...As Heavies Swamp Penn, Navy

Harvard's heavyweight crew notched another easy victory Saturday on the Charles, humiliating Penn and Navy by the largest margin in ten years of Adams Cup racing.

The margin was all the more remarkable because Penn moved off the line quickly and picked up nearly a length. If the Quakers felt good after the start then that was the only time. Harvard moved by at the 500-meter mark, ground out a two-length lead by the 1000, finishing six lengths in front of the previously unbeaten Quakers, and nearly ten over the midshipmen.

The pattern is beginning to look familiar to Harvard crew fans. The Crimson's relatively light boat requires precise rowing at the start; against MIT and Princeton, Harvard caught a couple of crabs off the line, scaring everyone in the boat. No one wanted that to happen again.

There were no crabs on Saturday, however, and it is a tribute to Harvard's technical abilities that the light shell handled so well in very rough water.

MIT has come the closest of any crew to seeing Harvard at the finish; the Engineers finished a mere three lengths behind after the Crimson gave up a length at the start. Interest was high when visiting Wisconsin took on the Techies immediately after the Adams Cup race.

The Badgers won fairly easily over MIT but they did not display nearly the power of Harvard, giving away nearly as much to the Engineers at the start, but managing only a one-length victory.

Forecasting off this weekend's showing, the Crimson is the favorite to win the Eastern Sprints next weekend.

Wisconsin starts rowing much later than Harvard, however, and the Badgers have good strength, desire, and talent. Combine all that with one week of practice and it adds up to a good race next Saturday.

The Crimson J.V. gives the varsity a race in practice sessions so it's no surprise that all of their races have been won by even larger margins. Saturday Harvard's second boat bettered the varsity margin by one second, finishing six lengths in front of Penn and ten in front of Navy.

The heavyweight frosh suffered their first loss of the season by a length to Navy while the Crimson third varsity boat dropped a heartbreaker to the UMass varsity by .2 seconds.

So the stage is set for Saturday: Harvard, Wisconsin, and MIT should be the top three seeds, and, if all goes well, finish in just about that order.