Heavies Face Navy, Penn Saturday for Adams Cup

Crew fans will get a look at two of the top heavyweight boats in the country on the Charles tomorrow, previewing the EARC Sprints a week later. Unfortunately those two crews, Harvard and Wisconsin, will have to wai until the meeting on Lake Quinsigamond, as they row separate opponents tomorrow.

Harry Parker's top-ranked EARC varsity eight take on Penn and Navy at 10 a.m. on the Charles for the 36th running of the Adams Cup race. As with the other Cup series, Harvard leads this one by a hefty margin, winning 19, while Penn and Navy have each won only eight apiece.

The Crimson come into the race with a 2-0 slate, after an easy win against Brown and a three-length victory over MIT and Princeton in the Compton Cup race on Lake Carnegie last weekend. The Harvard oarsmen stroked the 2000-meter course in a record time of 5:43.7 leaving the much-touted Engineers in their wake.

"It was very pleasing," Parker said of the Carnegie win. "We had a good, strong performance."

Parker, in his characteristically cautious manner, is not counting out either Penn or Navy. "Penn has another good crew," assesses Parker. "And Navy is an up-and-down boat capable of dramatic reversals in from each week. We're going to have to row at least as well as last week to win."

Parker will be sending to the starting line the same eight that has been successful thus far this season: coxswain David Weinberg, A1 Sheahy at stroke, Steve Rowe at seven, Dick Cashin at six, captain Dave Fellows at five, Ed Woodhouse at three, Tiff Wood at the four spot, Ollie Scholle at two and Blair Brooks at bow.

Penn comes into the race undefeated, after defeating Yale by a considerable 15-second margin last weekend. Most of the spectators won't be watching how Penn does, however, but rather how Harvard and rival Wisconsin perform in their respective meets, and sizing up next week's sprints from there.