In the Grand Final, Harvard earned third place with a time of 5:53.70, just beating out Fordham’s 5:53.90. Wisconsin posted a winning time of 6:49.80 followed by Brown’s 6:53.10.

“The fours rowed really well, especially in the open four,” said co-captain Jesse Elzinga. “There was one freshman in that boat and they all had very little preparation.”

Though some of Harvard’s rowers may have had more time to prepare than others, it did not appear to harm the Crimson’s performance. After his 16th season coaching at Harvard, Charley Butt is famous for the lightweight program’s excellent preparation.

“Charley Butt is becoming a legend,” Elzinga said. “It was obviously our best race of the year. We prepared very well and our coach had us really ready.”

The Radcliffe lightweights also traveled to IRAs with hopes of besting Prince and Wisconsin, the thorns in the Black and White’s otherwise unblemished season.

But though the Tigers and the Badgers remain at the top after the Grand Final, Radcliffe finished in third place, its best finish since it won the national title in 1997.

The Black and White began the regatta on Friday, by taking third place in its morning heat. MIT won the race and a spot in the Grand Final with a time of 7:28.15 just edging Villanova’s 7:28.71. Radcliffe’s time of 7:44.76 sent it to the repechage that afternoon.

The Black and White shined in the repechage, posting a winning time of 7:08.71, besting UMass’s time of 7:12.57 and Deleware’s 7:17.90. With the victory, Radcliffe earned a lane in the Grand Final. UMass won a spot in the Petite Final, but both Georgetown and the Minutemen were knocked out of further races when they didn’t make weight at the second weigh-in.