March 28, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Two of Navy's three rowing teams will open their respective spring seasons Saturday when the lightweight program plays host to Princeton and the women's team competes at the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia.

The Navy and Princeton lightweight teams met last year in New Jersey with the Tigers winning the first varsity and first freshman races, while the Mids won the second and third varsity and second freshman contests.

"This weekend's race should be pretty exciting," said Navy lightweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "With Princeton winning one of the biggest races this past fall and Navy winning the other, our season opener should make for one heck of a showdown."

Saturday's slate of races between the Mids and the Tigers begins at 7:20 a.m. when the two varsity boats vie for possession of the Joseph Murtaugh Cup. Murtaugh, who served as the lightweight head coach at Princeton and with the U.S. National Team, will attend the races and make the cup presentation himself.

"This race will hold special meaning for us since it is the inaugural race for the Joseph Murtaugh Cup," said Friedrich. "Joe was a great mentor of mine when I was an athlete and now as a coach. It will be a great honor to have him here to present the trophy for this historic rivalry."

For the Navy women's team, the Mids will be one of over 30 teams from throughout the region taking part in the 26th Murphy Cup Regatta on the Schuylkill River. In addition to the Mids and regatta-host Temple, defending champion Bucknell, La Salle, St. Joseph's Drexel and Villanova are just some of the other programs that will take to the water Saturday.

The Mids placed second in the two varsity eight races at last year's Murphy Cup, while winning one of the two freshman eight titles.

"It is our first race of the season so we are not only looking to have success, we also want to measure ourselves against the other teams we will be competing against because we will be seeing them all spring," said Navy women's head coach Mike Hughes. "This will be a good test for us."