New year, same story.

The Harvard men’s heavyweight crew opened its national title defense with a resounding victory over Brown on Saturday to win its fourth consecutive Stein Trophy on the Seekonk River.

Despite less than ideal wind conditions and an opponent with an extra week under its belt, the Crimson captured all but the second freshman race, winning three others.

The first varsity fended off a strong first-half push from its Bears counterpart, which trailed by just one boat length after 1,000 meters.

The second 1,000 was a completely different story, however, as Harvard (1-0) left Brown in its wake, stretching the relatively narrow lead into a 9.63-second win.

While the Bears (1-1) could not match the Crimson’s speed in the day’s primary heat, their lack of comparable depth was more than evident in the undercard, with two Harvard eights besting Brown’s second boat.

While the Crimson second varsity easily dispatched with the Bears in the three-way race, Brown held its own against the third-tier Harvard boat through the first 1,500 meters. But with the final quarter to go, the Crimson pulled away, finishing four seconds off the pace, but 2.3 seconds ahead of the last-place finishing Bears.

Harvard’s novice eight took its first race by 5.3 seconds over Brown’s rookies.