M. Heavyweight Crew Routs Yale in Annual Regatta

The Yale varsity made an appearance at the 140th running of the Harvard-Yale regatta on Saturday.

And that was about it.

The national champion men's heavyweight crew routed Yale by 40 seconds, rowing to the Crimson’s sixth consecutive victory on the four-mile course in New London, CT. With the win, Harvard completed its third consecutive undefeated season and extended its dual win streak to 24 races.

One week removed from its third consecutive national title, Harvard had little difficulty dispelling a Yale crew that placed 12th at IRAs. The Crimson established a comfortable lead by the time both boats settled and powered through most of the four-mile course with an open-water advantage.

By the halfway point, Harvard sat more than three boat lengths ahead of the Bulldogs. As the Yale boat grew smaller and the Crimson rowed the course in complete isolation, Harvard set its sights on another opponent—the course record.

The record stood to see another year, however, although Harvard crossed the halfway point within seconds of the course mark. Multiple lengths ahead with a mile to go, Harvard had little to push or sprint for and cruised to a 19:20.4 finish on the four-mile course.

The Crimson varsity crossed the line more than 12 boat lengths ahead of Yale. Harvard tacked on nine more boat lengths of open water in the last two miles. The time was the 13th fastest in the Harvard-Yale regatta, the oldest collegiate athletic competition. Yale finished in 20:00.0.

The Bulldogs’ second varsity claimed a win over the Crimson, giving Yale its first second varsity win in the regatta since 1996. Yale raced to a 20.2-second victory in the three-mile second varsity race, finishing in 14:12.7 to Harvard’s 14:32.9. The Crimson freshmen returned to competition after their second-place finish at IRAs with a 7.5-second victory over Yale in a two-mile race.

—AIDAN E. TAIT