Harvard looking for rock-solid effort against Yale
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Harvard rowing captain Joe Medioli has a perfect view of a gloomy reminder, a large rock that causes him to wince when he talks about it, and when he looks across the Thames River at it, well, his stare is brief.
Across the river from the Harvard camp here is a large rock painted light blue and white with a large "Y," which stands for Yale.
It's tradition at the nation's oldest intercollegiate sporting event - the Harvard-Yale Regatta - that the varsity winner paints the rock near the finish line in its school colors.
Medioli couldn't miss the rock from the second-floor patio of the varsity quarters if he tried. But he needs no reminder of last year's race - the second closest in the history of the event. His concentration at Harvard is history, after all.
When asked what the rock reminds him of, his gaze started downward but then he smiled.
"Last year, unfortunately," he admitted.
In last year's race, Yale squeaked out a win by a half-second margin, the closest finish since Yale's victory by a fifth of a second in 1914.
The Crimson took an early lead last year and carried it through most of the 4-miler, the longest rowing race in the Western Hemisphere.
The Bulldogs used the final 1,000 meters to catch up, and pulled even in the final 10 strokes.
Yale never led until the finish line.
Harvard and Yale will race again Saturday in the 143d edition of the race. The combination race (made up of second freshman and third varsity rowers) is tomorrow at 4 p.m., and the freshman, JV, and varsity races are Saturday, with the varsity winner earning the Sexton Cup, which Medioli felt should have been Harvard's last year.
"We felt like we raced such a good race and we really felt robbed, and that's what we see when we see the Y," Medioli said. "We felt like we were robbed of something and we really want to take it back this year."
Harvard coach Harry Parker said he got over the loss quickly because of his team's performance.
"The crew raced really, really well," he said. "They just fell one man and a few strokes short of winning."
Parker isn't spending time on pep talks.
"I should hope there would be a built-in distaste for that color, though," Parker laughed.
The teams already have raced against each other in three events this season: the San Diego Crew Classic April 6, the EARC Sprints in Worcester May 18, and the IRA Championships June 5. In varsity races, Yale placed higher in the latter two events.
Yale captain Jack Vogelsang said last year's close win was the highlight of his career, and since a lineup change earlier this season the team has steadily improved.
"I couldn't be happier with the way the rhythm has lengthened out and gotten much more sustainable since the change," he said.
Yale coach John Pescatore said one factor going into the race has been the heat this past week.
"We've gone through a lot of Gatorade," he said. "On one day we went through 20 gallons."
Parker said his team has been training early in the morning and early in the evening to combat the temperature.
The teams have avoided the heat by reading, playing poker, or watching movies, but around the historic Harvard camp - a farmhouse during the Civil War - players can't help but see the players who came before them.
There is the row of team photos inside the dining hall that date to 1896; some are cracked, most are crooked.
In the varsity quarters, there are names of former Harvard rowers carved onto the inside of cabinet doors in each room.
Inside Medioli's cabinet, the list of names goes back to 1929 - the year the Great Depression began.
And a somewhat depressing reminder of what could have been is sitting across the river, staring at Medioli and his teammates. It's been there for the last year.
So, how long did it take him to get over the close loss?
Medioli laughed, then said, "I'll tell you Saturday."
