Oct. 3, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy lightweight crew team will begin the fall portion of its season Sunday when the Midshipmen compete at the Occoquan Challenge in Fairfax, Va. The 5,000-meter head race (boats racing in a single file, as opposed to side-by-side) will be held on the Occoquan Reservoir in Sandy Run Regional Park.

"This will be a great test to see how deep our squad is this year," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "We will race four varsity lightweight eights in the open eight event. With the addition of Dartmouth and Georgetown, this race has become much more competitive and will be a great tune-up for the Head of the Charles and the Princeton Chase races later in the season. In addition to the four crews entered into the open eight race, our squad also will compete in the open four race later in the afternoon to maximize both our racing opportunity and development."

Navy swept the top-three placings in both the open four and open-eight divisions in 2005, then placed first, third and fifth in the open-eight race and first and second in the open-four race last year.