Harvard’s four rowing teams had a strong Saturday showing, dominating in key races across the board.
Men’s Lights
The men’s lightweight team continued its undefeated season in the first and second varsity boats, defeating MIT and Navy by a comfortable margin and maintaining a lead throughout both races. The varsity fours saw similar success, finishing 20 seconds before MIT.
Led by senior coxswain Anya Cheng, who was named 2024 Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association Coxswain of the Year, and senior captain Brahm Erdmann, the first varsity crew held steady in 12 mph winds on a warm day on the Charles.
The wins affirm the men’s lightweight team as number one in the nation, a rank that they have held in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s poll for all three polls of the season so far. Each time, Harvard has been the near-unanimous first rank. Last week, all three eights teams prevailed in snowy conditions and river currents against Dartmouth — an impressive win that displayed how the veteran leadership of Cheng and Erdmann has contributed to the team’s success.
Last year, the team took home the Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s national title for the first time since 2013, marking a renewed era of success for the program. They’ll attempt to defend their title next month at the IRA National Championships in Cambridge, Mass., and Camden, N.J., between May 30 and June 1.
Women’s Lights
The women’s lightweight team had mixed successes against Boston University and MIT, with Harvard-Radcliffe finishing five seconds behind BU in the varsity eights but winning the first and second varsity four race. Harvard placed second in the double, behind BU but ahead of MIT.
The women have had a rollercoaster season, with both eight boats placing second in the final and the first varsity eights finishing fourth in the grand final for the Knecht Cup last week against several of the nation’s top teams. Led by junior captains Kristine Schwartz and Sisira Holbrook, the team aims to improve upon their bronze medal at the national championships last year.
Earlier this year at the Head of the Charles, the lightweight eights ended their two-year domination of the events, though the lightweight fours maintained a top-five finish. Coming into the spring season, the Radcliffe eights were ranked third in the nation, behind Princeton and BU, in the IRA poll. Since then, they lost in the head-to-head with Princeton, but have had mixed results against BU. The fours and doubles were ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.
The team will compete again at Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass., on May 4 against Georgetown, Stanford, and the University of Wisconsin.
Women’s Heavies
The women’s heavyweights swept all four races — first and second varsity eights, and first and second varsity fours — on day two of the Big 10 Invitational. The regatta featured the eleven Big 10 schools, including Notre Dame and the University of California, Los Angeles, and twelve guest teams, including Harvard and its Ivy peers Brown and Penn.
On the first day, the eights finished first and second across the two races held, falling only to the University of Michigan in one of the races. The first varsity fours finished first in both its races.
Harvard’s Big 10 success may be reflective of an impressive improvement from last year’s season, where the eights finished seventh in the Ivy League and the fours A team finished fourth. Against Princeton and Cornell last week, the first varsity eight and four teams took second place.
Over the past two weeks, Harvard has climbed from unranked in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll to 18th, cementing the value of its wins against No. 12 Michigan, No. 16 Duke, No. 20 University of Oklahoma.
The women will compete against Yale and the University of Tennessee next week in Cambridge — hoping to climb up the polls even further with wins against the fifth and sixth ranked teams in the nation.
Men’s Heavies
The men’s heavyweight also swept its four races this weekend, defeating Princeton in the first, second, third, and fourth varsity eight races at Lake Carnegie in New Jersey. Competing for the Compton Cup, which Harvard won in the matchup last year, the varsity eights had a commanding three second win over Princeton.
After taking home the silver last season in the national championship, the men’s heavyweight team seeks to repeat their dominance while pursuing the elusive title of champion, last achieved in 2005.
Last month, the team lost to the University of Washington, who defeated them in the championship last year. However, the team took home a decisive 15-second victory over Cornell last week. Standing at fourth in the IRA rankings, the team will have to replicate their dominance over the past two weeks in order to defeat the No. 1-tied University of California, Berkeley and Washington in the IRA championship at the end of May.
The men will return to competition next Saturday against Navy and Penn, taking on their ten-ranked Ivy foes in Cambridge for control of the Adams and Clothier cups.
—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.
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