LIVERPOOL, NY – The No. 11 Navy heavyweight crew team continued its regular season action on Saturday with racing on Onondaga Lake versus No. 7 Syracuse and No. 14 Cornell over a series of five contests. The Mids, Orange and Big Red were racing for the Goes Trophy and Stagg Team Points Cup and when the competition was in the books, the host Syracuse squad went home with all of the hardware courtesy of three varsity eight victories, including the first varsity eight , while Navy grabbed a win in the fifth varsity four race.
The Goes Trophy was on the line in the initial race of the day as the first varsity crews from all three institutions battled it out over 2,000 meters of Onondaga Lake. The Orange took control down the stretch to claim the victory with a time of 5:40.6, though the Mids held off the Big Red’s final efforts to earn the runner-up result by 1.8 seconds, 5:46.2 to 5:48.0.
In the ensuing second varsity eight contest, Syracuse made it two-for-two as they streaked to the victory with a 5:45.4 time. The margins between all three teams was similar to the Orange clocked at 4.4 seconds ahead of the Big Red’s 5:55.6, who were 4.1 seconds faster than the Mids’ 5:53.9.
The same alignment of teams occurred in the third varsity eight race as Syracuse posted a winning time of 5:49.4. Cornell and Navy placed in second and third with times of 5:55.6 and 6:00.0, respectively.
The closest race of the day came from the fourth varsity crews as first through third place was separated by 3.9 seconds. After 2,000 meters of tight shoulder-to-shoulder racing, the Big Red picked up their first win of the meet as they crossed the finish line at 5:54.9, 0.8 seconds ahead of the Orange’s 5:55.7. The Mids were less than three seconds behind the hosts with a final time of 5:58.8.
Navy entered its name into the win column in the final contest, the fifth varsity four. In a fairly spaced out race, the Mids cruised to victory with a time of 6:37.8. Syracuse was over seven seconds off Navy’s pace back in second place at 6:45.0. Cornell rounded out the field at 6:51.1.
“We could have raced better today across the board,” he remarked Rob Friedrich, the Tom & Candy Knudson Director of Navy Rowing. “I’m proud of our 5V4’s win and I thought our first varsity executed well, but overall, we could have had a stronger showing from all of our boats.
“We know what we need to work on and our athletes are eager to get back to work. We are right in the mix and need to step it up for the tail end of our regular season and get ready for the Eastern Sprints.”
Navy will host its final regular season regatta of 2024 next Saturday morning with a three-team competition against Harvard and Penn with the Adams Cup on the line.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:40.6
Navy – 5:46.2
Cornell – 5:48.0
Second Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:45.4
Cornell – 5:49.8
Navy – 5:53.9
Third Varsity Eight
Syracuse – 5:49.4
Cornell – 5:55.6
Navy – 6:00.0
Fourth Varsity Eight
Cornell – 5:54.9
Syracuse – 5:55.7
Navy – 5:58.8
Fifth Varsity Four
Navy – 6:37.8
Syracuse – 6:45.0
Cornell – 6:51.1
Boat Lineups
Tags: Navy Challenges Syracuse Cornell Saturday Heavyweight Crew Action
