VARSITY CREW NIPS BIG RED IN THRILLER

The Crimson was on the receiving end of some of its own medicine Saturday afternoon when Cornell's powerful eight, although under stroking Captain Ted Lyman's boat, slowly eked out a half-length lead just after the three-quarter mile mark. Eventually Harvard's superior coordination and precision allowed Bus Curwen to raise the beat to a breathless 42, and in the final 20 strokes the Varsity surged ahead for the first time during the race to gain a nerve-wracking deck-length victory, enabling Harvard to retain the Rowe Memorial Cup for at least another year.

The Varsity was clocked in 6:55 over the Henley, with Cornell crossing at 6:55.8. There was no sweep of the Charles, though, for the Ithacan Jayvees led the Crimson to the finish by three seconds, or three-quarters of a length. Earlier the Freshmen nosed Cornell by a scant second and the 150's left Tech far behind. A light easterly breeze kept the times well above the course record in all the events. Cornell gave the Crimson a run for its money, and in the three races it entered, Cornell's total time was 1.2 seconds better than Harvard's.

Unhealthy Omen

Tom Bolles has turned out a long line of victorious crews, and the formula which he has used in this operation has been for Harvard to assume an early lead and then under stroke the opposition all the way to the finish. Saturday this plan did not work, for Cornell's powerful eight, which had a four pound per man advantage over Harvard, gained its half length while rowing a fraction over 31 as compared to Curwen's steady 32.

This unexpected turn of events forced Curwen to resort to the unhealthy expedient of raising the stroke, which he did with successful results soon after the two eights went under the Massachusetts Avenue bridge. The superior bladework and timing of the Harvard boat paid dividends, for the Crimson began to pick up on the Ithacans, who looked a lot better at 32 than they did at 36.

With Cornell disposed of the Varsity faces an easy weekend at Princeton before taking on Navy for the Eastern championship three weeks hence.

Stroked by newly elected Captain "Shultz" Wood, the Freshmen turned in an extremely heartening performance in turning back the Cornell Freshmen by a deck length in the opening race. The Yardlings were clocked in 6:56, only one second slower than the Varsity, and the conditions changed very little throughout the afternoon.