Evening star., 1939-04-23
Navy 0arsmen Beat
Princeton as Gale
Severn
Middies Annex Vursit,-
And Joyvee Races by
Boot-Leneth Edges
By STAFF Correspondent of The Star.

By Staf1 Correspondent Of The Star.
ANNAPOLIS. April 22-The crews
of the United States Naval Academy
in their first meet of the season to-
day defeated two Princeton crews.
eking out victories in the varsity
and junior varsity races by a scant
length in each.
The Navy crews, out to defend the
intercollegiate championship gained
at Poughkeepsie last year, won
largely because of their ability to
handle nasty quartering tail wind
better than their opponents.
The wind whipping down the
Severn River grew so strong by mid.
afternoon that it was thought the
races might be postponed until later
IN the day. AS it was. both the
varsity crews shipped so much water
en- route to the start that it was
necessary for them to take their
shells ashore and dump them before
lining up for the race.
Row See-Saw Race.
While Coast Guard cutters. cav
with gold braid and new spring
dresses. stood by, Nays varsity
boatload, three of whom rowed in
the shell which won at Poughkeepsie
last June, rowed a see-saw race with
the Orange and Black oarsmen
throughout IL miles of the IL. mile
course, gradually increasing their
lead in the rough water near the
finish to win by slightly less than a
length.
Princeton nipped the Midshipmen
by deck length at the start, but
the Blue and Gold oarsmen recov-
cred this and a quarter of length
to spare as the two crews settled
their stroke for the body of the race.
Navy held this lead for more than
a mile. both crews rowing about 81
strokes to the minute. With little
more than half a mile to 60 the
Tigers raised their stroke and crept
slowly up on their opponents. Navy,
however, without raising its stroke
perceptibly, seemed better able to
handle the rollers sweeping down
the river and gradually increased
their lead until the finish. Navy
rowed the course in 9:15.l, while
Princeton crossed the finish line in
9:19. A game sprint by the Prince
ton oarsmen in the last quarter, in
which their stroke went to 81, failed
to cut down their opponents lead.
Times Above Average.
In the Junior varsity race Navy
settled out a slow start to an even
80 strokes a minute while Prince
ton, which had started at a higher
beat, settled to 1924. BY the end
of the first half mile Navy had a
lead of approximately length and
with three-quarters of mile to go
had open water on their opponents.
A gallant sprint by Princeton cut
this lead down to about a half
length. but in the last half mile the
Midshipmen, although Princeton
sprinted hard, were able to stretch
their lead out to almost a length at
the finish line. The Navy Jayvees
rowed the course in 9:41.9, while
Princeton finished in 9:453.
The discrepancy in the times
made by the varsity and junior
varsity crews was in large part due
to water conditions. So bad were
the waves that all the times were
considerably above average even
though the wind blew in the same
direction in which the crews were
racing.
The races yesterday presented a
very different picture from those
rowed last year, when Navy easily
outdistanced Princeton by more
than four lengths
Princeton varsity-Randolph Fennineer.
stroke; stroke william Bennett; No. Z; John v.
5ayard, No; 81 Charles E. P, Dennison,
No. 4; Van Stanvoord Merle Smith &C. a..
No. 3; Herrtck X. Allen. No 2; Carl =.
koenig. bow; Kenneth W. Dalzell, cox
swain.
Navy varsity-Thomas j. Walker.
stroke; Neal Almegren, No: 4; Louis P.
Stear. No. 8: William H. House, No. B;
Guy "A. Lucian, No. 4 Fred W. Kittler.
CAPTAIN and No. 3: Sheldon H. Kinney,
No: q, Irwin Q. Peters, bow. virEil /.