Lightweights
The Harvard lightweight varsity boat returns to the water this season as the defending Easterns Sprints champions for the first time since 1983.
Despite losing five of the eight rowers from the boat that was invited to last year's Henley Regatta (which includes heavyweight boats), Harvard Coach Charlie Butt has reasons to be optimistic.
The lights finished second in the Head of the Charles last October behind the Canadian National Club Heavyweight Crew Coach: Harry Parker Captain: Joe Harvey Last Year: (21-5, 12-2) Home Meets: Charles River The Schedule
April Sat, 8 BROWN 11:30 a.m. Sat, 15- at Redwood Shores -- Sun, 16 (at Stanford, Ca.)-- San, 22 at Princeton/M.I.T. -- San, 29 NAVY/PENN --
May Sat, 6 NORTHEASTERN 9:45 a.m. Sun, 14 at EARC Sprints -- (at Worcester, Mass.)
June Sat, 10 at Yale 6:00 p.m. (at New London, Conn.) Lightweight Crew Coach: Charles Butt Captain: Eric Davis Last Year: (7-1, 3-1) Home Meets: Charles River The Schedule
April Sat, 1- at S.D. Crew Classic -- Sun, 2 (at San Diego) -- Sat, 8 at Pennsylvania/Cornell TBA Sat, 15 DARTMOUTH/MIT 11:00 a.m. Sat, 22 at Navy 7:00 a.m. Sat, 29 at Princeton/Yale TBA
May Sun, 14 at EARC Sprints -- (at Worcester, MA) champion, St. Catherine's, and ahead of theAmerican National Club champ, Vesper.
Also, Butt's three returning varsity rowers,Captain Eric Davis, John Leete and John Velyvis,will be joined by David Obura, who rowed two yearsago on the heavyweight JV boat and sophomore TedMarple, who won Henley races twice in high school.
"We are very deep into the second and thirdboat," Davis said, "and there are probably 14 guyswho could row on the first boat."
The lights won the Eastern Sprints championshiplast year by two-and-one-half seconds overPrinceton, avenging the squad's onlyregular-season defeat in 1988.
The Crimson will be looking to knock offPrinceton and Yale April 29 in an attempt tocapture the Goldthwait Cup (the H-Y-P title) forthe first time since 1980. Harvard will alsofaceoff against Navy on the Charles, whiletravelling to row against Penn and Cornell April 8and Navy April 22.
The lights begin their spring season defendingtheir San Diego Crew Classic crown April 1 and 2.The Crimson stunned Yale last year by 4.35seconds, snapping the Bulldogs' streak of fivestraight Commodore's Cup titles from 1982 to 1986.Yale didn't race in San Diego in 1987.
And, of course, the lights will have theopportunity to repeat as Eastern Sprints championon May 14 at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester