No. 2 Harvard Lights’ Biggest Test Yet Comes Saturday at No. 3 Navy

The unbeaten, second-ranked Harvard lightweight crew faces its biggest challenge of the dual season thus far Saturday when it visits third-ranked Navy in the race for the Haines Cup on the Severn River.

Racing Schedule
7:15 a.m. – Varsity Eight
7:35 – Second Varsity Eight
7:55 a.m. – Freshman Eight
8:15 a.m. – Third Varsity Eight
8:35 a.m. – Second Freshman Eight

Follow From Home
Navy is scheduled to webcast audio of Saturday's racing. To listen, click here or call 605-715-4900 and access the race coverage using passcode 2626491.

Harvard Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox: Dexter Louie, 8: Tim Moore, 7: Austin Meyer, 6: Will Newell, 5: Martin Eiermann, 4: Billy Hennrikus, 3: Andrew Trott, 2: Jared Dourdeville, 1: James Stewart

Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Lizzy Maybank, 8: Tyler Caldwell, 7: Ben Bayley, 6: Tom Nesel, 5: Sean Duncan, 4: Michael Murray, 3: Benjamin Tuyp, 2: Andrew Corcoran, 1: Michael Silvestri

Third Varsity Eight
Cox: Angela Chang, 8: Jordan Cotton, 7: Gary Pellisier, 6: Matt Gibbons, 5: Christopher Oland, 4: Collin Rees, 3: Martin Wallner, 2: Joshua Foote, 1: Kevin Fiamingo

Freshman Eight
Cox: Paul Farber, 8: Florian Mayr, 7: Erich Schultze, 6: James Groeneveld, 5: Nicholas Gates, 4: Michael Paresky, 3: Tom Foley, 2: Matt O'Leary, 1: Alex Newell

Second Freshman Eight
Cox: Alex Saal, 8: Kevin Connolly, 7: Gabriel Lloyd, 6: Craig Herron, 5: Arturo Villanueva, 4: Francis Thumpasery, 3: AJ Carvalho, 2: Francisco Triana, 1: Simon Maas

Last Time Out
The Crimson swept four races from No. 10 Dartmouth and No. 11 MIT, retaining the Biglin Bowl with its win in the varsity eight, on the Connecticut River. The Crimson varsity eight finished in 5:47.0, registering a 3.7-second win over the host Big Green and finishing 10.4 seconds ahead of the Engineers. Harvard's other three entries each pulled away to wins of more than seven seconds.

Survey Says
Harvard (7-0) has been ranked second nationally throughout the spring season and received four first-place votes in this week's USRowing Collegiate Poll. The Crimson's wins so far have come against the teams ranked fifth-ninth, 11th and 14th in the nation. Its final three opponents are No. 3 Navy Saturday and No. 1 Princeton and No. 4 Yale next week in Princeton, N.J.

Last Season
The Crimson varsity eight hung on to beat Navy by less than a second last year on the Charles River. The Harvard freshman eight won by more than 12 seconds, while the Midshipmen picked up close wins in the second and third varsities and also won the second freshman race.

Haines Cup History
Harvard and Navy have alternated Haines Cup victories over the past six years. The Crimson holds a 36-7 cup-series lead, but five of the Midshipmen's seven wins have come since 2002. In all dual racing, Harvard holds a 42-9 series edge against Navy. The teams first raced in 1955 and first met for the Haines Cup in 1964.

Scouting the Midshipmen
The Navy varsity eight began the season ranked fourth nationally but beat No. 3 Yale by 1.5 seconds April 3 and subsequently passed Yale in the rankings. The Mids opened the season with a 6.7-second loss to top-ranked Princeton and has topped Columbia, Delaware and Georgetown since beating the Bulldogs. In last week's regatta against the Blue Hens and Hoyas, Navy won each of the five races by five seconds or more.