Navy's Lightweight Crew wins Sprints Team Title

Navy Lightweights Repeat as Eastern Sprints Team Points Champion

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Navy lightweight crew team won a pair of individual boat titles and the team points award at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championship (Eastern Sprints), held Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.

After not winning the Jope Cup for accruing the most points in the first and second varsity and first freshman races since its inception in 1946, the Mids have now won back-to-back points titles. For the second-straight year, the Mids edged second-place Cornell by one point.

"It was a great day of racing for us," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "Not only did we win the Jope Cup, almost all of our boats finished higher than they were seeded heading into the day."

Navy's varsity boat was seeded sixth in its flight at the championship, but placed second in its heat to advance to the grand final. There, the Mids encountered some technical issues with the boat, but still finished in fourth place in the race with a time of 5:42.202.

"The varsity result made it a bittersweet day," said Friedrich. "We would have liked to have done better in the race, but they still beat their seed and we are excited about their chances at the upcoming IRA National Championship."

The race of the day for Navy was the grand final of the second varsity division. After advancing to the grand final by winning its heat, the Mids found themselves in fourth place with less than 500 meters remaining. Navy proceeded to row through the other boats and win the race by 15-hundredths of a second over Cornell.

"It was an amazing race," said Friedrich of the second varsity contest. "We had an awe inspiring performance by our crew."

Also winning a title on the day for Navy was the third varsity boat, while the second freshman entry placed second and the first freshman boat placed third in their respective races.

Navy's varsity boat will now begin preparations for the June 2 IRA National Championship.