The first varsity clocked a time of 5:47.0, beating the Big Green and the Engineers, who finished in 5:50.7 and 5:57.4, respectively.

The conditions were less than ideal for the Crimson, but the oarsmen relied on their fitness and race plan.

“It was kind of cold and we weren’t as warmed up as we maybe would have liked,” said sophomore varsity stroke Tim Moore. “But we still did what we had to do and stuck to our race plan, so even though the margin was a bit less than expected, the win is definitely not a disappointment.”

The second varsity eight distanced itself slightly more from its competition, finishing nearly eight seconds ahead of Dartmouth with a time of 5:57.9. MIT did not field a second or third varsity eight, but Harvard’s third varsity joined the second varsity crews and finished third in 6:11.2.

The Crimson novice crews continued to dominate their opposition this weekend. The first novice boat won by just over 11 seconds with a time of 5:56.0. In the second novice eight race, Harvard secured the largest margin of victory on the day, finishing 14.3 seconds ahead of the Big Green, in a time of 6:13.9.

“It was good to see every boat win their respective race, especially in those conditions that were a bit of a shock to the system,” captain Martin Eiermann said. “We are trying to keep these races as one step towards the coming races and the championships. It’s all part of a process. And, [this race] was sort of one box that we can check off on a list of what we have to do from now into the coming weeks as part of the larger context.”

—Staff writer Jessica L. Flakne can be reached at jflakne@fas.harvard.edu.