Navy heavyweight crew

Oct. 16, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - All three of Navy's crew teams will race together this Sunday when they head up to Boston for the 44th-annual Head of the Charles Regatta. Each of the team's will race in the eight-oared competition, while the men's lightweight four will take part in the four-oared event on the three-mile Charles River course.

Last Saturday, each of Navy's varsity eight boats came away victorious at the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

Navy's heavyweight crew team produced an impressive ninth-place showing out of 44 boats and ranked seventh among 31 college crews despite having a 10-second penalty issued for missing a buoy on the course last year.

"I believe this is an exceptionally strong field, as nearly every major college in U.S. rowing and several national crew teams from overseas are also competing," stated Navy heavyweight crew head coach Rick Clothier. "We always look forward to competing against these teams in this regatta."

Both of Navy's lightweight boats finished second among collegiate competition in the eight- and four-man crews last fall. The eight-man crew placed just behind Princeton and landed fifth overall out of 29 boats, while the four-man boat finished only behind Yale to rank seventh overall among 23 crews.

"The Head of the Charles Regatta is always a great test of how well we are doing right now," stated Navy lightweight crew head coach Nick Baker. "We will be competing against some of top lightweight crews in the nation. The Charles River is a very technical course, one that our guys are ready for."

Navy's women's crew team placed 17th out of 39 boats and 14th among the 35 collegiate boats in last year's event. Two years ago, the Midshipmen finished 11th overall, marking their highest placing ever at the annual regatta.

"Our main goal is to finish higher than we ever did before and at least half or better," stated Navy women's crew head coach Mike Hughes. "The Charles River is a real winding course where one long turn is pretty close to 180 degrees, which can be a coxswain's nightmare. There are some of the best crews in the world in our event, as the first-four boats are national rowing teams - Americans, Canadians and Dutch."

Following this Sunday's action, Navy's crew teams will have a busy weekend. All three teams will compete in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta on Saturday, Oct. 25, and the men's heavyweight and lightweight crew teams will also race in the Princeton Chase on Sunday, Oct. 26.

NAVY'S SCHEDULE AT THE HEAD OF THE CHARLES REGATTA
2:16 p.m. - Men's Lightweight Four (15 boats, 9 U.S. college boats)
2:42 p.m. - Men's Lightweight Eight (21 boats, 15 U.S. college boats)
4:08 p.m. - Men's Heavyweight Eight (37 boats, 28 U.S. college boats)
4:23 p.m. - Women's Eight (38 boats, 28 U.S. college boats)