The Harvard lightweights competed twice on Saturday, first against No. 8 Navy and then against No. 3 Georgetown, with only nine hours between the two races.
“It is really hard to gear up and race twice in one day like that,” said junior Erich Schultze, three seat of the first varsity eight. “Especially in the league that we race in, with a high quality of teams across the board, you can’t make mistakes. Having to go through the whole process twice, we had to be both fortunate and strong [Saturday].”
The first varsity eight had a strong race against the Midshipmen, finishing in 6:11.0 with a 3.4-second advantage and allowing Harvard to capture the Haines Cup.
“We had a good start against them, and we were strong at the 1000-meter point,” Schultze said. “They took a really good move and came back into us again at the end of the race. But, we were fortunately able to hold them off.”
The first varsity boat was also successful in its second race of the day against the Hoyas. The Crimson finished 4.5 seconds ahead of Georgetown, marking one of four Harvard victories of the afternoon.
The second varsity boat faced a different challenge. After losing to Navy by a considerable margin, the Crimson had to bounce back for a successful race against the Hoyas.
“At Navy, we struggled to find our rhythm, but at Georgetown we really found it,” said sophomore Benjamin Hughes, four seat of the second varsity eight. “Against Georgetown, we were able to get a good lead off of them in the first half and expand it in the second, which we hadn’t been able to do in other races. That was a positive mark for us because we were able to stay strong throughout the course of the race.”
The first and second freshman boats both defeated Navy, finishing in 6:22.1 and 6:45.0, respectively. According to Schultze, the victory over the Midshipmen carried special significance.
“Not only has Navy historically been one of our biggest rivals, but their home course is probably one of the most special courses in the league because of the history and intensity of the place,” Schultze said. “To go in there and get a win is one of the hardest things to do.”
—Staff writer Alexa N. Gellman can be reached at agellman@college.harvard.edu.