Pair of Crew Teams to Compete Locally Saturday

4/11/2002 - Men's Lightweight Crew
Pair of Crew Teams to Compete Locally Saturday

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The Navy heavyweight and women's crew teams will compete Saturday on the Potomac River at the George Washington Invitational, while the lightweight squad will face league-foe Princeton in New Jersey.

The largest collegiate rowing event in the Washington, D.C. area, the George Washington Invitational will feature crews from 10 schools, including Georgetown, St. Joseph's, Virginia and George Mason, as well as Navy and the host George Washington. Navy placed second in the Hood Trophy last year, with Georgetown edging the Mids by just two points. The Hood Trophy combines results from each of the men's and women's entries.

Preliminary heats begin at 8 a.m., with the finals slated to start at 1:20 p.m. The four-lane, 2,000-meter course begins near the Spout Run area of the Potomac River and ends at Washington Harbour in Georgetown.

Navy's heavyweight team opened its 2002 season last weekend at the Adams Cup, which featured Navy, Harvard and Pennsylvania racing on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. Navy's first novice team won its race, marking the first victory by the Navy boat in 15 seasons. As a bonus to its victory, the boat earned Crew of the Week accolades from the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

"The first varsity race will be a challenge for us," said Navy heavyweight coach Rick Clothier. "Temple and Georgetown have won the race in two of the last three years. Temple raced very well at San Diego and Georgetown looks to be quite strong, too. I also believe Virginia has the makings of a very representative crew. In the other events, we should do well."

Navy's women's first varsity boat competed last weekend at the San Diego Crew Classic, where it placed 13th behind such national powers as Washington, Stanford, Virginia, Texas and Southern California. The remaining Navy crews raced at the Playfair Cup in Washington, D.C. The second varsity and varsity four boat each placed second in their respective races, while both novice boats won their races on the day.

"We will face strong competition this weekend," said Navy women's head coach Mike Hughes. "Our first varsity will face Virginia and Georgetown in its heat, with only the top-two boats advancing to the finals. Virginia has been in the NCAAs since it started (four years ago), and Georgetown always put together a good crew."

Navy's lightweight crew team will open its Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges season Saturday when it travels to Lake Carnegie to race Princeton for the Smith Trophy. The Tigers won both the first and second varsity races from the Mids last season, but only by a combined total of seven seconds.

The Navy lightweights also opened its 2002 campaign last weekend, with the first varsity boat placing first and the second varsity boat placing second in the first varsity race at the Occoquan Sprints. Navy was the lone lightweight team in the 17-team field.

"Princeton was selected as one of the top-three programs in the league," said Navy lightweight coach Rob Friedrich. "We have been training well lately and are looking for a successful day of against Princeton. I think all the races should be close, so it might come down to pure guts. This race will be our first true test and will show how fast we are compared to the rest of the league."