“There’s nothing but good on the horizon for Harvard rowing,” McDaniel said. “There are a lot of strong rowers coming up and a lot of competition.”

In the final, the Harvard freshmen avenged the loss of the Harvard lightweight crew to Oxford Brookes University in the quarterfinals.

“We definitely got a tougher draw than some other crews,” said junior Pat Todd. “I was disappointed to lose, but it was a good way to end it.”

The Crimson lightweight crew finished its season in the U.S. by winning the IRA National Championship over season-long nemesis Yale on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. Harvard has won the national crown every odd year since 1991, for a total of six titles.

After falling to Yale in both the dual race and at Eastern Sprints, the Crimson’s grand final victory over the Elis at the National Championship warranted a trip to the Henley Royal Regatta, where Harvard would see some familiar faces.

In its first race of the regatta, Harvard faced the Naval Academy’s lightweight boat, an opponent the Crimson beat by nine seconds during the dual season. Harvard repeated its victory over the Naval Academy at Henley, with a margin of a length and a quarter.

The Crimson’s next challenger was the Dartmouth junior varsity lightweight crew. Harvard’s 6:44 bested the Big Green, who trailed by two-thirds of a length. The Crimson moved into the quarterfinals, where it met its match in the first boat of Oxford Brookes University.