Navy LWT Crew Representatives

Navy , Trinity and Delaware Claim ECAC Crew of the Week Honors

Tuesday April 22, 2003

Contact: Mindy Urick, ECAC Rowing Intern

CAPE COD, Mass.—United States Naval Academy men’s lightweight varsity eight, Trinity College men’s varsity eight and University of Delaware women’s second varsity eight each had outstanding races over the weekend and have been selected ECAC Crews of the Week.

For the second-straight year, the Navy lightweight crew team won the Haines Cup and swept every race from Harvard, Saturday morning on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard, which saw its first varsity boat enter the week ranked first in the latest conference poll and with an undefeated record in five races, held a slim lead throughout the entire course.

Navy, ranked seventh in the same poll, pulled even with the Crimson about 10 strokes shy of the finish line, then narrowly crossed the line ahead of Harvard. After about a two-minute wait by the officials, Navy was declared the winner of the Haines Cup in a time of 5:55.61, just ahead of Harvard's 5:56.07.

In the over 40-year rivalry between Navy and Harvard, Saturday's victory marks the first time the Midshipmen have posted back-to-back first varsity wins over the Crimson.

"It was a great day of racing," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "All of the teams in our conference seem to be at about the same level, so a close finish was not surprising. We now have to continue our development and keep working hard each week, because every race is going to be like this."

The Trinity College men’s varsity eight crew finished first in its five-boat race on Lake Quinsigamond on Saturday April 19. The Bantam men finished 3.6 seconds ahead of the University of New Hampshire in second place in mild conditions with a light wind.

The University of Delaware women's rowing team advanced six of seven crews to the finals led by a first place finish by the Junior Varsity Eights team at the Murphy Cup Saturday on the Schuylkill River.

The Junior Varsity Eights team rowed to a time of 6:48.9 to claim the title, edging runner-up Villanova (7:01.4). Fordham was third, Saint Joseph's fourth, Drexel fifth, and Bryn Mawr sixth.