NAVY MENACES CRIMSON SUPREMACY Harvard Rated 'Fighting Chance' in Hep Meet Today

Not only the historic Adams Cup, but also the sprint championship of the East will go to the winner of this afternoon's Varsity race, scheduled for 5:45 o'clock over the mile and three-quarters course in the basin. Co-favorites Harvard and Navy, as well as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and M. I. T. will be at the stakeboats when Lt. Colonel Howard Robbins, veteran referee, clips out the commands of "Are you ready? Ready all. Row!" to the 40 oarsmen tensely poised at the catch.

The preliminary races, in which Wisconsin will not be represented, should bring Crimson victories by easy margins. The Freshmen go to the mark at 5:15 o'clock, weather permitting, and the Junior Varsities will follow them 15 minutes later.

If you plan to watch the Varsity race, take a position along the last quarter mile. In most Harvard races by that stage there is nothing left but a parade, but today's regatta promises to be one which will be fought stroke for stroke and breath for breath down the entire length of the basin.

Curwen and Childs

Despite the field of five boats, attention will be focussed on two strokes, Harvard's Bus Curwen, and Navy's Phil Childs. What these two men do in all probability will determine the outcome of the season for both boats.

Curwen's policy is to settle down quickly to a 32, while Childs never comes down much below 35 after the start. The Navy has a very smooth looking crew at a paddle, and the indications are that they keep their feathery touch at the higher stroke.

Must Come From Behind

Theoretically then, if Harvard is going to win the Adams Cup, it will have to come from behind to do it, and the scene of this incipient drama is the last quarter mile, when Curwen, if he is behind, is bound to unleash the blistering sprint which makes Harvard the great crew that it is.

Whether the Middies will wilt under pressure or whether they will be able to stave it off, as they did against Cornell, only time will tell, and that time is rapidly approaching.

Wisconsin's huge red crew has the potentialities of springing the biggest upset in quite a while, but the Badgers are an unknown quantity, inasmuch as they have not raced this year. Their great size and power makes them better suited for distance rather than sprint races, and yesterday afternoon they looked a little ragged around the edges.

By beating Princeton last week, Pennsylvania proved itself a factor, but the Quakers lack weight and are not really counted as competition. Tech, also, is considered way out of the running, and if it finishes better than last, it will be an upset.