Oct. 29, 2005

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Navy women's crew varsity boat finished first among 22 boats competing in the championship eight race at the Head of the Schuylkill regatta on Saturday in Philadelphia. In addition to the women's varsity boat, Navy had boats competing in the women's club eight, women's freshman eight, men's lightweight freshman eight and men's heavyweight freshman eight.

"It was an excellent day for Navy," stated women's crew head coach Mike Hughes. "We completed every goal we had for the fall. Our goals were to win the Potomac and Navy Day, place top-25 in the Charles, top-three in Oklahoma and win today. The fall really wrapped up well for us."

The Midshipmen covered the 2.5-mile course with a time of 13:48.94, only .33 second ahead of Marist (13:49.27) and .38 second faster than the New York Athletic Club (13:49.32).

"Varsity rode a really good race today," said Hughes. "Every team performed really well, we just were a little bit better."

Last season, Navy's women's crew varsity boat finished second at the Head of the Schuylkill, six seconds behind Penn, who placed fourth on Saturday with a 13:53.85 time.

The Navy women's club eight placed second and sixth out of 46 boats, while the freshman eight finished 13th out 63 boats entered.

The Midshipmen men's lightweight and heavyweight both competed in the Kristopher Stewart Memorial Race. Navy's lightweight crew team had boats finish seventh and 11th, as the heavyweight crew team's members landed fifth and 14th out of 50 boats.

"We performed well. It was a good performance by our guys," stated Navy lightweight crew head coach Nick Baker. "We rowed even boats, and all the competition that beat us were rowing first-boat, second-boat lineups in a heavyweight event."

"Both boats had a good row," said Navy heavyweight crew head coach Mike Guerrieri. "Both crews felt good about their performance today and so was I."

The women's varsity crew team concluded its fall season on Saturday, while the men's lightweight and heavyweight varsity boats will wrap up its fall seasons tomorrow with the Princeton Chase in Princeton, N.J.

Navy Women's Crew Results

Championship Eight (22 boats) -- 1st, 13:48.94
Club Eight (46 boats) -- 2nd, 14:11.51; 6th, 14:54.16
Freshman Eight (63 boats) -- 13th, 15:42.52

Navy Men's Lightweight Crew Results

Freshman Eight (50 boats) -- 7th, 13:10.78; 11th, 13:20.88

Navy Men's Heavyweight Crew Results

Freshman Eight (50 boats) -- 5th, 13:00.54; 14th, 13:41.57