The Crimson is scheduled to hit the water as the sun rises over the Charles River Saturday.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The No. 4 Harvard heavyweight crew races at home for the first time this spring as the Crimson takes on old rivals MIT and No. 7 Princeton for the 74th awarding of the Compton Cup Saturday morning on the Charles River.

Racing Schedule
6:36 a.m. – Third Varsity Eight
7:12 a.m. – Freshman/Second Freshman Eights
7:48 a.m. – Second Varsity Eight
8:24 a.m. – Varsity Eight

Honoring Howard
The Harvard heavyweight crew will recognize former Crimson national champion and Olympic gold medalist Malcolm Howard '05 with the dedication of a rowing shell in his honor at Newell Boathouse following the conclusion of racing Saturday.

Howard went undefeated against intercollegiate competition in his three years as a member of Harvard's varsity eight, helping the Crimson to three straight national championships. He helped Canada's men's eight win Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 and received honorable mention in the selection of Rowing News Male Athlete of the Year for 2009.

Harvard Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox: Kelly Evans, 8: Patrick Lapage, 7: Blake Pucsek, 6: Nick Jordan, 5: David Wakulich, 4: Sam O'Connor, 3: Michael DiSanto, 2: Anthony Locke, 1: Benjamin French

Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Joseph Lin, 8: Phil Matthews, 7: Christopher Fuller, 6: Mark Fuller, 5: Spencer Livingston, 4: Ivan Posavec, 3: Connor Griffith, 2: Jack Morrissey, 1: Elihu Reynolds

Third Varsity Eight
Cox: Alex Sopko, 8: Richard Anderson, 7: Robert Stone, 6: Kyle Gordon, 5: Karl Hirt, 4: Lukens Orthwein, 3: Alex Soutter, 2: Andrew Stein, 1: David Paresky

Freshman Eight
Cox: David Fuller, 8: Peter Scholle, 7: Justin Mundt, 6: Parker Washburn, 5: James O'Connor, 4: Jason Phillips, 3: Eli Shikaloff, 2: Alex MacIntosh, 1: Josh Hicks

Second Freshman Eight
Cox: Colby Wilkason, 8: Matthew Vincent, 7: Nolan Pollock, 6: Shaw McKean, 5: Tom Hanson, 4: William Polachek, 3: Mick Malowany, 2: Luke Phillips, 1: Chris Goldstein

Last Time Out
No. 3 Brown held off a strong sprint from the Crimson varsity eight to win by one second and claim the Stein Cup Saturday on the Seekonk River, ending Harvard's streak of wins against 14 straight dual opponents. The Bears also won the second and third varsities, while Harvard took the freshman eight and second freshman/fourth varsity eight races.

History Lesson
Harvard has won the Compton Cup in each of the last three and seven of the last eight meetings. Princeton claimed the first four cups in the series, starting in 1933, and has won 10 total, while Harvard has captured the trophy 58 times and MIT once. The cup is named for the late Dr. Karl T. Compton, former MIT president.

Last season on Lake Carnegie, the Crimson varsity eight built a boat-length lead by the 500-meter mark and won by 8.3 seconds. The Engineers passed the Tigers for their first second-place Compton finish since 1975. Princeton posted a four-second win in the second varsity, while the Harvard third varsity and freshmen were victorious.

Scouting the Tigers
Princeton, which won the third-level finals at the EARC Sprints and IRA National Championships last season, has defeated Georgetown, Penn and Columbia so far this spring. Greg Hughes is in his first season coaching the Tigers after leading Princeton's lightweight squad to the 2009 national championship.

Scouting the Engineers
MIT is seeking its first win, having lost to Columbia, George Washington, Navy and Gonzaga. The Engineers' most recent race, against Gonzaga at the George Washington Invitational, was decided by just 1.3 seconds. Last season, MIT reached the Sprints petite final, placing sixth, and won the fourth-level final at the IRA regatta.