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Coolidge Wins Senior Single Sculls Championship, Equaling Record

Laury Coolidge '58 shuttled over the one-mile upstream course in the Charles River Basin Saturday morning in 6:22, equalling the record time for the Darcy Cup single sculls race.

The Darcy Cup race is the senior singles event in the University. The record was set by Dave Sears in 1937.

With enough tail wind to lend a hand but not enough to materially ruffle the waters of the Basin, Coolidge jumped into an early lead which was never seriously challenged. He finished with an estimated four and one-half lengths of open water between himself and his nearest rival.

In the Junior Singles championships, rowed over the Downstream Course from Weeks Bridge to Magazine Beach a week ago Monday, Bob Bradford finished first in a field of five, about a length and a half ahead of second-placing Mike Adair.

Charlie Wolle placed third, one length behind Adair, while Joe Hajek and Carl Darcy finished fourth and fifth respectively, trailing by an estimated 10 and 13 lengths.

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Stu Hussey and Hal Close finished second and third respectively in the Darcy Cup race, followed by William Alcorn and Ben Boldt.

Hussey maintained an open-water lead over the remaining three entrants, who rowed and finished within a deck length of each other, providing the only traces of competition in the event.

As a Darcy Cup winner, Coolidge will be presented with a replica of a single scull made by Andy Anderson, long-time builder of racing sculls at Weld Boat-house.

Only members of the "30-Minute Club" are qualified to compete for the Darcy Cup. Coolidge, who qualified in his freshman year, finished second in Cup competition last year and the year before.

Hussey and Close qualified for the "30-Minute Club" last year, while Alcorn and Boldt met requirements only this year.

Open to any qualified student in the University, this year's Darcy race was unusual in that all entrants were from the College. Except for Boldt, a sophomore, all were seniors.

The Junior event, rowed in the late afternoon, benefitted from unexpectedly calm water and a mild tail wind after a day of wind and choppy surface. Bradford will reportedly receive a medal for his victory. Official time was not reported, but observers indicated that it was probably some three seconds off the record mark.

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