6/2/2004 - Men's Heavyweight Crew
Navy Crew Teams Chase National Championship
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy heavyweight and lightweight crew teams will head to the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., this weekend for the annual Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship. The heavyweights will compete Thursday through Saturday, with the lightweights in action only on Saturday.
Both programs are coming off strong showings at the Eastern Sprints Championship two weeks ago. The heavyweight team saw its first varsity boat place third and its second varsity shell place sixth at the Sprints, while the lightweight first varsity team remained undefeated on the season in winning its first championship since the inception of the event in 1946.
The heavyweight team has its first varsity boat seeded fifth and its second varsity squad seeded eighth this week, with the lightweights seeded first.
"We have had a very solid two weeks of training leading up to the championship," said Navy heavyweight head coach Rick Clothier. "I am quite pleased with what we have accomplished in that time, even during Commissioning Week."
"It's been a long three weeks of training after the high of winning the Eastern Sprints," said lightweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "It's hard to keep the guys totally focused after classes have ended and during the craziness of Commissioning Week here at the Naval Academy, but we have fed off of watching the success of our lacrosse team during the NCAA Final Four. They left everything they had on the field and we are looking to do the same on the water. That's what we are about."
Highlights from the IRA's will be aired on Comcast Cable System channel CN8 June 11 from 8-10 p.m. and the following day from 5-7 p.m.
