus national foes at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite, the Navy women's rowing team took aim at the Mid-Atlantic region on Saturday with competition at the 2026 Temple Invitational. Racing on a 2,000-meter stretch of the Schuylkill River, the Mids were matched up against Delaware, Fordham, Georgetown, La Salle, Monmouth and the host Temple University in 12 races set up over two sessions. When the action was all over on Saturday, Navy was victorious in 10 of those contests, including two wins from each of its top-three varsity eight crews and each of its top-two varsity four boats.
"This was a really good day for the team," remarked head coach
Joe Schlosberg. "We got to line up twice in challenging conditions, make adjustments between sessions and collect 10 victories. We are looking to continue to grow and carry this momentum into next week."
Navy's first varsity eight was dominant in its two performances on Saturday as it opened the day with a 9.98-second margin of victory over the field of Temple, Delaware and Georgetown. The Mids clocked in at 6:21.53, while the Owls finished runner-up with a 6:31.51 time. In the afternoon session of racing, Navy was challenged a bit more by the trio of Fordham, Temple and Monmouth. The Mids were up to that task and collected an open-water win of 4.46 seconds over Fordham, 6:26.23 to 6:30.69.
The same matchups occurred in the second varsity eight ranks as Navy was matched up with Delaware, Georgetown and Temple initially before going up against Fordham, Monmouth and Temple in the afternoon. First up, the Mids' 2V8 came out ahead of the Blue Hens, Hoyas and Owls in a hotly-contested heat. Tight throughout the 2,000 meters, Navy held off Delaware by 3.30 seconds, 6:34.33 to 6:37.63 with Georgetown close behind in third at 6:39.08. Battle-tested in the morning, Navy completed its 2-for-2 day as it edged Temple by 1.81 seconds, 6:38.44 to 6:40.25.
The Mids' NCAA crews (V8, 2V8, V4 and 2V4) continued piling up the victories as Navy's first varsity four withstood a stiff test from Georgetown in the morning session as the Mids held off the Hoyas by 0.88 seconds, 7:19.62 to 7:20.5. Delaware (7:30.90) and Temple (7:43.22) were significantly off those top-two teams' pace. Later on in the day, Navy crossed the finish line in first place again in a four-team heat with a 4.58-second margin of victory over Temple, 7:18.16 to 7:22.74.
The fields shrunk a bit for the second varsity four contests as Navy went shoulder-to-shoulder with Delaware and Temple in the morning and Fordham and Temple in the afternoon. In both races the Mids collected open-water victories as they held off a game Owl crew by 4.9 seconds as they clocked in at 7:28.51 versus a 7:33.41 mark for the host team. In the second session, once again Navy and Temple broke away and made it a two-crew race, though the Mids had a much easier go of it as they cruised to the finish line with a time of 7:40.08 over 11 seconds ahead of the Owls' 7:51.91.
The third varsity eight was in action with a pair of one-on-one duels. Navy's foe for competition in the morning was La Salle, while Temple matched up with it in the afternoon. In both cases, the Mids' 3V8 had little trouble with either of the Philadelphia-based programs as they secured a 23.38-second victory over the Explorers, 7:08.83 to 7:32.21 before crossing 22.6 seconds ahead of the Owls, 7:25.44 to 7:48.04.
Navy's third varsity four closed out the day-long event with a pair of runner-up results. In the Mids' initial race of the day they finished second with a time of 7:50.74 in a spaced-out field behind the Delaware Blue Hens (7:29.16) and in front of the Monmouth Hawks (8:11.53). Facing off against the same pair of opponents, the order of finish was the same, though the Mids were able to shave 1.18 seconds off the Blue Hens' margin of victory from the morning. Delaware clocked in at 7:32.80, while Navy finished in second at 7:53.20 ahead of Monmouth's 8:06.58 effort.
Navy will be back in action next Saturday, April 4 at a four-team regatta hosted by Columbia University at Overpeck Park in Leonia, New Jersey. Besides the host Lions, the Mids will race against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Princeton Tigers.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Session 1
Navy – 6:21.53
Temple – 6:31.51
Delaware – 6:36.06
Georgetown – 6:38.46
Session 2
Navy – 6:26.23
Fordham – 6:30.69
Temple – 6:35.32
Monmouth – 6:40.08
Second Varsity Eight
Session 1
Navy – 6:34.33
Delaware – 6:37.63
Georgetown – 6:39.08
Temple – 6:45.14
Session 2
Navy – 6:38.44
Temple – 6:40.25
Fordham – 6:49.26
Monmouth – 7:01.86
Third Varsity Eight
Session 1
Navy – 7:08.8
La Salle – 7:32.21
Session 2
Navy – 7:25.44
Temple – 7:48.04
First Varsity Four
Session 1
Navy – 7:19.62
Georgetown – 7:20.50
Delaware – 7:30.90
Temple – 7:43.22
Session 2
Navy – 7:18.16
Temple – 7:22.74
Monmouth – 7:38.52
Fordham – 7:52.53
Second Varsity Four
Session 1
Navy – 7:28.51
Temple – 7:33.41
Delaware – 7:41.27
Session 2
Navy – 7:40.08
Temple – 7:51.91
Fordham – 8:22.68
Third Varsity Four
Session 1
Delaware – 7:29.16
Navy – 7:50.74
Monmouth – 8:11.53
Session 2
Delaware – 7:32.80
Navy – 7:53.20
Monmouth – 8:06.58
Boat Lineups
