Crew Tops Cambridge At Henley

Capping off an outstanding season, the men's heavyweight crew team took the Ladies' Challenge Plate at England's Henley Royal Regatta on July 6.

In the final, the crew defeated Cambridge University by one-and-a-half boat lengths, a margin Coach Harry L. Parker called "convincing." The Crimson flew over the 15/16 mile course in 6 minutes, 24 seconds.

On their way to winning the regatta's second most prestigious title after the Grand Challenge Cup, the domain of national teams, the Crimson trounced Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Crimson heavyweight crew last won the Ladies' Challenge Plate in 1990 and last attended the Henley Royal Regatta in 1993.

The victory came on the wake of the Harvard-Yale race--the season's usual finale--held in New London, Conn., on June 6. The Crimson, with a 21 second margin of victory, beat theElis for the 12th time in the past 13 years.

Although Parker noted that two crew members,Captain Wolfgang M. Moser '98 at sixth-seat andHenry G. Nuzum '99 at seventh-seat, were on thenational team last year, he credited the victoryto the dedication of the entire crew.

"The success of the crew was due primarily totheir hard work--they put a lot of effort in,"Parker said.

Parker said the win against UPenn wasparticularly satisfying because the Quakers hadbeaten the Crimson once during the season.

The win against Cambridge, although not ashock, was expected to be less decisive.

"We had known that Cambridge would probably befaster off the start and they were, but we had areally good start as it was and by halfway we wereeven," said rower Geoffrey W. Sahs '98.

This year's varsity crew contained six seniors,who now position themselves for life after Harvardathletics.

While two members, Jonathan P. Lanken '98 andWilliam Martin-Doyle '98, will enter the financialworld and Shahm M. Al-Wir '98 will attend lawschool, not everyone is ready to leave crewbehind.

Moser and David O.M. Ellis '98, the fifth-seat,are currently in Princeton, N.J., at the trainingselection camp for the U.S. national team.

Sahs will work as an event manager for the Headof the Charles Regatta.

Although next year new rowers will fill thesemen's seats, one face will remain the same.

Completing his 37th year as coach, Parker is amajor force behind Harvard's crew success.

In 1968 his squad represented the United Stateat the Olympics.

Since an official national collegiatechampionship was established in 1983, six of histeams have captured the title.

Assistant Director for Sports Information JohnP. Veneziano credits Parker's success to hisholistic approach to coaching.

"He gets the crews both physically and mentallyprepared for every race they have," Venezianosaid.

Sahs said Parker instills his rowers withconfidence.

"He's very good at getting people to believethey can pull it through and win," Sahs said.

Although Crimson crew is losing six athletes,under Parker's tutelage, the future of Harvardrowing seems solid.

"I'm pretty excited to go watch them race nextyear," Sahs said

Although Parker noted that two crew members,Captain Wolfgang M. Moser '98 at sixth-seat andHenry G. Nuzum '99 at seventh-seat, were on thenational team last year, he credited the victoryto the dedication of the entire crew.

"The success of the crew was due primarily totheir hard work--they put a lot of effort in,"Parker said.

Parker said the win against UPenn wasparticularly satisfying because the Quakers hadbeaten the Crimson once during the season.

The win against Cambridge, although not ashock, was expected to be less decisive.

"We had known that Cambridge would probably befaster off the start and they were, but we had areally good start as it was and by halfway we wereeven," said rower Geoffrey W. Sahs '98.

This year's varsity crew contained six seniors,who now position themselves for life after Harvardathletics.

While two members, Jonathan P. Lanken '98 andWilliam Martin-Doyle '98, will enter the financialworld and Shahm M. Al-Wir '98 will attend lawschool, not everyone is ready to leave crewbehind.

Moser and David O.M. Ellis '98, the fifth-seat,are currently in Princeton, N.J., at the trainingselection camp for the U.S. national team.

Sahs will work as an event manager for the Headof the Charles Regatta.

Although next year new rowers will fill thesemen's seats, one face will remain the same.

Completing his 37th year as coach, Parker is amajor force behind Harvard's crew success.

In 1968 his squad represented the United Stateat the Olympics.

Since an official national collegiatechampionship was established in 1983, six of histeams have captured the title.

Assistant Director for Sports Information JohnP. Veneziano credits Parker's success to hisholistic approach to coaching.

"He gets the crews both physically and mentallyprepared for every race they have," Venezianosaid.

Sahs said Parker instills his rowers withconfidence.

"He's very good at getting people to believethey can pull it through and win," Sahs said.

Although Crimson crew is losing six athletes,under Parker's tutelage, the future of Harvardrowing seems solid.

"I'm pretty excited to go watch them race nextyear," Sahs said