“From Eliot on everybody realized that we hadn’t had a spectacular piece up to that time and it was time to put it on the line,” he added. “We had a great last 1000 meters but it just wasn’t enough.”

That was the story of the day for the lights. The crew was neither deficient in training nor stamina, but the strength and strategy of its opposition early on proved too much to overcome.

“The row itself didn’t feel bad,” junior bow Mike Kummer said. “I was comfortable. The one thing we weren’t comfortable with was the way every one else did.”

Demonstrating the parity among collegiate lightweight crews, Penn and Cornell placed boats in the two places immediately behind Harvard.

“I think that that’s primarily the trend in lightweight rowing,” Kummer said. “I think it’s going to be similar to last year.”

And that means an up-for-grabs division in which any crew might emerge on top. Key to the Crimson’s success in that endeavor will be the ascension of one of the squad’s members into the leadership roles previously filled by former captain Nick Blannin ’03 and would-be senior Dave Stephens, who is currently training with the Canadian national team.

“We’ve lost probably our two best guys from last season,” Haas said. “We’re kind of looking for someone to step up and take that role these guys last year took, lead us on as far as training goes.”

On this day, the eventual winners came not from the collegiate ranks but hailed from the New York Athletic Club, which finished first in a time of 14:35.133—more than 12 seconds ahead of Yale.

A second Harvard entry placed 16th, clocking in at 15:24.840.

Radcliffe

The Black and White lightweight crew captured second place in the Lightweight Eights division for the second consecutive year, topping foes Wisconsin and Princeton for the second straight Head.

“It was really gratifying, especially after our finishes last year against Princeton,” sophomore stroke Sarah Bates said.

The Tigers defeated Radcliffe five times last season.

The Black and White established an early three-and-a-half-second lead over the Badgers and five-second advantage over Princeton and never looked back.

“It was gratifying to watch us leave Princeton behind, leave ’em in the dust,” Bates said.