“It was disappointing to lose, but overall yesterday’s race was a step in the right direction,” said co-captain and coxswain Joe Finelli. “We made some mistakes in the second 1000 meters, but they are mistakes we are aware of, and we’re confident we can fix them.”

The first 1000 meters were a back-and-forth affair, as the Crimson was down a half a length at the start, ahead by two seats at 800 meters, and even at the halfway mark at the Mass. Ave. Bridge. But Dartmouth pulled ahead early in the second 1000 meters and outsprinted the Crimson down the stretch to win by a length.

Dartmouth won the Biglin Bowl with the victory—just its second in the event’s 47-year history.

Though the first varsity lost, the second varsity and both freshman boats each won convincingly.

“[Our JV boat] worked quite hard this past week and they earned their win,” Finelli said. “Both of our frosh boats also got the job done, which was great to see.”

The Crimson next goes on the road to face two nationally-ranked opponents, No. 2 Navy and No. 8 Georgetown, so the team won’t have to wait long for another challenge.

“We had a good week of practice leading up to this race, and much of what we worked on helped us in the race,” Finelli said. “That’s a good sign. We’ll add more of the pieces to the puzzle this week.”

The Harvard lightweights, who have won the national championship every odd-numbered year since 1993, will have plenty of work to do to defend their title. They have struggled with injuries—co-captain Patt Todd is among those who has yet to race. But the team will look on any returnees from injury as an added bonus and can get the job done with the rowers it has.

“In the long-term, I’m confident that we will continue to get faster each week,” Finelli said. “We’ve got the guys we need to win in the end, and we’ve also got the right attitude, so I’m looking forward to more and more progress each week.”

M. HEAVYWEIGHT CREW

Compton Cup at Charles River

1st Varsity Eight: 1. Harvard 5:53.6; 2. Princeton 5:59.5

2nd Varsity Eight: 1. Harvard 6:00.4; 2. Princeton 6:06.1