Heavy Four Highlights Regatta

With the air crisp, temperatures in the low 50s, and clear skies, weather conditions for the 44th annual Head of the Charles Regatta could not have gotten any better.

Fittingly, both the Harvard men’s lightweight and heavyweight crew teams took advantage of the great weather and fared extremely well in an event that featured almost 2000 boats and over 8000 rowers.

While the other three crews—the lightweight four, the lightweight eights, and the championship eights—held their own against the rigorous competition, it was, as always, the Crimson’s heavyweight championship four that received the most attention this weekend. A trademark of rowing coach Harry Parker, the four strongest oarsmen from last year’s varsity team traditionally represent Harvard in that race.

“Coach tends not to show his cards until the spring season actually begins,” heavyweight captain Teddy Schreck said.

And while powerhouses Brown, Washington, and Cal may have selected their best oarsmen for the championship eight event, that doesn’t mean the Crimson faced weak teams, as Wisconsin, Stanford, and Yale all assigned their most experienced rowers to the fours.

Led by junior coxswain Joseph Lin and Schreck, the four heavyweight rowers did not disappoint, as they finished the three-mile course in fourth place with a time of 16:14.792.

Starting third in the staggered race, the foursome quickly got off to a strong start, keeping pace with the front-runner and eventual first-place boat of the U.S. Rowing Training Center. The rowers faced rough and choppy waters at first, but nevertheless adjusted to the conditions.

“We had a good first split at Riverside [boathouse]—that was a good sign, and our practicing definitely paid off,” Schreck said.

Lin was once again effective as the coxswain, directing calls to his teammates and monitoring the cadence. As a result, the Crimson passed the second boat right away from the beginning and never looked back.

The Crimson finished just one second behind third-place Stanford, as they were neck-and-neck in the final stretch of the race.

“We tried especially hard to keep the margin with Stanford throughout. We had an advantage on them in the first three splits, but unfortunately, Stanford took the last split by the slimmest margin,” Schreck said.

Overall, Schreck and his crewmates were satisfied with their results.

“Each race is a step along the way, and the [Head of the Charles] was definitely our first test of the year,” Schreck said. “We were happy with the way we competed but we know that there is still work to do.”

In the other heavyweight competition, the Harvard championship eight finished a solid 13th among 27 other entries. Despite several setbacks, including starting in 27th position and the misfortune of not having any other boats in sight to push off of, the Crimson still managed to finish the course in 15:11.831.

Harvard’s second entry, primarily composed of sophomores, wasn’t far behind, finishing 18th in 15:16.368, while the Crimson’s third and final entry, consisting of only freshman, finished 29th in 15:40.504.

“I was extremely happy with the way the younger guys raced this weekend and confident [that] the training we put in this fall churned out positive results,” Schreck said.

Members of the heavyweight crew team also competed in the club eight event on Saturday. Facing an extremely competitive field, the two entries representing the Crimson finished first (15:03.976) and third (15:24.326), respectively.

Meanwhile, the men’s lightweight rowers represented the Crimson on the Charles in the lightweight fours and the lightweight eights. Led by senior coxswain Eli Kupperman, the lightweight four finished seventh in 17:36.856, barely edging out Cornell, who finished three seconds after. The first place entry from rival Yale finished well ahead of its other competitors with a time of 16:27:02.

Harvard had two entries in the lightweight eight event yesterday, and the Crimson found itself at the top of the standings as well as near the bottom. The first entry under junior coxswain Dexter Louie placed third (15:00:128) among the 21 other competitors.

Lightweight captain Jeff Overington credited Louie’s performance as a coxswain with the team’s overall success.

“He basically just kept reminding us of the techniques and gameplan. He made a great turn, and as a result we passed Dartmouth,” Overington said.

On the other hand, the second entry, comprised of all freshman, finished second-to-last with a time of 16:36.185. Overington, however, was optimistic with the way the freshman performed.

“The fact that they had to go up against varsity crews was daunting enough. Had there not been a one-minute penalty, they would have done even better,” Overington said.