Cornell Nips Varsity Lightweights As Crimson Miscalculates Finish

A sharp Cornell lightweight crew snatched a three-foot victory from the Crimson varsity in the last five strokes of an exciting but disappointing finish Saturday at Ithaca. Penn came in third in the contest. The winning time was 6:56 minutes.

The same Harvard boat that upset Navy last week jumped into a quick lead at the start and slowly built up its advantage, following the pattern of the Middle race. With both the Big Red and the Crimson stroking a 33, the varsity led by about a length going into the last third of a mile.

Then the Cornell crew began to make its bid. The Big Red started their sprint before the varsity, moving the stroke up to a 35. When the Crimson finally speeded up to a 35, Cornell was already at a 37, and the lead was dwindling. The latter reached a 39 for the last few strokes of the race, but the varsity went no higher than a 37.

Both boats were even for the last five strokes, and, in a sense, the race was a tie. But the Cornell crew happened to be at the end of a stroke crossing the finish line and jutted out three feet ahead. Had the Crimson been in the middle of a stroke the outcome might have been different.

Confusion in the Harvard boat as to the whereabouts of the finish line hurt its sprint effort considerably. Coxswain John Kearney called for the final 20 power strokes when there were still 50 strokes remaining. As a result, he had to call for 20 more, but the Crimson strength had practically been spent by that time.

In the JV contest, coach Larry Coolidge's rowers fared better. The JV's also built up a lead of a length, never relinquishing it. Cornell and Penn followed in that order.