Harvard made a final push in the last 500 meters to counter an anticipated early Tigers sprint.

Princeton never managed to make up the ground it lost in the middle 1,000 meters of the race, and the Crimson steadily widened the margin in the last stretch of the course despite a headwind.

“We made another move at the last 500 and then just sprinted to the finish,” Medaris said.

Harvard finished in 5:48.2—the team’s fastest time at Princeton since 1995—and Princeton crossed the line with a time of 5:54.6. Over a boat-length of open water separated the two crews. MIT finished a very distant third in 6:35.9.

“We’re an especially young crew,” Medaris said. “A win over such a quality opponent was really an incredible thing. It helps us to become more confident in ourselves.”

The victory marked the 19th-consecutive dual win for the Crimson, which has not lost a dual race since 2001. On the afternoon, the Crimson claimed three of four races to capture the Compton Cup.

Only the second varsity fell for the Crimson Saturday, coming in with a time of 6:15.6 to Princeton’s 6:11.9.

The first freshman boat rebounded from last Saturday’s close loss to Brown with a solid five-second victory over a talented Princeton crew. Harvard finished in 6:13.3, Princeton was next in 6:18.3, and MIT crossed in third with a time of 7:06.4.

“That’s an outstanding thing for [the freshmen],” Medaris said. “They’re to be given much credit to be able to come back from a loss the week before and put it all on the line against one of the number one crews in Princeton.”

The third varsity boat trounced Princeton by four boat-lengths, coming in with a time of 6:39.1. Princeton finished in 6:51.3.

Yesterday, the second novice boat dispatched MIT with similar ease, winning by open water.

Next Saturday, Harvard will again be on the road in Philadelphia to face Penn and Navy for the Adams Cup. Last year, Harvard swept all five races on the Charles en route to the squad’s fifth consecutive Adams Cup win.

In search of its 20th-consecutive dual victory, the varsity boat will put its unblemished 3-0 record on the line.

“This [win] gives us great confidence, but we’re being cautious and trying not to read too much into the margins,” Medaris said. “We all know it’s going to be tough from here on.”

—Staff writer Aidan E. Tait can be reached at atait@fas.harvard.edu.