Lightweights Cop Goldthwaite Cup For Tenth Time

The Harvard lightweight crews posted their fourth consecutive sweep of the season Saturday at New Haven. In all five races, Princeton was second and Yale was third.

The varsity race saw the lights capture their tenth straight Goldthwaite Cup in a record-breaking 6:10, nine seconds faster than the former regatta mark set by the 1947 Harvard crew.

Varsity coxswain Brian Sullivan took advantage of the moderate tailwind at the start and kept the stroke above 38 for the first quarter mile. The strategy paid off handsomely as Harvard picked up 3 seats and then added another 3 with a flawless settle and power ten at the lower 35. Yale began to fade by the 3/4 mile pole, but Princeton hung on to gain 2 seats on the long dog-leg turn.

Harvard responded with a second power ten and pulled out to a 6-seat margin going into the last half-mile. Princeton upped the stroke for the final sprint, but Harvard wore the Tigers out with a third power ten.

The JV race saw Harvard lead all the way to win in 6:18.8, another new course record. The Crimson first freshman boat took an early lead to fashion a 3-length victory in 6:26. The third varsity and second freshmen served notice of the overpowering Harvard depth as they coasted to convincing 3-length wins.