Men's Crew Captures Compton Cup, Biglin Bowl

Harvard men’s heavyweight and lightweight first varsity eights brought trophies back to the boathouse this weekend by winning the Compton Cup and the Biglin Bowl, respectively, for defeating local and league rivals on the Charles River.

The heavyweights raced Princeton and MIT in Saturday’s racing, while the lightweights squared off against Dartmouth and MIT.

“We planned on coming out strong,” heavyweight captain Mike DiSanto said. “We had a good week of training and were very focused. We’re very happy with our performance and every boat executed like they wanted to.”

HEAVYWEIGHTS VS. MIT, PRINCETON

For the sixth straight year, the Harvard heavyweight 1V secured the Compton Cup with a win over Princeton and MIT.

Crimson boats finished first in Saturday’s other four races to complete the sweep.

“We had a tough weekend last weekend [against Brown], so we were looking to move up from that,” said junior James O’Connor, bow seat of the first varsity eight.

The Harvard first varsity eight heavyweights came through with a victory over Princeton, giving the Tigers (5-1) their first loss of their season.

The Crimson finished with a time of 5:59.5, 5.7 seconds ahead of the Tigers. The Engineers, who came in third, finished far behind both the Crimson and Tigers crews with a time of 6:56.6.

Even though Harvard ultimately finished more than a boat length ahead of the Tigers, the heavyweights knew that they were not going simply to be handed a win.

“We knew Princeton was going to be fast,” O’Connor said. “[But] we were feeling quietly confident.”

The second varsity boat also had a successful outing, winning by the greatest margin of all five races.

The Crimson crossed the finish line eight seconds ahead of the Tigers, completing the course in 6:09.2.

The third varsity boat recorded a five-second win over Princeton while the freshman eight defeated both the Tigers and MIT in 6:09.8.

Overall, the team seemed satisfied with its performances.

“It felt great coming back to the boathouse all together as a team with the Compton Cup,” said senior Nick Jordan, five seat of the second varsity eight.

LIGHTWEIGHTS VS. DARTMOUTH, MIT

The No. 1 Crimson lightweights also performed well this weekend, taking home the Biglin Bowl trophy thanks to the first varsity eight’s win over both Dartmouth and MIT.

The 1V came in first with a margin of 4.2 seconds over the No. 6 Big Green, finishing with a time of 6:12.4. MIT trailed behind with a time of 6:48.7.

“We knew we were going to have to get off the line fast to stay with [Dartmouth], and we were able to respond,” said junior Erich Schultze, three seat of the first varsity eight. “This race was right on track with what we have been doing. It’s fun to win at home because there’s always a nice surge of encouragement to have friends come out and watch.”

The varsity eight was not the only victorious boat.

Harvard’s freshman eight and second freshman eight teams also placed first in their races with a 12-second and a 7.1-second margin of victory, respectively.

Overall, the Crimson took three out of five races on the morning.

The lightweights are eager to continue their success as they look toward the end of their season.

“We have put a lot of hard work into the winter and fall seasons,” said sophomore Michael Wales, bow seat of the first varsity eight. “We are ready to take our team to the next level and bring some heat to the table.  We will keep pushing the limit as the season goes on.”

Last year, at the National Championships, the lightweights came in second place by two-hundredths of a second.

“Our loss from last year has been a lingering factor in our training,” Schultze said. “[That loss] is going to continue to motivate us.”

Because of the motivation that they have from that race, the lightweights continue to work hard in order to keep their No. 1 status.

“We are the No. 1 ranked team in the country, so we have a big target on our backs,” Wales said. “We were ready for the dog fight and were pretty fired up to win.”