Navy Lightweight Crew Timeline

The source of the following Navy Lightweight Crew timeline from 1920 through 2001 is from Dale P. Hurly, Jr. '89 and Christopher L. (Kit) Vallhonrat '93. All information thereafter is compiled by Gary Lundeen '75.

Please send any additions and/or corrections to the NavyLites Staff Historian.  

1920
On 28 May 1920, Pennsylvania led Navy, Princeton, and Yale across the finish line at the American Henley Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This date is the earliest record of Navy lightweight rowing. Unofficially, the year 1920 marks the beginning of Navy lightweight crew.

1921 – 1930
No record of Navy lightweight crew during the decade of the 1920’s has been located in the Naval Academy Athletic Association archives.

1931
Navy lightweights win their dual match with Syracuse; lose a dual match with Penn, and then place third at the National Henley Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1933
Navy lightweights win their only dual match with MIT and then go on to take third place at the National Henley Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania behind Princeton and Columbia.

1934
Navy lightweights win their only dual match with Columbia.

1935
Navy lightweights win their dual match with Ithaca College. Navy then finishes a close fourth at the American Henley Regatta in Philadelphia behind Princeton, Penn, and Columbia.

1936
Navy lightweight crew is discontinued after the 1936 spring rowing season.

1954
John “Buck” Herzog ‘46 brings lightweight crew back to Navy and is the first Navy varsity lightweight crew coach in the modern era. A Navy 1V eight of second class and youngster oarsmen rows one race in the 1954 EARC Sprints.

1955
Buck Herzog returns to coach Navy lightweight crew in their first full season.

1956
Hubbell “Hub” Davidson ’45 becomes the second Navy varsity lightweight crew coach in 1955, and Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a bronze medal at the 1956 EARC Sprints.

1957
Navy lightweights, coached by Hub Davidson ’45, win dual matches with Penn and MIT and lose a dual match to Princeton. Navy’s lightweight 1V then goes on to place fifth at the EARC Championships. Navy’s lightweight 2V and 1F win the EARC Sprints.

1958
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a bronze medal at the EARC Sprints.

1959
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a bronze medal at the EARC Sprints.

1960
Navy’s lightweight 1V and 2V row to silver medals at the EARC Sprints.

1961
Navy’s lightweight 1V and 2V row to undefeated seasons. The Navy 1V ends a Harvard 33-race win streak and wins their Haines Cup dual match for the first time since the cup’s inception in 1958. Navy’s 1V rows to an EARC Sprints bronze medal and the 2V rows to gold to complete their season undefeated and win the 2V Cornell Trophy.

1962
Coached by Navy Lieutenant Bob White, Navy’s lightweight 1V row to an undefeated season and win the EARC Lightweight 1V Championship and the 1V Wright Trophy for the first time in the history of Navy lightweight crew.

1969
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a bronze medal at the EARC Sprints.

1970
Navy’s lightweight 2V and 1F row to bronze medals at the EARC Sprints. Navy finishes third in Jope Cup competition – the EARC Sprints team trophy based on 1V, 2V, and 1F combined point total.

1971
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a silver medal at the EARC Sprints. Navy finishes third in Jope Cup competition.

1972
In the fall of 1971, Navy’s 71/72 lightweight 1V rows for the first time in the Head of the Charles and wins. In the spring of 1972, Navy’s lightweight 1V and 2V row to bronze medals at the EARC Sprints. Navy finishes third in Jope Cup competition.

1974
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a bronze medal at the EARC Sprints.

1975
Navy’s lightweight 1V defeats Harvard in their annual match race and wins the Haines Cup for the first time since 1961. At the EARC Sprints, Navy’s lightweight 1V rows to a silver medal; the 2V rows to a bronze medal; and the Navy lightweights place second in Jope Cup competition.

1976
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a silver medal at the EARC Sprints.

1977
Navy’s lightweight 1V rows to a silver medal at the EARC Sprints.

1978
Navy’s lightweight 1F rows to a silver medal at the EARC Sprints.

1979
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a silver medal at the EARC Sprints.

1980
Navy’s lightweight 2V rows to a bronze medal and the 1F wins gold at the EARC Sprints.

1981
Navy’s lightweight 1V places second at the 1980 Head of the Charles losing only to the Canadian National Team. The 1V goes on to the San Diego Crew Classic for the first time and takes fourth place in the grand finals. The 1V later wins both the Haines Cup (Harvard) and the Callow Cup (Penn) and takes fifth place at the EARC Sprints Championship.

1983
Navy’s lightweight 1V rows to a silver medal and the 1F wins gold at the EARC Sprints.

1986
Navy’s lightweight 1V has a 4-2 record and wins the Callow Cup (Penn) en route to a sixth-place finish at the EARC Sprints.

1987
Patrick Manion takes over as Navy’s varsity lightweight crew coach. Navy’s lightweight 1F rows to a bronze medal at the EARC Sprints.

1988
Navy’s lightweight 1V has a 2-2 record, wins the Callow Cup (Penn), and places fourth at the EARC Sprints.

1991
Mike Hughes takes over as Navy’s varsity lightweight crew coach.

1993
Navy’s lightweight 1V wins the Crawford Bay Crew Classic and goes 5-2 en route to taking seventh place at the EARC Sprints.

1995
CDR Jim Snead ‘73 takes over as Navy varsity lightweight crew coach. The 3V wins the gold medal at the EARC Sprints, and the 1V competes in the IRA for the first time finishing in fifth place in the grand finals.

1996
Major Greg Morrison '77 takes over as varsity lightweight crew coach. Navy’s lightweight 1V rows to a 2-2 record. At the IRA, Navy’s lightweight 1V rows to fifth-place in the grand finals, and the 2V pair and 2V straight four both win gold medals.

1997
Dale Hurley ’89 takes over as Navy varsity lightweight crew coach.

1998
Navy’s lightweight 1F and 2F place first and second at the Belly of the Carnegie.

1999
Navy lightweights win the Patriot League Championship with the 1V, 2V, and 1F all rowing to gold medal finishes. At the EARC Sprints, the 1F finishes in fifth place and the 2F wins gold.

2000
Navy’s lightweight 1V competes in the San Diego Crew Classic for the second time in the history of the program and finishes third in the grand finals. The 1F and 2F capture the top-two slots at the Belly of the Carnegie. The 3V rows to silver at the EARC Sprints. The 1V secures an automatic bid for the 2001 Head of the Charles by placing fifth overall and fourth among colleges at the 2000 Head of the Charles Regatta.

2001
Navy’s 1V defeats Penn and returns the Callow Cup to Hubbard Hall for the first time since 1996. The Navy 1V places fifth at the season-ending IRA National Championship Regatta. At the end of the spring season, Rob Friedrich (Rutgers ’97) replaces Dale Hurley '89 as the Navy varsity lightweight crew coach. The Navy 2F wins gold at the EARC Sprints.

2002
Navy's 1V wins the Haines Cup for the first time since 1981. Navy’s 1V defeats Penn and retains the Callow Cup for the second consecutive year. At the EARC Sprints, the Navy lightweight 2V wins the Cornell Trophy for first time since 1961, the 3V wins gold, the 1F rows to silver, and the 2F wins gold. Navy lightweight crew places all five eights in the grand finals and finishes second in EARC Sprints Jope Cup competition – the best lightweight team finish since 1975. Navy's lightweight 1V places second at the IRA National Championship.

2003
Navy's 1V retains the Haines Trophy. Navy’s 1V defeats Penn and retains the Callow Cup. The Navy lightweights win three medals at the EARC Sprints with the 2V rowing to a bronze medal finish and the 1F and 2F winning gold medals to sweep the freshmen events for the first time in Navy history. The 1F is awarded the Kilpatrick Cup as the 1F EARC Sprints champion.

2004
Navy’s 1V wins the inaugural Eads Johnson Jr. Cup against Yale; defeats Harvard to retain the Haines Trophy for the third consecutive year, and defeats Penn to retain the Callow Cup for the fourth consecutive year. At the EARC Sprints, the 1V wins gold and the Wright Trophy and ends their regular season with an undefeated record; the 3V and 2F also win gold, and the 1F rows to a silver medal finish. Navy places six boats in all grand finals with the 3V and 4V both rowing in the 3V grand final. The Navy lightweight 1V also posts the best season in Navy lightweight crew history. In addition to their EARC Sprints Championship gold medal and Wright Trophy, the 1V also wins the IRA National Championship and The 1922 Trophy. And, the Navy 1V goes on to reach the semifinal round in The Temple Cup Challenge at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The Navy lightweight 1V is selected as the EARC’s Crew of the Year, while head coach Rob Friedrich is voted the EARC Coach of the Year. The 1V also qualifies for the Navy Hall of Fame.

2005
Navy's 1V retains the Eads Johnson Cup for the second consecutive year. Navy’s 1V defeats Penn to retain the Callow Cup. Navy places all of its eights – 1V, 2V, 3V, 4V, 1F, and 2F – in the grand finals at the EARC Sprints. The 2V rows to a bronze medal finish and the 3V rows to a silver medal finish. And, the 1F and 2F both row to gold medals to sweep the freshmen events for the second time in three years with the 1F being awarded the Kilpatrick Cup.

2006
Navy's 1V wins the Haines Cup for the fourth time in five years; Navy's 1V defeats Penn to retain the Callow Cup. For the third consecutive year, and fourth time in five years, Navy places all of its eights in the grand finals at the EARC Sprints. On the day Navy finishes with two gold medals (3V and 2F), four silver medals (1V, 2V, 4V, and 1F), and wins the EARC Jope Cup team trophy for the first time in Navy lightweight crew history.

2007
Navy’s 1V defeats Yale and returns the Eads Johnson Cup to Hubbard Hall and retains the Callow Cup against Penn. At the Eastern Sprints, Navy’s lightweight crews repeat as the EARC Jope Cup team champion with the 1V finishing 4th; the 2V finishing 1st and awarded the Cornell Trophy; the 3V and 4V finishing 1st and 4th , respectively, in the 3V race; the 1F winning bronze, and 2F winning silver. Navy’s 1V places 6th at the IRA.

2008
Navy's 1V wins the inaugural Murtaugh Cup against Princeton. Navy’s 1V wins the Callow Cup for the eighth consecutive year, which is the most consecutive wins in the series since the Callow Cup’s inception in 1955. Navy's 1V defeats Harvard and returns the Haines Trophy to Hubbard Hall. At the Eastern Sprints, the 1V finishes 4th; the 2V finishes 1st for the 2nd consecutive year and is again awarded the Cornell Trophy; the 3V wins gold, the 1F wins bronze, and the 2F wins gold. At the IRA, the 1V wins silver falling to national champion Cornell by 1.6 seconds. At the end of the spring season, Rob Friedrich becomes Navy Heavyweight Crew Senior Associate Head Coach and Nick Baker (Buffalo '01) becomes Navy Lightweight Crew Head Coach.

2009
Navy's 1V retains the Callow Cup. At the Eastern Sprints: the 1V finishes 4th; the 2V finishes 2nd; the 3V finishes 4th; and the 2F finishes 2nd. Navy’s 1V brings the season to a close with a 6th place finish at the IRA at Cooper River Park in Camden County, New Jersey. At the end of the spring season Nick Baker becomes the Lightweight Crew Head Coach at the University of Pennsylvania and Steve Perry (Rutgers '99) becomes Navy Lightweight Crew Head Coach.

2010
Navy’s 1V defeats Yale and returns the Eads Johnson Cup to Hubbard Hall. Navy's 1V retains the Callow Cup against Penn. To be continued....