April 1, 2005

Each of the three Navy crew teams will be involved in races Saturday, with the women's team competing locally, the lightweight team regionally and the heavyweight team on the West Coast.

The Navy women's team will play host to the Playfair Cup Saturday morning starting at 7:15 a.m. on the Severn River. The event featuring the Mids, Boston University and George Washington was originally slated to be held on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., but the rains of this week have created unsafe water conditions in our nation's capitol and forced the change in venue.

Navy opened its season last weekend by placing second in the grand final of the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia.

"We are facing a pair of tough opponents this weekend," said Navy head coach Mike Hughes. "B.U. was ranked 18th in the preseason national poll and George Washington was less than one second behind us at last year's Eastern Sprints. This weekend will give us a true measure of our boat speed."

The lightweight team began its quest for back-to-back national titles last weekend with a victory over Princeton in New Jersey. The Mids return to the state Saturday as Navy will race Yale for the Eads Johnson Trophy in Mercer County. Navy won last year's inaugural trophy on its way to completing an undefeated season.

"Navy will try to retain the cup against a very fast Yale crew," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "I believe the racing this weekend will be hard fought on all levels. This is a true test of our speed as we are opening our racing season with two of the best programs in the country in Princeton and Yale."

Navy's varsity heavyweight boat, ranked fifth nationally, will compete in this weekend's San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay. This will be the program's first appearance at the event in four years. The Mids open the regatta Saturday in the second of two heats of the Copley Cup, slated to begin at 8:40 a.m. California time. Navy's opposition in the heat includes eighth-ranked Northeastern, Temple and Purdue. The opening heat includes second-ranked Cal, 14th-ranked Stanford, 15th-ranked Penn, UC Davis and North Carolina.

The petite final for the Copley Cup will be held Sunday at 11:40 a.m. Pacific time, with the grand final slated to begin at 2:10 p.m. in San Diego.

"I am sure California will be heavily favored," said Navy head coach Rick Clothier. "Northeastern was second last year and should be strong again this year. Stanford is a sleeper as they have two recruited Olympians added to their lineup this year."

Navy began its season last weekend with a five-second loss to Princeton.