Harvard Heavies Face Bruins Today; Lights Open Against MIT, Dartmouth

After starting the season on something of the wrong foot--a fifth-place finish in last week's San Diego Crew Classic--the Harvard men's varsity heavyweight crew is out to prove something this afternoon at Brown in Stein Trophy competition.

The only thing standing in their way is competition--the Bruins finished second behind eventual national champion Harvard in last spring's Eastern Sprints. And, as a result, the Bruins have something to prove, too.

Crimson Coach Harry Parker fields a varsity with only two returning letter-winners and five sophomores, including the stroke and coxswain. Sophomore Amos Gelb, who stroked the j.v. last week, will be at eight for the varsity today (Michael Scott, last week's pacesetter, moves to the two seat).

Parker anticipates a confrontation with Brown Although he merely says. "I think they'll be quite strong," he goes on to point out that most of last season's oarsmen have returned to the Bruins' first boat, making Brown one of the best crews in the East.

The only team that might present tougher competition is Navy, and the Middies finished third at San Diego. Brown chose not to compete out West, instead trouncing Northeastern on the Charles. To make matters worse, Harvard got past Brown three times last year, yet once by only seconds. "We have to be faster than we were last week," says the Crimson mentor.

Gelb's promotion should help the cause. He paced the j.v. to a 6:27.9 2000-meters in last week's championship heat, six seconds faster than the varsity's first-heat time.

Of the second boat's first heat, he says, "We beat Navy because we took them when we felt like taking them." Victory today hinges on taking Brown--and breaking them.

The Bruins will have the advantage of a familiar course and an unusually late starting time the races won't begin until 5 p.m. because the course is in tidal waters. Their experience together, both this season and last year, will also help, as will last weekend's triumph on the Charles.

Harvard will once again be hampered by unfamiliarity and inexperience, which will continue to be factors, especially after this week's shifts. Last week's racing pace of 34 strokes per minute was a bit slower than last week's competition, but Parker says he once again anticipates a cadence in the mid-30s.

Sophomore varsity cox Devin Mahony anticipates a good performance. "Against Brown, with two races under our belt," she says, "there's no reason why we shouldn't have that."

Lightweight

Meanwhile, earlier and closer to home, the Harvard lightweight eights open their season on the Charles against MIT and Dartmouth, competing for the Biglin Bowl.

The Crimson has had its lineups set for only three days, and only three members of last year's varsity are back. Junior James Sheldon, up from last year's 2-2 j.v., will be at eight for the varsity. The race begins in the Charles River Basin at 10:30 a.m.

MIT, usually not exactly a force to be reckoned with, won this event last year, getting past the Harvard varsity by four-tenths of a second and besting the second eight by one second.

Or as senior Co-Captain Edd Fleming puts it, "Dartmouth's very good this year and MIT always does well in this race, for some reason."