Heavy Crew Downs Penn, Navy

Year-long scores were settled on the Charles Saturday as Harvard's heavyweight varsity and first freshmen turned back challenges from a strong Pennsylvania squad.

Penn ended the Crimson's string of sweeps in the junior varsity contest, beating the Harvard third boat by two lengths. Navy was never a factor in any of the mile and three quarter races, in the annual Adams Cup regatta.

Off at 43

The Crimson varsity moved off the starting line at 43, understroking Pennsylvania by two beats per minute. At a quarter mile gone it was Harvard by a length, and the margin didn't change until the bridge. Harvard, at 35, appeared to be having a little trouble with timing and bladework, but staved off Penn challenges.

With three-quarters to go, the Crimson pulled back together, and Penn started to falter. The gap widened. Harvard's time of 8:50.5 gave it a two and a half length win over the Quakers.

A year of waiting and working was behind the freshmen's nine-minute struggle down the Charles. Last year Ted Nash's Pennsylvania crew had swept its freshman contests with Harvard.

It was a different story Saturday. All crews went off the line high. Navy found itself two lengths back almost immediately and Harvard was squeezing out a slim lead over Penn. By a half-mile-gone, both crews had settled to 36 -- high. It was smooth swinging Harvard by a half length. In the next quarter mile Harvard, at 34, took another length.

Penn was having a timing problem -- the stroke skying his blade slightly at the catch and having trouble getting into the water. Harvard pulled out and took more water on Penn before the Quakers made their move.

At the Eastern Sprints last year, the Red and Blue had gained two lengths to come from behind and grind down the Harvard freshmen in the last 300 meters. But their closing cadence of 41 Saturday, once again looking ragged, was not enough to catch the Crimson. Final margin: a half length of open water.

The junior varsity contest was a strange race. Harvard entered its third varsity boat in the jayvee race because Penn and Navy didn't bring their third varsities.

After a half mile, Harvard's JV was no longer a factor. At a mile, they were three lengths back, and slipped to four when the finish flag finally fell. The Midshipmen were a length and a half to the rear, as Penn's JV's pulled out to a two-length win over the Crimson third varsity.

Ted Washburn's second freshman boat recorded an easy win over the Northeastern third varsity and a graduate crew from M.I.T. earlier in the afternoon.