“We lost to a better crew and they outweighed us by a lot,” Todd said.

The heavyweight boat of Oxford Brookes had a fast start, giving the crew an initial advantage which was held through the course of the race. Harvard’s lightweight boat pulled in two lengths behind Oxford Brookes‚ in a time of 6:31.

“It was a great experience,” Todd said. “It’s not that big of a deal in the U.S., but when you go over, having that many people watching you is really great. They don’t care what school you row for, they’re just cheering for you. It’s great to have that much attention given to our sport.”

The success of the varsity lightweight boat this year was particularly satisfying because six seniors from that boat graduated this year.

“I’m impressed by this particular crew because they never gave in,” said lightweight Coach Charley Butt. “They had a tough weekend [at Eastern Sprints]. They accepted that they had to work harder to improve. At some points, it’s easier to decide that another crew is better or faster—to keep pushing is exceptional. I admire their determination and their persistence. It paid off for them and those qualities shine through.”

In addition to the two eight-boats, Harvard also sent a pair of rowers to compete in the Silver Goblets and Nickall’s Challenge Cup. Alex Chastain-Chapman and Graham O’Donoghue represented Harvard in this high-level pair event.

The pair lost in the first race to future-finalists P.M. Haining and N.J. Strange of the Auriol Kensington Rowing Club and Leander Club. Haining and Strange were defeated in the final by James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent of the Leander Club. Cracknell and Pinsent both earned gold medals in the Sydney Olympics and are currently first in World Cup standings.

Another American crew found success at Henley—Dartmouth. After a late start to its spring season on the water due to frozen water, Dartmouth picked up speed at the end of its season, in time to garner second place at Sprints and a spot in the final of the Ladies’ Challenge Plate against Princeton. In the final, the Big Green overcame an early Princeton lead to win the cup with a time of 6:30.