May 21, 2006

WORCESTER, Mass. - Each of the six boats entered by the Navy lightweight crew team into Sunday's Eastern Sprints Championship on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., earned medals, with the Mids placing second in the varsity race and winning the third varsity and second freshman titles. The six medals helped Navy win the overall team points title for the first time in school history.

"Winning the team points title was the main goal for our program all season long," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich.

Navy totaled 34 points at the meet to edge second-place Cornell by one point in the final standings.

Navy's varsity boat found itself competing in a very fast trial heat and almost didn't advance to the grand final. Cornell won the heat with a time of 6:06.221, with Harvard, Navy and Princeton placing second through fourth, respectively, and separated by only eight-tenths of a second. The Crimson placed second with a time of 6:09.077, the Mids finished in third place at 6:09.257 and the Tigers placed fourth with a clocking of 6:09.855. Cornell, Navy and Harvard advanced to the grand final out of the heat, with Princeton relegated to the petite final.

Cornell would also win the grand final in a time of 5:53.201, with Navy placing second at 5:56.339 and Yale finishing in third place with a clocking of 5:57.685.

"The trial heat for our varsity boat was a great race," said Friedrich. "In the final we went through a number of boats and almost caught Cornell. We wanted to win that race, as well, but it was a great effort to finish in second place and help the team secure the points championship."

Navy's second varsity and first freshman boats both won their respective heats, but each placed second in their subsequent grand finals. Cornell won the second varsity grand final in a time of 6:20.583, with the Mids finishing three seconds back in a clocking of 6:23.599. Princeton would win the first freshman grand final in a time of 6:18.561, while Navy's entry completed the course in a second-place time of 6:22.264.

The Mids placed a pair of boats into the third varsity race, with Navy crews finishing first and second in both the trial heat and in the grand final. Navy's third varsity boat won grand final in a time of 6:41.795, with Navy's fourth varsity crew placing second in a time of 6:48.652.

There was only race on the day in the second freshman division, with Navy posting a time of 6:34.609 to win the race by 12 seconds over second-place Harvard.

Navy entered the championship seeded first in each of the five racing divisions.

Navy's varsity boat will next be in action June 3 when the Mids compete at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship.

First Varsity Eight - 2nd of 12 boats overall
Trial Heat - 3rd of 6 boats, 6:09.257
Grand Final - 2nd of 6 boats, 5:56.339
Grand Final Results - Cornell, 5:53.201; Navy, 5:56.339; Yale, 5:57.685; Harvard, 5:57.807; Columbia, 6:01.701; Dartmouth, 6:02.707

Second Varsity Eight - 2nd of 11 boats overall
Trial Heat - 1st of 5 boats, 6:14.903
Grand Final - 2nd of 5 boats, 6:23.599
Grand Final Results - Cornell, 6:20.583; Navy, 6:23.599; Yale, 6:25.344; Harvard, 6:25.910; Princeton, 6:31.401; Dartmouth, 6:48.425

Third Varsity Eight - 1st & 2nd of 7 boats overall
Trial Heat - 1st & 2nd of 3 boats, 6:22.671 & 6:28.619
Grand Final - 1st & 2nd of 6 boats, 6:41.795 & 6:48.652
Grand Final Results - Navy (3V), 6:41.795; Navy (4V), 6:48.652; Princeton, 6:53.795; Yale, 6:55.500; Dartmouth, 7:06.080; Rutgers, 7:15.909

First Freshman Eight - 2nd of 10 boats overall
Trial Heat - 1st of 5 boats, 6:22.697
Grand Final - 2nd of 6 boats, 6:22.264
Grand Final Results - Princeton, 6:18.561; Navy, 6:22.264; Columbia, 6:26.879; Yale, 6:28.585; Harvard, 6:34.388; Georgetown, 6:38.983

Second Freshman Eight - 1st of 5 boats, 6:34.609
Final Results - Navy, 6:34.609; Cornell, 6:45.564; Harvard, 6:49.013; Yale, 6:54.455; Delaware, 7:14.981