Four of the Forty-Two: Previewing Harvard’s Four Teams on the Charles

ith hundreds of thousands of spectators descending on Boston for the 61st annual Head of the Charles regatta, one can only imagine what the hallowed walls of both Newell and Weld Boathouses would say about the work Harvard and Radcliffe’s rowing teams put in to prepare for the event.

After both lightweight teams won their respective eights divisions in last year’s iteration of the world’s largest regatta, expectations are high entering the weekend. Before you head to the banks of the Charles, catch up on the key storylines to watch for each of Harvard’s four teams as they look to defend the water that they practice on every day.

Harvard-Radcliffe Lightweight Rowing:

Third at nationals, eight graduating seniors, a new coaching staff, and a partridge in a pear tree. As remarkable as bronze at IRA Championships is, for the Black and White’s high standard of excellence, something just wasn’t flowing right on the waves of the Charles last season. After the team influenced former head coach Stacey Apfelbaum’s resignation last winter, Elizabeth “Libby” Hughes was named as the program’s new head coach this June. Despite the coaching changes, the Black and White will lean on returning captain and CRCA Second-Team All-American Rikke Nielsen, along with fellow V8+ returners captain Mary Mangan, and junior Hannah Marks for veteran leadership. If new coaches and a refreshed lineup are the key to defending its 8+ title at the Head of the Charles and adding an IRA Championship to its trophy case, then get excited for what the Harvard-Radcliffe lightweight team has in store this season.

Harvard-Radcliffe Heavyweight Rowing:

Finishing just 0.551 seconds away from an Ivy Championship was certainly a change of pace for the Harvard-Radcliffe heavyweight team, as its V4+ boat earned the team’s first podium finish in nine years in an NCAA-scoring race at the 2026 Ivy Championships. While in 2025 the program managed its first nationals appearance since 2019, last spring the team was less noticeable on the national stage, failing to qualify for the NCAA Championships despite ranking 13th in the country in early April. That said, the team returned experienced rowers, with four of the five V4+ members continuing their careers on the Charles. With former Oregon State coach Abby Ernst joining the coaching staff as an assistant, head coach Claire Ochal enters her fourth season at Weld Boathouse. The 2025 campaign showcased the program’s potential, and 2026 brought youthful optimism, so a new assistant coach and 10 freshman rowers may be the mix needed to improve upon its seventh-place finish at last year’s Head of the Charles Regatta.

Harvard Lightweight Rowing:

Now on the hunt for its fourth straight IRA National Championship, the Harvard men’s lightweight rowing team, led by renowned head coach Billy Boyce, went undefeated once again on its road to a 2026 national championship win on Lake Natoma. Two-time All-American and now-captain Preston Darling will star in the team’s V8+, along with sophomore coxswain Nathalie Gregg. The duo makes up two of the four returners from the program’s 1V boat. Although former captain, stroke, Second-Team All-American, and 2026 Oarsman Award Winner Ben Lundie graduated last spring along with First-Teamers Alex Forbes and Zarret Mills, the Crimson returns all of its rowers — along with sophomore coxswain Haley Hicks — from its national championship-winning 2V boat. While much more than water pressure will be on the lightweights, the battle-tested roster will once again take to the Charles to add to its overflowing trophy case.

Harvard Heavyweight Rowing:

The fastest boat on the Charles returns with just a few key members of the 2026 heavyweight boat that set the 2k record on the river with a time of 5:28.212 in April while racing against Northeastern. Junior coxswain Natalia Toms, junior Sam Woodgate, and sophomore Jack Hansen-Knarhoi are the only three returners from the V8+ boat that brought home victory in the 2026 Eastern Sprints. Yet, there should still be optimism in Newell Boathouse, as its 2V boat took second at the Sprints and third within a two-second margin of national champion Princeton at IRAs. Seniors Sam Gallaudet, Owen Finnerty, and captain Marco Gandola are all primed to take the next step into the 1V under the leadership of Charley Butt, who enters his 42nd season with Harvard and his 14th year at the helm of the men’s heavyweight program. Although many new faces will join the Crimson’s 1V, Butt’s expertise and a nationally successful returning roster will prepare the crew to brave the winds and waves of the Charles.

—Staff writer Leo P. Petropoulos can be reached at [email protected].