The Harvard varsity heavyweight crew team went into the 48th Eastern Sprints Regatta hoping to avenge their regular season loss to top-seed Brown, but came out wishing they had just finished second.

Harvard finished a disappointing sixth in the grand finals, almost 12 seconds behind Brown, which crossed the finish line in a near-record time of 5:37.2.

The Crimson clocked in with a 5:49.0 mark, 0.3 seconds worse than its qualifying time.

Penn came in second place with a time of 5:42.4, edging third-place Yale by just over a second. Northeastern and Navy also topped the Crimson with times of 5:45.1 and 5:47.7, respectively.

The top-seeded Bears, winners of seven races this season, got off to a blazing start and had open water on the rest of the field by the 1,000 meter mark. Brown continued to pull away from the rest of the field to win their first Eastern title since 1987.

"They met the challenge, no question about it," said Brown Coach Steve Gladstone. "When I heard they were in the lead so early, I figured that boded well for us. We don't usually go to the front so early, so I felt good."

As the grand finals approached, a day-long tailwind began to subside and the water became as smooth as a Larry Bird free throw.

The suddenly slower course cost Brown the course record of 5:36.8, set by Penn two years ago.

Regardless of the margin of victory, however, Brown's win gave them an automatic bid to the national championships in Cincinnati.

Harvard, on the other hand, must prepare for its big June 5th race against Yale after a disappointing showing.

Penn, Northeastern and Navy had each lost to the Crimson earlier in the year, making Harvard one of the favorites going in. Last year's national champions didn't live up to expectations, however, adding to the importance of reestablishing an even keel going into the race with the Elis.

In the morning heats, Harvard defeated Northeastern in a grueling race, 5:48.7 to 5:49.8 to qualify for the grand finals.

The Lightweights

In the lightweight division, Dartmouth edged top-seeded Harvard to grab the Eastern championship.

The Big Green rowed its way to a time of 5:45.2, breaking the course record of 5:48.9, set by Harvard in 1991.