Lightweight varsity eight emerges from California atop national rankings, ready for season

COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY The lightweight crew team will ride its recent success into the EARC season.

It all starts now. Seven months of early morning practices, 60-minute erg tests, and relentless pieces on the water have passed, and the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) racing season is finally here. All the hard work comes down to the next six races, starting this weekend against MIT on Sat., Apr. 8. Following an impressive performance in San Diego last weekend on Sun., Apr. 2, the men's lightweight crew team carries the top collegiate ranking into the season, but everyone knows that the only thing that matters is the racing.

The varsity's trip to San Diego presented a chance for the eight to test itself against league competition. Along with local California crew teams, both Harvard and Navy sent their crews out west to take advantage of the nice weather and early competition. "We don't normally race Navy in our regular schedule," coxswain Stephen Cheng, JE '01, said. "It was really nice to see them." The crew had more to be pleased about than just the sunny weather as they beat both crews, putting in a time of 6.04.9. Harvard finished in second with a 6.08.9. "We were really aggressive and pumped up," Cheng said. "The race was our best piece of the year."

Lightweight

Recent Results: First at San Diego Crew Classic. Coming Up: Sat., Apr. 8 at MIT

While the Junior Varsity (JV) and freshmen eights remained home last weekend, they too are building their speed. "We have a lot of potential," Wesley Ng, JE '02, said, describing the JV. "With concentrated effort and attention to detail, we can make gains in boat speed for the coming races." The key to the JV's success will be consistent effort and improvement as they progress into the racing season. The freshmen are looking ahead confidently, waiting for their first EARC races. Both crews seem ready to race against the best of the EARC crews. "It's good to know that after all our work in the fall and indoor in the winter, we are finally able to show our stuff," Ng said.

Coming off a very strong fall season and the victory in San Diego, the lightweight eight has been ranked first in this week's coaches' poll. Despite its top ranking, however, the entire team has been careful not to look too far ahead. Every team they will race this season is both talented and fast. Concentrating on each day's row only, the team is determined to get better and pull harder each practice. "My crew is working hard every day," Ng said. "Both the varsity and JV will have to take nothing for granted," Cheng added. "Every day we refine what we're doing and get better."

Past success and rankings will quickly be forgotten if they aren't followed by success in the upcoming weeks. The EARC is the world's fastest lightweight league—anything can happen on any given day. With this in mind, all three eights will have to enter each race focused and ready. As they travel to Cambridge this weekend to face MIT, all cylinders should be firing. For the younger crews, this race will give them a chance to build on San Diego.

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