They say 16 is the sweetest. Such was true as the No. 2 Harvard heavyweight men’s crew team bested both No. 4 Northeastern and Holy Cross in five races on Saturday on the Charles River. The wins allowed the Crimson to capture the 16th straight Smith Cup over its cross-town rivals.

The first boats took to the water before eight AM for the fifth varsity four race. While the Harvard ‘A’ boat won outright in 6:54.8, Crimson teammates in the ‘C’ and ‘B’ boats were not far behind, respectively taking second and third. After catching a crab at the 800-meter mark, the Holy Cross boat finished last in 7:30.0, 20 seconds behind the ‘B’ boat.

The fourth varsity four race also saw Harvard establish a sizeable lead over opponents, with the ‘B’ boat capturing first place in 6:38.6 and the ‘A’ boat taking second seven seconds later. Northeastern rounded out the trio nearly eight seconds later.

The slimmest margin of victory came in the third varsity eight race, as the Crimson’s first freshman boat battled through catching a crab late in the final 15 strokes to edge the Huskies by just over a second, 5:48.2 to 5:49.8.

Winning came easier for the second varsity boat. While Harvard and Northeastern stayed close to one another for the first 1000 meters, as the Crimson came out from under the Harvard Bridge the boat began to gain on its opponent and won with a lead of nearly a whole boat length.

The first varsity boat remained undefeated over its six spring contests as the eight grabbed yet another win. Like the second eight, the first 1000 meters were knotted for Harvard and the Huskies, but the Crimson opened a significant lead by the 1500-meter mark and took the Smith Cup with open water. Harvard won the race by almost four seconds, 5.30.8 to 5:34.2.

Saturday’s races conclude the season on the Charles for the Crimson, as the squad will resume competition at the EARC Sprints in two weeks.

—Check thecrimson.com for updates.