M. Lights Cruise to Eighth Biglin Bowl in Nine Years With Sweep of Dartmouth, MIT

Last year it was uncertainty that dominated the men’s lightweight rowing scene, as crews upset higher-ranked opponents, assumed their position and promptly lost the following weekend.

But for the No. 2 Harvard lights—who are right on the cusp of a No. 1 ranking—this year, so far, so good.

Facing No. 8 Dartmouth and MIT, the Crimson made its case for that top spot, as its top boats won their respective races by at least five seconds over their primary competition from the Big Green to win the Biglin Bowl.

Harvard’s first varsity remained undefeated with its 5:34.3 performance, thrashing the Dartmouth boat with an open-water 7.8-second victory, during which the Big Green never challenged.

MIT finished a distant third, crossing the line in 5:57.2.

The second varsity made equally quick work of its competition. Though they were not competing with the rowers in the first race directly, the Crimson’s second eight finished in 5:42.9—0.2 faster than the Big Green’s top boat.

The second boat wasn’t up to the task either, finishing in 5:57.1, while MIT timed in at 6:18.0.

Similarly, Harvard’s third varsity bested Dartmouth’s second, time-wise, finishing in 5:50.4, besting the Big Green’s third eight by 9.5 seconds.

The Crimson’s two freshman boats upended their Dartmouth counterparts by 5.9 and 5.2 seconds, respectively, while MIT and a second Harvard freshman boat brought up the rear in the two races.

Next weekend, Harvard will have another opportunity to display the merits of its claim to the No. 1 seat, when the crew travels to Navy, which currently holds the top spot. The two will compete for the Haines Cup, which the Midshipmen have won just four times, but each of the past two years.