June 2, 2007

CAMDEN, N.J. - The final day of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship came to a close Saturday with Navy's heavyweight varsity eight boat placing second in the third level final and its varsity four without coxswain crew winning the grand final.

The three-day championship was contested on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

"It was a gutsy three days of rowing for our varsity crew," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "They went full throttle in every one of their races during the regatta. The effort they put into attempting to win each race didn't show up in the results, but I am very proud of them for how hard they competed. Several coaches made the same comment to me about their efforts, so it did not go unrecognized."

In Saturday's third level final, the Mids held a two-seat advantage after 500 meters then found themselves up by only one seat over Boston University at the halfway point of the course. It stayed that way until the 500-meter mark of the course when the two boats were even with each other. The Terriers were able to outsprint the Mids across the finish line to defeat the Navy entry by just under two seconds.

The Navy program was able to celebrate three victories on the final day of competition. The varsity four without coxswain boat won the grand final of its division by 3.7 seconds over second-place Hobart, the freshman four crew edged Grand Valley State by one-tenth of a second to win the petite final of its flight and the second varsity eight boat won its third level final by nearly two seconds.

Also racing in a petite final on the day was the varsity pair crew, which placed fourth in the race and 10th overall at the regatta.

Rounding out the Navy results was the open four with coxswain crew placing 14th and the freshman eight entry placing 15th.

First Varsity Eight - 14th place overall
Third Level Final - 2nd of 6 - Boston Univ., 5:44.678; Navy, 5:46.558; Virginia, 5:47.088; Georgetown, 5:48.685; Syracuse, 5:48.922; Penn, 5:49.180

Second Varsity Eight - 13th place overall
Third Level Final - 1st of 6 - Navy, 5:53.984; Michigan, 5:55.747; Georgetown, 5:58.302; Delaware, 5:59.067; George Washington, 6:01.784; Princeton, 6:04.649

Freshman Eight - 15th place overall
Third Level Final - 3rd of 6 - Wisconsin, 5:54.788; Columbia, 5:59.286; Navy, 6:02.657; Syracuse, 6:04.989; Boston Univ., 6:09.451; Dartmouth, 6:13.592

Varsity Four with Coxswain - 25th place overall
Won E Level Final Friday

Varsity Four without Coxswain - 1st place overall
Grand Final - 1st of 5 - Navy, 6:18.138; Hobart, 6:21.842; Syracuse, 6:22.466; Wisconsin, 6:23.419; Colgate, 6:27.879

Open Four with Coxswain - 14th place overall
Third Level Final - 2nd of 5 - Michigan, 7:00.217; Navy, 7:03.605; Boston Univ., 7:09.260; Dartmouth, 7:12.977; Penn, 7:16.152

Freshman Four with Coxswain - 7th place overall
Petite Final - 1st of 6 - Navy, 6:38.445; Grand Valley State, 6:38.571; MIT, 6:38.748; Orange Coast, 6:43.997; George Washington, 6:47.195; Temple, 6:50.752

Varsity Pair without Coxswain - 10th place overall
Petite Final - 4th of 6 - Georgia Tech, 7:00.101; Buffalo, 7:01.545; USC, 7:03.867; Navy, 7:16.410; Long Beach State, 7:18.073; Rutgers, 7:20.539