“I expected our boats to come out with aggression and intensity, considering the heightened competitive spirit at this regatta, and that would definitely be an accurate summary of the racing,” Bonorris said.

Harvard’s strongest performance was in the first novice boat, which finished with a time of 5:56.3, three seconds ahead of Yale.

The Crimson came in third place for the first varsity, several seconds behind its competitors with a time of 5:55.8. The crew came in last two other times, in third varsity with a time of 6:10.3, seven seconds behind the Tigers, and in second novice with a time of 6:36.4, over 12 seconds behind Yale and Princeton.

“We were expecting some ferocious competition this weekend, and we definitely got that,” Bonorris said. “The Harvard boats fought hard, and while we fell short this weekend, we are always looking to improve and gain more speed in the next three weeks.”

The Crimson has a little break before the EARC Sprints.

“For most of the team, Sprints will be the last race of the season,” Bonorris said. “This race was a good experience to have because we were able to test our speed against some of the fastest boats in the league.”

Using this weekend’s setback, Harvard has an opportunity to motivate its crew to improve before the EARC Sprints.

“While we might not have gotten the results that we wanted, I think that the feeling on the team is that if we put our heads down, and grind for three weeks, that we can come out of it stronger and faster, and that we can show some more speed at Sprints,” Bonorris said.

“Every race is another opportunity to find out something more about oneself, to improve boatspeed, and to become a better racer,” she added. “The racing from the Crimson showed this attitude and determination to improve.”

—Staff writer Tanner Skenderian can be reached at tskenderian@college.harvard.edu.