The Sophomore Crew.

The sophomore crew are now rowing as follows:

Position. Name. Weight.

Stroke. C. F. Adams, 148 lbs.

7. H. D. Hale, 153

6. J. R. Purdon, 155

5. A. Churchill 181

4. J. R. Thomas, 160

3. W. D. Bancroft. 170

2. R. A. Miles, 148

Bow. W. Abbott, 158

Sub. D. C. Holder, 147

Sub. G. A. Carpenter, 159

Stroke swings back too far. On the full reach he swings down after he has slid out, letting his outside shoulder come forward. No. 7 starts fairly quickly, but he does not keep his slide under control and rushes down. He makes a break in the middle of his stroke after his legs are straight and before he pulls his hands in, so that there is no power in the middle of his stroke. No. 6 is slow in starting for ward. he lets his legs wobble, and does not sit up to his work. He hurries his finish. No. 5 lets his shoulders fly up when he rows them back. He swings back too far and keeps his outside wrist curved. His stroke is rather short, and he does not use his legs hard enough. No. 4 swings back too far and settles. He ought, to stop and row his shoulders back. He tries to do too much work with his legs and slaps them down too hard, and too far, jarring the boat. No. 3 keeps his inside arm bent all the time and his outside arm bent most of the time. He does not swing straight, and wobbles every which way at the finish. His finish is hurried, and he is apt to rush down. He does not keep a firm grip on the oar, and is stiff and awkward. No. 2 is a little stiff. He wants to hold his oar firmly without changing his grasp, nor yet gripping the oar convulsively. He gets a weak finish and rows his elbows out from his side. He needs to get more pressure on his stretcher, especially at the finish. He swings out at the finish. Bow gets a weak finish and meets his oar so that there is little difference between the end of his finish and the beginning of the recover. He does not control his slide nor row his shoulder back hard. He rows smoothly but with little power. Holder catches too hard and finishes weakly. He pulls his hands in with a jerk and hangs on the finish. He rushes down and does not keep time. Carpenter does not get enough life or power. His finish is weak, and he lets his knees wobble. The trouble with the crew as a whole is, that they do not get a hard enough finish, and that they are very slow in starting forward. Then the time of all, except the stern men, might be improved on without harming anything. Of the crew that is rowing now, Adams, Hale, Purdon, Churchill, and Thomas have rowed in one or more races. Bancroft has never pulled in a race, but was second substitute at New London last spring. All the others are the men.

Eighty-eight had a strong crew last year as a freshman class. They were handicapped some what by getting on the water later than most freshman crews, but as they were practically thrown out of the class races before the start by the breaking of their rudder, they had no chance to show what they could or could not do. By the end of June they had got into very good form, and beat the Columbia freshmen by nearly a minute. This year there are at present four men from '88 trying for the University, crew, Butler, Bradlee, and Porter, of last year's freshman crew, and Wood, who did not try for the last year. Several of these men are sure to come back to the class boat before the spring races, thus strengthening the crew very considerably. With these future additions, there seems to be no special reasons why, if the crew works hard and intelligently, they should not make the race next spring very exciting, though, of course, eighty seven has the chances in her favor from having won the race last year. While it is as yet impossible to say what eighty-six will do, as there will be several changes in the boat and as they made no record last year from which they can be judged.