A sweep for Harvard's crew
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Click. The radio that broadcast the race was switched off and members of the Harvard crew team walked toward the door of its boathouse on the Thames River, eager to celebrate with the varsity team that had just defeated Yale.
"Hey, Georgi," said a Harvard crew member as the ashore team neared the door. "You going to get the broom?"
Georgi Vukov, a 6-foot-7-inch Bulgarian sophomore, nodded his head and grabbed a black-handled, tattered broom and raised it over his head, pumping his fists. The rest of the Crimson crew on shore gathered and celebrated Harvard's sweep of Yale, including the coveted varsity race, in the Harvard-Yale Regatta yesterday, the 143d edition of the nation's oldest intercollegiate sporting event.
Crimson captain Joe Medioli, whose varsity team beat Yale with the seventh-fastest time (18 minutes 54.1 seconds) in event history, said this win was particularly sweet because of the team's close loss last year.
"This is great," said Medioli. "When we go up and we have our banquet, there's nothing to keep us from celebrating. There's not a single person who can be unhappy today."
Last year, Yale came from behind in the varsity race to beat Harvard by the second-closest margin - 19:57.5 to 19:58.0.
Yesterday, Yale took an early lead and was ahead by a length 40 seconds in. The lead increased at the half-mile mark of the 4-mile race, the longest rowing race in the Western Hemisphere, when Yale took a 4-second lead (4:38 to 4:42).
That's when Harvard made its move.
The Crimson closed to within three seconds at the 1 1/2-mile mark, and to within two seconds at the race's halfway point. Shortly thereafter, Harvard pulled even and then ahead by a length, which the team held from the mile mark in to win the Sexton Cup.
"It felt so good to cross the line today and beyond that, just to row the way we did," said Medioli. "It was such a smooth race. We might have been down a lot, but we kept it up. We know how to race 4 miles.
"[Stroke George Kitovitz] and I were just talking about how that's the best-feeling race we've ever had in these four years. We're happy it [was] our last one."
Harvard coach Harry Parker said he was concerned when his varsity team fell behind early, but not worried.
"Always concerned, but when [Yale was] not able to really pull away from us - they had a length, maybe a little bit more - but when they weren't able to increase that, I felt pretty good," said a soaking-wet Parker, who was tossed into the Thames by his varsity crew in celebration.
Yale, which finished in 19:01.6, was also defeated in the 3-mile junior varsity (14:03.2- 14:23.4) and 2-mile freshman (8:53.8-9:01.3) races as well.
The win improved Harvard's record in the varsity series to 88-54, the junior varsity series to 68-37, and the freshman series to 64-40-1.
Yale captain Jack Vogelsang, who was in the boat for last year's close win, said the team struggled to get into a rhythm.
"Harvard rode a great race," said Vogelsang. "It's very tough knowing how much energy to use and how much to conserve."
Because of Harvard's win in the 2-mile combination race Friday, the formerly Yale blue rock in Bartlett's Cove was given a fresh coat of red paint. It wasn't hardened by yesterday afternoon and the evidence of the previous night's work was in plain sight. An empty red paint can lay on its side near the rock. A charred red paint brush sat in a pit of still-warm coals from a fire.
The rock can be completed now the Crimson varsity crew has won.
"Life is good, life is good," said Parker.
