April 21, 2007

BOSTON, Mass. -- A late surge by Harvard allowed the Crimson to overcome a six-seat deficit to Navy and post a narrow six-tenths of a second victory in the Haines Cup race between the two respective varsity boats, Saturday morning on the Charles River in Boston, Mass.

The Mids (3-3) jumped out to their six-seat advantage by the middle of the varsity race, but when the teams reached the 1700-meter mark on the course both boats were even with each other. The Crimson (4-1) then took a slight lead near the close of the race and managed to hold it at the finish line for the victory. Harvard crossed the line with a winning time of 6:04.5, while Navy finished with a clocking of 6:05.1.

"It was a gutsy race by our guys," said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. "I'm proud of how we race. I think this shows our speed is improving as the season has gone on and we are looking forward to continuing that as our championship meets quickly approach."

A victory by Navy would have allowed the Mids to maintain possession of the Haines Cup for the fifth time in the last six years, as well as record just their second victory over the Crimson in Boston since the teams began competing for the hardware in 1958.

Harvard's margin of victory is tied for the second-closest Haines Cup race in series history. Only Navy's 46-hundredth of a second victory over the Crimson in 2003 was a closer race than Saturday's was.

The second varsity race also saw the Crimson record a narrow 1.3-second victory, while Navy won the remaining three races on the docket. Among the Navy trio of victories was a nine-tenths of a second win in the second freshman race.

Navy will close out its regular season May 6 when the Mids compete against Penn for the Callow Cup on the Severn River.

Varsity Eight (Haines Cup race)
Harvard, 6:04.5; Navy, 6:05.1
Second Varsity Eight
Harvard, 6:17.6; Navy, 6:18.9
Third Varsity Eight
Navy, 6:25.1; Harvard, 6:52.0
Freshman Eight
Navy, 6:22.9; Harvard, 6:29.7
Second Freshman Eight
Navy, 6:30.6; Harvard, 6:31.5