Heavyweight Crew Loses to Navy, Fails to Make Summer Olympics

The heavyweight crew's hopes for a trip to the Olympics fissled completely last weekend, as the varsity eight lost twice in the Lake Ononadaga trials.

Pitted first against a Cornell crew that defeated the Crimson earlier in the season, Coach Harvey Love's boat lost by a length and a half. Cornell in turn was barely edged out by Navy, which won the 2000-meter heat in 6 min. 37.7 sec., fastest time of the day.

In spite of this loss last Thursday, the boat enjoyed a second chance Friday morning. Under rowing's unique "repechage" system, a crew defeated in a first host could compete again for the Olympic position.

Navy placed two boats in the final, an unprecedented feat, and the first boat defeated the Crimson by half a length. A determined challenge in the final 200 meters fell short, and the Crimson was eliminated from the Olympics.

Although the heavies proved effective and smooth in long races during the regular season, they simply did not have the power to defeat the Midshipmen in the shorter race. Rough water also hampered the crew.