CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Harvard men's lightweight rowing team suffered just its second loss of the dual season on Saturday, falling to Yale and Princeton on the Charles River. The Tigers retained the Goldthwait and Vogel Cups after its narrow win. The Crimson now heads into the championship season, which begins next week at Eastern Sprints, with six dual race wins to its name. 

How It Happened

• The second varsity boat was the first crew to race on Saturday against both Princeton and Yale. The boat was narrowly defeated by the Tiger 2V boat, that took the win after a photo finish. Princeton won by less than a seat and officially won by a narrow margin of .2 seconds. The Crimson 2V posted its best result on the Charles this year with a final time of 5:43.3.

• In the Goldthwait and Vogel Cup race between the first varsity crews, Harvard started strong, building an early lead on their rivals. With 750 meters to go in the race and the Crimson still in the lead, one of the Harvard crew members got an oar stuck in the water, forcing the boat to a stop. The Crimson finished the race but due to the unfortunate mistake, the team lost to Princeton and Yale. 
• The third varsity crew also posted a season best finishing time, coming in a 5:54.8, just two seconds behind the Yale crew. The Crimson still earned a three second win over Princeton in the race. 
• The V4+ rounded out the competition on the day with a second-place finish in a three-boat race. The Crimson defeated the Yale B team by nearly 15 seconds, but fell to the "A" crew by just over five seconds after a 6:58.9 finish. 

Up Next 

Harvard will pause for reading period and final exams before returning to the water on Sunday, May 14 for the first race of its championship season at Eastern Sprints. The Harvard lightweight crews will take to the water at Lake Quinsigamond looking to improve on its eighth place finish a year ago.