If it is true that nobody likes a winner then the Harvard heavies have begun work on a new enemies list--because Saturday, the varsity methodically put away a Syracuse boat which was supposed to be tough, by a margin of two lengths over 1600 meters.

Bad winds forced movement of the course to the end of Lake Onondaga and a channel in front of the Syracuse boathouse. The rowers huddled against the bitter cold before the race but at the gun the Harvard juggernaut cut a swath through the choppy waters and never looked back.

The Crimson maintained a one-seat edge as it settled to 37 strokes a minute from its opening pace of 40. The Orangemen were rowing hard but lost further ground at the calm channel entrance when Harvard cox Jeff Rothstein called a power ten--an all-out sprint for ten strokes.

On the Deathbed

The shells brought down their strokes in the channel with Harvard in front by five seats. But the Crimson were just taking a breather while Syracuse was dying.

At 1000 meters, the Crimson eight responded with a power 20, slipping away from Syracuse and opening up a one-and-a-quarter length lead. The margin of victory at the finish was more than two lengths and eight seconds (5:24.5-5:33.0).

Warren Perkins, who watched from the dock with a sore shoulder (Jim Kenary replaced him at the number-four seat), called the varsity's performance "impressive," although he said he expected a stiffer challenge from Syracuse, fourth at last year's Eastern sprints.

Not Like California

"We're going a lot faster than in San Diego," Perkins said, adding that with more miles, there should be further improvement.

The other Harvard crews completed a Crimson sweep for the brisk day. The junior varsity came home with the widest margin of victory--three lengths--overpowering its Syracuse counterparts by 12 seconds, 5:17.2-5:29.3.

The freshman shells started the day and their season off with two wins. The first boat opened more than a length of open water at the finish, outdueling Syracuse, 5:29.0-5:40.2, and the second freshman crew took the closest race of the day, 5:37.5-5:39.6