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March 29, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's crew teams will make their second trip in as many weeks to Princeton's Lake Carnegie Saturday when the heavyweight program faces the host Tigers and the lightweight squad races against Yale. Both Navy varsity boats will look to reverse the outcomes from their races a year ago against their respective opponents.

Princeton's varsity boat posted a victory of nearly four seconds over the Mids during last year's meeting between the programs in Annapolis. This year, the top boat for the Tigers is ranked sixth in the latest U.S. Rowing Collegiate Coaches Poll, while Navy's varsity boat is ranked 10th.

The Mids opened their 2007 season last weekend on the lake with a five-second victory over Columbia.

"I think this is shaping up to be an exciting race," said Navy heavyweight head coach Rick Clothier. "Having a successful race on the course last weekend is a big plus for us. We have had a good week of practice and I feel we have found some more speed."

The Navy lightweight team saw its varsity shell drop a 3.5-second decision to the Bulldogs last season. The varsity defeat, which gave the Bulldogs possession of the Eads Johnson Trophy, was the only race the Mids dropped to Yale during last season's day of racing.

The Mids enter the weekend having opened their 2007 season with a 2.2-second loss in the varsity race to Princeton last weekend.

"Yale has always been fast early in the season, so this week's race should be just as challenging as last week's was," said Navy lightweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "I believe we've learned quite a bit from last week's loss to Princeton and are ready to prove this young team can become faster throughout the season."

Navy's women's team also will take to the water Saturday as the Mids compete for the Playfair Cup against Boston University and George Washington on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

Due to its competing at the San Diego Crew Classic, Navy's varsity boat did not race the Terriers and Colonials for the Playfair Cup during the 2006 regular season. The remainder of the Navy boats did face the other schools, however, with the Mids winning the second varsity and first novice races.

The Mids opened their 2007 season last week by placing among the top-three boats in each of the five racing divisions at the Murphy Cup. Included in the results at the regatta was a second-place showing by the varsity boat.

"Boston University has received votes for the national poll in each of the two weeks of the season, so we are facing a very strong team Saturday," said Navy women's head coach Mike Hughes. "George Washington's boat has a similar style to us in that they have a very scrappy crew. This will be a challenging day for us."