Navy Loses to Princeton in Opener

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton took a slim lead at the 500-meter mark and held the advantage throughout the remainder of the race before eventually posting a five-second victory over Navy, Saturday morning in the varsity heavyweight crew race held on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, N.J. The Tigers completed the 2,000-meter course in a time of 5:49.6, with the Mids finishing in a time of 5:54.5.

"It was a very fast opening part of the race for both teams," said Navy heavyweight head coach Rick Clothier. "Princeton held not much more than a one-seat lead at 500 meters, but then was able to pull out to almost a boat length lead at 1000 meters. We made some runs at them but were never able to close the gap until the last 100 meters, or so.

"We came here to win and are disappointed, but we are not discouraged. Princeton is considered to be one of the top-two crews in the country. Also, the margin of the race was much closer than it was last year when we raced Princeton during the early part of the regular season. We were able to make up the deficit and eventually finish ahead of them by the end of the year."

Princeton won three of the remaining four races contested on the day. The Tigers won the second varsity race by three seconds, the third varsity race by just under three seconds and the first freshman race by five seconds. Navy's lone victory on the day came in the second freshman race as the Mids crossed the line in a winning time of 6:24.6, with the Navy lightweight second freshman boat placing second with a clocking of 6:29.9 and Princeton coming in third at 7:08.3.

Navy's varsity boat will travel to San Diego next weekend to compete in the San Diego Crew Classic.

Navy vs. Princeton
Lake Carnegie, NJ.
First Varsity -- Princeton, 5:49.6; Navy, 5:54.5
Second Varsity -- Princeton, 6:04.3; Navy, 6:07.3
Third Varsity -- Princeton, 6:12.2; Navy, 6:15.0
First Freshman -- Princeton, 6:01.7; Navy, 6:06.9
Second Freshman -- Navy (heavys), 6:24.6; Navy (lights), 6:29.9; Princeton, 7:08.3