Lightweight Crew to 'Dogfight' Tigers and Elis for Goldthwait

Last Saturday, lightweight crew coach Peter Raymond gave a new meaning to the saying, "different strokes for different folks."

After his varsity squad dropped the first two races of the season, the second-year coach moved captain Kevin Gaut from the third seat to the stroke position and the boat proceeded to devastate both Navy and Coast Guard.

Movin' On Up

Gaut, who has stroked a lot during practice, replaced senior Courty Gates, whom Raymond believed would be able to give more if he didn't have to worry about setting the pace.

One of the strongest members of the boat according to erg scores, Gates said he liked his new home in the power seat and all the other rowers felt the switch and improved the boat's speed and control dramatically.

"The boat has a lot of power now," three seat man Pasha Lakhdhir, said yesterday. "When the boat is good, it's very, very good."

Yet Harvard will have to row its best when it faces Yale and Princeton Saturday at Princeton.

The only undefeated team in the league and defending Eastern Sprints champions, the Elis will assuredly want to secure their third straight win over the Crimson.

Still, Raymond said that Princeton looked even stronger than Yale despite the Tigers' fluke, choppy-water loss to Navy two weeks ago.

But with renewed confidence, the Crimson stands a good chance at bringing home the Goldthwait Cup. As number six seat Gene Sykes exclaimed after defeating Navy, "Next week's race will be a dogfight, but we're psyched and we're going to shoot them down."