Crew Starts Season Without a Win

The Harvard men's and women's crew teams traveled to California for their season-opening races at Sunday's San Diego Crew Classic, and found Cambridge's lingering winter has left them flat.

The West Coast waters of Mission Bay proved to be harsher than the Charles, as all four boats in competition left without a single victory.

The Men's Heavyweight division finished first among eastern schools in the tournament, but fell to third in the overall rankings behind two impressive teams, California and Washington.

The tough veteran squad from Cal successfully defended its home turf, leading from start-to-finish and taking the race in 5:44.2. Washington, Cal's closest competitor, finished the race in 5:48.5, a full length behind the winners.

The Crimson posted a respectable time of 5:52.1 and finished two lengths ahead of the fourth-place Wisconsin, who crossed the line at 5:57.1.

In the Men's Lightweight action, the Crimson fell to Yale in an exciting heat, losing by just over one length to the rival Bulldogs.

Yale edged-out the victory by just four seconds with a winning time of 6:04.89, while the Crimson handily defeated the rest of the competition.

The Radcliffe women's lightweight squad had an impressive debut, finishing third behind the more experienced Princeton and Wisconsin teams.

The young and talented group, led by co-captains Colleen Griffith and junior Laura Heyns, gained some experience from the trip. The team hopes to build and improve the remainder of the year.

"We have a really young boat with four freshmen," Griffith said. "Our goal is to definitely be right up there with Princeton and Wisconsin in future races, and it is definitely possible."

The J.V. men brought home a fifth place finish in its final race with a time of 6:03.89, far ahead of a distant sixth place Penn team. Washington took the race in 5:56.1, but the Crimson men were in contention throughout the race.

Coach Harry Parker, entering his 38th season as head coach, has reason to remain optimistic despite last weekend's losses. The Heavyweight squad returns four varsity oarsmen this year, giving the team a solid nucleus to build upon their 4-3 record last year.

The team will also feature some sophomores from last year's successful freshmen team. The squad won the Eastern Sprints crown for the first time since 1990 en route to an undefeated season against all nine of its dual rivals.

Though Harvard posted no victories, each team began its season with solid performances, and the squads are looking forward to their eastern seaboard return when they take on Brown in the Stein Cup on April 15th.