Heavyweights Triumph in Sprints As Harvard Takes 4 of 6 Races

The Crimson's heavyweight crew has done it again. For the third straight year. Harvard captured the Sprints championship of the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges in Worcester before 15,000 spectators Saturday.

Meanwhile, the varsity lightweights Harvard Cornell to close out what had been a 17-race winning streak for the Big Red.

Harvard won two other final contests, bringing its record for the afternoon to four wins in six races. The junior varsity heavies upset first-seeded Yale by a little more than a length, and the first freshman lightweight shell took a smooth and easy victory from Penn by the same margin.

Conditions on Lake Quinsigamond were only slightly breezy, with a headwind quartering off the port bow of the shells as they raced up the 2,000-meter course. All six boats were well-bunched off the starting line in the varsity heavy final, and Harvard, at 34-35 strokes per minute, snapped an early Cornell lead to go out ahead by a precariously small margin.

With half the race over, all the contestants were still within a length and a half each other with the Crimson out in front by a quarter of a length. Penn was second. Brown third, then Princeton, Cornell, and Yale.

With 300 meters to go, it was the Crimson by a length as Brown began as strong challenge.

Holding onto their lead, Harvard's oarsmen crossed the finish line in 6:20.8. the second fastest time of the day. Behind the Crimson came Brown, Cornell, Yale, Princeton and Penn.

In a see-saw battle that found Cornell and most of the way, Harvard's varsity lights finally edged out the Big Red by half a length to wind up an undefeated season.

Slow Start

The Crimson was third of the starting line in flat conditions. but overtook the field at 500 meters. By 500 meters. At this point, Harvard at 34 was understroking Cornell by one, but cox Brian Sullivan upped the best to 36. and the push was on. Seat by seat the Crimson moved to a half-length win over the fading Big Red Time: 6:40.5.

In the junior varsity heavy final. Harvard at 34 understroked favored Yale all the way and held off a last-minute sprint by the Elis at 39 to win by a comfortable margin of more than a length.

The junior varsity lights did not fare so well in their contest. Harvard pulled up from fifth to fourth place with 400 meters to go, but could not narrow the two-length gap which separated them from the victors at the finish line.

In the freshman heavyweight race, Harvard bowed to the rower of Pennsylvania. Off the start at 43, the Crimson settled to a smooth 34 and led the race until its closing moments.

At the half-way mark. Harvard held a half-length lead on the Penn squad which had beaten the freshmen by about two and a half lengths a week before. In the closing 500 meters as Penn began to challenge the Quaker cox called up the stroke to 39, surging past with a remarkable display of strength. After taking a length lead on the Crimson, Penn lowered the stroke and finished at a fairly ragged 37.

The freshman lightweights had a neck-and-neck race for the first 1,000 meters, holding leads which covered around half a deck over Penn and Cornell. In the next 500 meters, stroking a precise 34, the Crimson went out ahead by a full length and held it against hapless challenges by Penn and Cornell.