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Navy Varsity Wins Sprints Four Medals in Five Events, 2nd in the Jope Cup Standings
Navy's Varsity Lightweights remained undefeated by winning Sprints over Harvard and Georgetown. The varsity won their heat in the morning and finished off the final with a strong sprint to win by three seconds. It was Navy's first varsity title since their three-way tie in 1962.
In the morning heats, Navy's varsity got off the line well, ahead of Yale, Georgetown, Rutgers, Columbia and MIT. They maintained their lead as Georgetown rowed into second place and Yale in third, all three qualifying for the Grand Final.
In the afternoon final, Navy again got off the line well with Princeton in second. After the boats settled to race pace, Navy had a few seats on everyone, but Harvard and Georgetown started to narrow the margin. It seemed like every time Harvard made a move, Navy answered it, but never lead by more than a few seats during the first 1500 meters. As they entered the sprint, Navy opened up the margin and Georgetown began to close on Harvard. The midshipmen ended up winning by one length and Harvard narrowly edged out the Hoyas. Princeton, Cornell and Yale rounded out the field.
Other than a three-way dead heat between Cornell, Navy and MIT in 1962, this was Navy's first victory in the event. The athlete's in the boat from cox to bow were: Doug Fitzpatrick, Hunter Washburn, jimmy Sopko, Kevin Flaherty, Jay Michel, James Smith, Carlos Rivera, William Vuillet and Brian Barlow.
The 2nd Varsity and First Freshmen boats also raced well, but placed fourth and second respectively. The 2V better their ranking of fifth in a race dominated by Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The undefeated plebe raced bravely, but could not sprint through Harvard who gained and early lead.
The 3rd Varsity and 2nd Freshmen boats both came from behind to win Gold Medals in their event, while Navy's fourth varsity placed fifth in the third varsity race, capping a strong season of depth for the Navy Lightweights.
This marks the third year in a row that Navy has won a featured event at the Eastern Sprints. They won the 2V race in 1002, the 1F in 2003 and now the main event. The Varsity continues to train hard for the National Championship in Camden on June 5th.
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