M. Heavyweight Crew Takes San Diego Classic

The San Diego Crew Classic.

Anything with a name and location like that has to have a tradition. And, for Harvard, winning the Classic has become a bit of a tradition. in itself.

For the second straight year, and for the sixth time in the last 19 races, the men's heavies took home the Copley Cup, this time with a thrilling victory over Pennsylvania.

Harvard held out over the last 500 meters to triumph, 5:54.13 to 5:54.51.

"It was very, very close," Coach Harry Parker said. "I thought we responded very well."

Also competing on the waters of Mission Bay were the Radcliffe heavy weights, who finished third, behind Washington and Boston University, and the Harvard lightweights, who also finished third, behind Yale and Pennsylvania.

It's almost a shame the early-season meet wasn't more indicative of the season to come.

"Each race is important," Parker said, "but this one didn't tell us a lot except that we're going to be competitive."

This is welcome news for the heavies. Prior to this weekend's competition, Harvard was expected to place behind the Quakers.

As it was, the Crimson had to overcome a slow start to catch Penn at the 1000 meter mark, but built a three-seat lead over the next 500 meters. Penn picked up its stroke rate, but Harvard responded in kind and finished with the slimmest of victories.

"It was a tremendous finish," Parker said. "Our men were rowing 38 [strokes per minute] over the last 500 meters, and went up to 40 or 41 at the end."

The playing field has been leveled off. Penn has been exposed as vulnerable.

Radcliffe heavies Coach Liz O'Leary was equally thrilled, even though her crew finished in only third place.

"There was some great racing," O'Leary said. "It was pretty wild."

Despite a "blazing crosswind" which periodically disrupted the crews' momentum, the top five boats finished within five seconds of each other.

Leading the pack was Washington, with a time of 6:43.77, followed by BU (6:45.32), Radcliffe (6:46.41), Penn (6:47.26), Brown (6:48.19) and Wisconsin (6:57.21).

The wind played a major part in the outcome. Wisconsin, racing in the outside lane, bore the brunt of the whitecaps. Washington, meanwhile, raced in the protected inside lane and led from start to finish.

Radcliffe, racing in the third inside lane, suffered through a slow start but rebounded to catch the pack at the 1000 meter mark, and rowed a strong last 500 to pull into third.

"The crew was solid," O'Leary said. "They showed the needed maturity to race in tight situations.

"We learned a lot about our racing plan," the coach continued. "We saw our weakness, the start, and our strength, our good finish. We showed some good moves."

"All we have to do now is fine-tune the whole thing," O'Leary said.

The Harvard lightweights, the defending national champions, placed third but raced without Co-Captain Tom Caughey (who was taking his MCATs).

The Elis clocked in at 5:59.2. Penn placed with a time of 6:01.49, while Harvard finished third at 6:05.30.

Final Results Men's Lt. Wt. 1. Yale  5:58.2 2. Pennsylvania  6:01.49 3. Harvard  6:05.30 Witter Cup 1. Washington  6:43.77 2. BU  6:45.32 3. Radcliffe  6:46.41 Copley Cup 1. Harvard  5:54.13 2. Pennsylvania  5:54.51 3. Wisconsin  5:59.14