It's Blue Book Time for Harvard Crews Today

Well, the Harvard crews are not going to be able to cruise into reading period this year. In the worst tradition of Chem 20, a test has been thrown at them this weekend, one that will determine a large part of their final grades.

As usual, the heavies have been class one up to now and there is little reason to assume that they won't continue to pull up the curve. It's a different story for the lights, who have been burning the midnight oil this week in an attempt to reverse the downward trend of the last two hourlies.

The heavies are on Princeton's Lake Carnegie today in a race with the Tigers and Harvard's sparring partners from down the street, MIT. The Engineers will finish third but the other spots are not so certain. Princeton is coming off a convincing three-length upset of Penn last weekend and sees an Ivy title wafting before its eyes.

Penn took the San Diego Classic earlier this season, a title that traditionally belonged to the Crimson, until it chose to pass up the race this year.

Indicative

But you can't bet against Harvard, for even this year's young boat has gelled quickly, outdueling Syracuse in a stretch sprint and breezing over Brown in a confidence-builder last weekend. The outcome of this race will indicate what Harvard faces in a coming showdown with Penn and at the Eastern sprints.

The Crimson lights will be trying to regain, or find for the first time, their confidence as they race for the Haines Cup at Navy. Coach John Higginson shuffled his crew around this week and a solid win is needed (crabs are no fair this time around) before the boat encounters Princeton and Yale next week and Penn at the Sprints.

Shifts

Bill Cunningham moved up from the J.V. boat to stroke the varsity and John Pickering moved from the bow to the number seven position. Higginson left his power positions alone believing that the boar needs "more spark."

He explained on Wednesday that the new "stern pair forces the rest of the boat to try harder because they try harder."

Today's race will tell whether Higginson has done his homework.