M. Heavies Just Shy of Perfect

There was a sure sign of how dominant the Harvard heavyweight crew would be in the Head of the Charles regatta last October. Only the U.S. and German national teams finished ahead of the Crimson varsity, while both the Dutch and French lightweight crews trailed behind.

Beating out national teams was an appropriate way to begin a season in which Harvard won the Rowe Cup for overall heavyweight supremacy at EARC Sprints and extended its reign over the Charles to a fifth year.

In the dual regattas, the Crimson captured the Adams, Stein, Compton and Smith Cups while beating out Penn, Navy, Brown, Princeton and MIT, leaving Cornell and Wisconsin as the unseen threats at Eastern Sprints. Harvard’s win over Northeastern on May 4 not only established the Crimson as the fastest crew on the Charles River, but also sent Harvard to sprints with the undisputed top rank in the East.

The only glitch surfaced in the final event of Eastern Sprints—the first varsity Grand Final. Though the Crimson third varsity had suffered its first loss of the season to fellow 3V competition from Wisconsin and the second freshman crew had placed fourth, Harvard established its authority with victories in the second varsity and freshman events.

But in the varsity event, the Badgers pulled away in the middle 1,000 meters of the course to capture Wisconsin’s first Eastern title. The second-place finish was disappointing, but the varsity still earned the Ivy title.

“Everyone’s incredibly happy about it,” said senior Hugo Mallinson. “The freshmen had an up-and-down season and everyone was hoping they’d come out on top and they did. The JV—no one has been able to touch them all season. We’ve got a bunch of sophomores who’ve never lost at Sprints.”

Six of the nine in the second varsity boat this year were in the first freshman boat last year—a boat that won the Eastern title and then went on to win the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-the-Thames, England. Traditionally, boats that earn Eastern titles—the second varsity and freshman—are also awarded the option of racing in the Henley Royal Regatta, pending funding.

“Obviously we’re thrilled to have won Sprints twice,” said sophomore Will Riffelmacher of the 2V boat. “The varsity’s loss puts a bit of a damper on our feelings, but those guys just rowed their heart out and came up a little bit short.”

As much as Harvard might desire a rematch against the Badgers, the opportunity for such a race is IRAs—the national regatta scheduled right smack in the middle of training for the Harvard-Yale regatta.

“We’ve got one more race to focus on,” Mallinson said. “No matter how disappointed anyone is not to get another race against these guys, I don’t think anyone would give up racing Yale.”

This year, the regatta, set for Saturday on the Thames River in New London, Conn., marks the 150th anniversary of intercollegiate athletics. Both crews prepare extensively for the marathon of a race, as the varsity boats compete on a four-mile course, instead of the standard 2,000 meters, while the junior varsity rows three miles and the freshman boat races for two miles.

Last year, the Crimson pulled off a clean sweep over the Elis with rather large leads in all three events. Judging from Yale’s performances at Eastern Sprints, Harvard appears to have a definite advantage. While the Crimson won both the freshman and second varsity events, the Yale freshman boat placed third. Neither its second varsity nor varsity even qualified for the Grand Final.

Though Yale may appear to lag behind Harvard on paper, the Crimson rowers still eagerly await the Harvard-Yale regatta regardless of teams’ relative standing. The lack of interaction between the two teams as they both train at Red Top—at different times—adds to the event’s mystique.

“We don’t see them very much at all,” Riffelmacher said. “There’s a lot of nervous anticipation for those two weeks.”

MEN'S HEAVYWEIGHT CREW

RECORD 1st at EARCs (team)

COACH Harry Parker

CAPTAIN Wayne Pommen

HIGHLIGHTS The first varsity was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. The second varsity went undefeated for the season.