Navy opens the season with solid racing on day one of the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee. – The Navy women’s rowing team kicked off its spring 2023 season with five of its crews on duty at Saturday’s Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite. After a week of spring break practice, the Mids had a chance to square off against a host of high-profile opponents, including three who finished last season in the top 20 and two others who received votes. In over 10 individual races on Saturday, Navy Boats recorded four second results on Melton Lake in east Tennessee.

The Mids were moved from No. 5 Yale, no. 16 duke, no. 18 Indiana, R/V Alabama and R/V Louisville challenged. The first session of the day lasted from 11:10 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. before the Navy returned for an afternoon session from 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m

The Navy first crew started their day with a competitive third place finish against Alabama and Louisville. The Crimson Tide won the heat with a time of 6:24.666 ahead of the Cardinals and Mids, who ended up in a close race for second place with respective times of 6:27.019 and 6:28.656. Coming back five hours later in a four-boat heat, Navy posted a similar time of 6:31.658 but faced a fast trio at Yale (6:11.507), Duke (6:18.019) and Indiana (6:23.654). from opponents).

The Mids’ second collegiate crew put on comparable plays Saturday with a 6:40.934 in the morning session that put them second out of three teams before returning in the afternoon with a 6:42.402. In the morning heat, Navy finished second to Alabama (6:29.688) but held off Louisville by 3.656 seconds as the Cardinals crossed the finish line in 6:44.590. In the second race of the day, the field split with Yale (6:11.900) riding over Duke (6:26.356) and Indiana (6:31.775).

Navy’s third varsity eight improved in its two races at Melton Lake as it started Saturday in second place with a time of 7:06.393 before eclipsing its eventual finish by more than six seconds with a time of 7:00.312. In terms of placement, the Mids finished behind the Crimson Tide (6:43.010) and ahead of the Cardinals (7:08.263) in the morning session while finishing third of three boats than the Blue Devils (6:41.843). and the Hoosiers (6:52.271) delivered faster plays in the afternoon.

Navy switched to the fours and competed with both first and second Varsity Four boats in the Invitational. The Mids’ first varsity four challenged the Crimson Tide for event victory during the morning session when Alabama defeated Navy 7-11.313 to 7-14.107. The Mids easily edged the host Cardinals by over 27 seconds as Louisville posted a time of 7:41.456. In the afternoon, Navy faced an extremely fast trio of opponents as the Mids finished fourth in 7:21.405 behind Yale (6:48.833), Duke (7:03.502) and Indiana (7:09.169).

The last boat in action on Saturday was the second Varsity Four, who started their day with a time of 7:33.002 to finish second behind Alabama in the morning before going almost four seconds off his time in the later session broke off. In this second race, the Mids found themselves in a close battle for third place with the Hoosiers of Indiana. On the stretch, Indiana held off Navy 7:28.625 to 7:29.053.

The Navy will wrap up their races at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite on Sunday, with all five crews making one more trip to Melton Lake. The Mids 3V8 will be first on the water from 8:34 am

Results
First varsity eight

AM
Alabama-6:24.666
Louisville-6:27.019
Navy—6:28.656

pm
Yale-6:11.507
Duke—6:18.019
Indiana-6:23.654
Navy—6:31.658

Second varsity eight

AM
Alabama-6:29.688
Navy—6:40.934
Louisville—6:44,590

pm
Yale-6:11,900
Duke—6:26.356
Indiana-6:31.775
Navy—6:42.402

Third Uni Eight

AM
Alabama-6:43.010
Navy—7:06.393
Louisville-7:08.263

pm
Duke—6:41.843
Indiana-6:52.271
Navy—7:00.312

First Uni Four

AM
Alabama-7:11.313
Navy—7:14.107
Louisville-7:41.456

pm
Yale-6:48.833
Duke—7:03.502
Indiana—7:09.169
Navy—7:21.405

Second Uni Four

AM
Alabama-7:19.302
Navy—7:33.002

pm
Yale-6:53.624
Duke—7:06.324
Indiana-7:28.625
Navy—7:29.053

boat lineups