The Harvard men’s heavyweight rowing team will compete in the Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, with preliminary heats beginning at 8 a.m. and finals starting at 1 p.m. on May 15. All races are scheduled to be streamed online at Overnght.com.
The Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) Sprint Regatta has a long history, with its first event held on the Charles River in 1939 and won by Harvard. The competition was paused during World War II but resumed in 1946, when Wisconsin claimed the varsity race and the first Rowe Cup. Harvard earned its fifth title and first Rowe Cup in 1947. To date, Harvard University Boat Club (HUBC) has secured a total of 34 titles and 35 Rowe Cups.
Recent performances have been strong for Harvard’s varsity eight, which took gold with a time of 5:33.895 against Dartmouth after leading from start to finish. Both second and third varsity boats also won their respective races that day. Against Ivy League opponents this season, Harvard defeated Cornell for the Robinson Cup and Penn for the Adams Cup but lost to Princeton in the Compton Cup.
In their last outing, Harvard’s varsity boat set a new course record on the Charles River while retaining the Smith Cup over Northeastern with a time of 5:28.21—the fastest ever recorded on that stretch of water.
Race times for Sunday are tentatively scheduled as follows: fourth varsity at 8:10 a.m., first varsity at 8:30 a.m., second varsity at 9:40 a.m., and third varsity at 10:10 a.m., though these times may change.
Looking ahead, after this weekend’s competition, the team is preparing for the IRA National Championship set to take place from May 29-31 in Sacramento.
