Delaware Crew Opens Its Fall Season With a Successful Navy Day Regatta

The University of Delaware Men’s Crew team traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to compete in the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River.  Both a tail wind and tail current called for some relatively fast conditions.

The Freshman/Novice squad welcomed the opportunity to compete in their first collegiate race.  For some, it was an opportunity to experience their very first crew race, for others, it was a transition from high school racing, to college-level racing.  Rowing in mixed boats, the Freshman/Novice crews finished in the 10^th, 12^th, 13^th, 17^th, 26^th, and 28th places in a field of 28 crews.

On the Varsity side, the Heavyweights, as a whole, demonstrated that they are headed in the right direction and can compete with some of the country’s top crews.  The Varsity 8 finished 7^th in a field of 26 crews. Their time of 12:45 put them ahead of strong Dad Vail competitors such as St. Josephs, Temple, Rutgers, Lehigh, and La Salle.  The 2^nd Varsity 8 took sixth place in the Men’s Collegiate JV 8 event, only two tenths of a second behind 5^th place, Drexel.

The Lightweights had a tremendous showing in the Varsity Lightweight 8 event.  The Varsity Lightweight 8 won the race in dominant fashion, finishing 13 seconds ahead of second place, University of Pennsylvania.  The 2^nd Varsity 8 took 3^rd place, finishing ahead of all of the Naval Academy’s boats as well as Pennsylvania’s 2^nd and 3^rd Varsity Lightweight 8’s.  The 3^rd Varsity 8 finished in 7^th place, ahead of Pennsylvania and Navy’s 3^rd Varsity 8s.

For their next races of the season, the Varsity 8 and Lightweight 8 will travel up to Boston, Massachusetts to compete in the Collegiate 8 and Lightweight 8 events at the 50^th Head of the Charles Regatta.

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