ANNAPOLIS, Md.-The Harvard lightweight crew will be out to run its season record-to 3-0 (4-0 overall) today, meeting the Midshipmen of Navy in a race on the Middies' home course, the Severn River in Annapolis.

For the Crimson lights, the annual encounter with Navy for the Haines Cup is usually a question not of whether they'll win but by how much. The Haines Cup has been fought over for 18 years, and the Crimson has taken it all 18 times. However, things could be a bit different this time around.

Ebb and Flew

Navy is traditionally one of the weak sisters of the Eastern Lightweight League, but this season second year coach John Vas Ameringe seems to be changing the tides of Navy's lightweight fortunes.

The Middies have slid past Coast Guard and Princeton this year and have lost to a strong Rutgers squad by only one-and-a-half seconds.

"We have been aiming for continuity this year," the Navy coach said yesterday.

"There has been a different coach here every year for the last ten years up until this year," Van Ameringe said. "We have five men back from last year's first boat, and we've really improved a lot from last season. I think we've going to give Harvard a good fight this year."

For John Higginson's lightweights, the big problem could be overconfidence. "I wouldn't say we've overconfident," number four Jeff Parker said yesterday. "I think we'll win it."

Overkill

Higginson was not at all pleased with his squad's eight second win over MIT last weak and said he is hoping the best will come up with a better performance against Navy.

"We had to control the psych," Higginson said. "We didn't race as well as we could or as hard as we could against MIT last week. I don't know how we'll do against Navy, but we'll do better than last week. I'm scared shitless at the prospect of Navy being good."

In the other three races of the day, the junior varsity, third varsity and freshmen should encounter equally stiff competition from their Navy counterparts.