PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – Looking to finish its run at the 2023 NCAA Women's Rowing Championship on with strong outcomes, the Navy women's rowing team left it all out on the waters of the Cooper River on Sunday. With their first varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four crews all in action in D Finals, the Mids found itself in hotly-contested races throughout the day as teams battled for positions 19 through 22 overall at the national regatta. Navy's V8 posted the best and tightest result as it was edged by Gonzaga for the victory by 0.01 seconds.
Racing in reverse order, the Mids' first varsity four kicked off the action in their respective D Final against Northeastern, Jacksonville and George Washington. The Huskies, Dolphins and Mids almost immediately found themselves in a three-boat clash at the front of the field. Separated by 3.485 seconds, the teams crossed the mid-way point: Northeastern, Navy and Jacksonville. While the Huskies never gave up their lead, the Mids and Dolphins jockeyed for the runner-up position as Navy held a 0.56-second lead at the three-quarter mark before Jacksonville out-sprinted it to the finish line for a narrow 0.158 margin. Northeastern won the D Final and placed 19th overall in the field with a time of 7:51.322, while Jacksonville finished second at 7:54.256, just ahead of Navy's 7:54.414. George Washington was well off the pace and placed fourth at 8:18.182. The Mids' V4 crew this weekend consisted of all underclassmen; sophomores
Charlotte Blish and
Mariella Vergara (coxswain) and freshmen
Emma Davidson,
Lauren Dorfman and
Grace Rimmer.
The second varsity eight D Final was up next for Navy. Racing against Gonzaga, Northeastern and Jacksonville, a familiar rivalry between the Mids and Dolphins was the focus once again. Gonzaga was the class of the 2V8 field and passed through the 500-, 1000- and 1500-meter markers first on its way to a 4.336-second win over Northeastern 7:06.387 to 7:10.723. Jacksonville and Navy opened the race within 1.4 seconds of each other at the quarter mark before it tightened up to 0.332 seconds at the halfway point. With the Dolphins edging ahead of the Mids, the representatives from the MAAC conference were able to add three-plus seconds to its lead over the third quarter of the race. Down the stretch, Jacksonville answered Navy's final pushes and took third place, 7:15.869 to 7:22.015. Seniors
Nicole Dado (coxswain) and
Katie Hammonds led the Mids' in the 2V8 this weekend. The other seven rowers included, juniors
Destinee Byrd,
Hope Hotchkiss and
Claire Schnorr, sophomores
Lizzie Jendrysik,
Jenevieva Mulhall and
Jillian Oncay and freshman
Isabella Dugan.
The final Navy crew on the water at the NCAA Championship was the Mids' first varsity eight. Seeded 20th going into the weekend, Navy had its eyes locked on beating that projection. It's initial 500-meter opening sprint definitely illustrated that as the crew burst out to nearly a one-second lead over George Washington. As the teams settled into the middle 1,000 meters, the Colonials passed by the halfway point in first place by less than a second before the Gonzaga Bulldogs took their turn pacing the field at the 1,500-meter mark. With just one quarter of the race left, Gonzaga held an 0.874-second lead over Navy. Just over two weeks after a last-minute charge gave Navy the Patriot League Championship title over Boston University, the Mids' V8 turned up its stroke rate down the stretch and cut into the Bulldogs' lead. In a near dead-heat at the end of the 2,000-meter race, Gonzaga was declared victorious by 0.01 seconds over Navy, 6:42.849 to 6:42.859. GW and Jacksonville finished in third and fourth with respective times of 6:48.275 and 7:10.441. Led by team captain
Sofia Ferguson, eight of the nine members of Navy's V8 are slated to return to the program in 2023-24, including juniors
Dani Baldwin,
Lauren Day,
Anna Freihofer,
Maeve Swick and
Brienna Voss and sophomores
Noelle de Vente,
Tenlea Radack and
Amelia Snyder.
"This was a tough year. We had to kick, fight and claw our way back to the NCAA Championship – which we did and I'm proud of this team for achieving that," remarked head coach
Joe Schlosberg. "Our senior class and their leadership played an important role in getting us to this spot. We appreciate the four years that they've given to this program and look forward to watching the impact they'll have as officers in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
"The results from today, and this weekend overall, are not where we want them to be, but we fought. We made some huge strides this year and we will continue to do so next year.
"This weekend is a big stepping stone for the direction of our program and I'm excited to bring in the class of '27 and get back to work."
At the conclusion of Sunday's racing, Stanford was crowned as the 2023 NCAA Champions with 129 team points. The Cardinal held off Pac-12 rival, the Washington Huskies by nine points before the Princeton Tigers rounded out the medal podium in third place with 113 points. With 13 overall points, Navy finished the three-day competition in 21st place, four points shy of George Washington, who placed 20th. This weekend was the eighth all-time NCAA Championship appearance.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
D Final
Gonzaga – 6:42.849
Navy – 6:42.859 **20th Overall
George Washington – 6:48.275
Jacksonville – 7:10.441
Second Varsity Eight
D Final
Gonzaga – 7:06.387
Northeastern – 7:10.723
Jacksonville – 7:15.869
Navy – 7:22.015 **22nd Overall
First Varsity Four
D Final
Northeastern – 7:51.322
Jacksonville – 7:54.256
Navy – 7:54.414 **21st Overall
George Washington – 8:18.182
Boat Lineups
