PRINCETON, N.J.--It was one of those days that just oozed with potential for an upset. Harvard's three lightweight eights had been seeded on top of their respective positions, flaunting their oars, daring anyone to come get them.

The challengers came, the challengers ebbed, and when the afternoon was over Crimson lightweight boats had once again turned the Eastern sprint into the Harvard Sprint, winning all three grand finals on a very fast Lake Carnegie.

Qualifying Races Set Tempo

The morning qualifying heats set the stage for the afternoon's festivities. The freshman lights drove off the line from the outset and easily outdistanced seeded competitors Navy and Penn.

The J.V. boat had a little more trouble with the Midshipmen but still stroked away with a one-length victory. And before you could say Mother's Day, the varsity boat had also qualified for one of the preferred middle lengths, edging a strong Rutgers challenge by a little over two seconds.

Despite the Crimson's strong morning showing, there was considerable chatter circulating among the 3500 alligator-shirt-garbed spectators about bumping off the smooth sailing Harvardians. The crowd was full of old oarsmen who had come out of their shells for the sprints, and the rowers' reunion was filled with nostalgia and projections on the upcoming races.

No Guesswork

Their predictions were quickly tested in the freshman lightweights' race. On paper it was the "it's anybody's guess" race.

Not much guesswork was needed, however, as the freshman boat left its opposition to slash it out for seconds en route to a three-quarter-length open water win in the time of 6:10.7.

Action picked up as the meet wore on. At the start of the J.V. race, Penn provided the excitement by jumping off to a two-foot advantage and then playing seesaw with the Crimson for the first 800 meters. The Quakers, however, were hampered by a low cadence, and by the halfway mark it was a Harvard, Navy and Rutgers race.

Again, stroke R. T. Lyman and company pulled away, but from out of nowhere Rutgers regrouped and shot by the Harvard boat, gaining a convincing three-seat lead with less than 100 meters to go.

Lyman jacked up the cadence and the Crimson edged out the Scarlet Knights in the final ten stroke by the scant margin of three-tenths of a second.

Seven man Jack Foley said, "It was the most dramatic race I've ever been in, and I hope I'm never near one like it again."

The varsity also treated the crowd to a seat-squirming charmer. Ned Reynolds blasted the Crimson off the start only to see Navy nudge the Harvard eight stroke for stroke.

Anchors Aweigh

After 500 meters Harvard had edged out to a tenuous four-seat margin. Navy, on the other hand, decided to temporarily disband its racing efforts and began engaging in a little naval warfare with the Dartmouth crew in the adjacent lane.

After the Middies' coxswain got his rudder back in gear, the yellow and blue shirts took off after the Crimson clan, and by the 1200-meter mark Navy was only a deck down.

That margin was maintained for the final 800 meters as Harvard sneaked under the yellow winners' flag a half-second ahead of the gents from Annapolis. The winning time was 6:00.8.

Coach Survives

Coach John Higginson survived heart failure to comment on the races. "I was surprised at how fast Navy was. They were a much different crew from two weeks ago," he said.

"It was all very exciting, and I was delighted we were able to meet the challenges thrown at us. It go a little too close for me, however," he said.

Close indeed, when the final tallies had been added up. Coach Higginson's men had won the Jope Cup (for the overall lightweight performance) for the eighth consecutive year, five of which have been sweeps.