THE SUNSET OF CONIBEAR Crimson Varsity had not lost a collegiate race since the 1963 Eastern Sprints, nearly four years. Nash’s Freshmen also fell to Harvard. Only the Penn Jayvees remained undefeated, winning by more than fifteen seconds. Jayvee 7-seat Robby Meek: “All that rowing that we did, our boat was in such great shape! I can remember the Junior Varsity race at the Adams Cup on the Charles River, a mile and three-quarters. Harvard, Navy and us. We took off at 36, settled to 34. That’s all we did. Settled to 34 . . . and walked away from Harvard. “And the Varsity lost, so we were the heroes that day. I think it was the most exciting victory I ever had.”4364 Paumgarten: “Something happened in the Varsity race. We got blown out of the water off the line, and I don’t think we ever got it together after that. Once you dig a hole for yourself . . . you kind of scratch along. “We do know that one fellow basically blew up. His lights didn’t go on, and the next week he was out, and Howard Greenberg was in. This was the year when everybody had made the boat only one way, by the Point System, but Greenberg was a judgment call by Joe.”4365 Allen: “After our loss in the Adams Cup, the crew agreed we just didn’t like the high-tech lights – which also added fifty pounds to the boat – and we chose to row the Sprints in a brand new shell which we nicknamed ‘The Clean Machine.’”4366 The Eastern Sprints The rematch between Penn and Harvard came just a week later at the Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond. The Freshmen again lost to Harvard, finishing 4364 Meek, op. cit. 4365 Paumgarten, personal conversation, 2007 4366 Allen, op. cit., 2007 last in their final after one of their oarsman caught a crab and was ejected from the boat. But the Jayvee won their race by open water. The varsity race was Harvard’s twenty- fifth consecutive collegiate victory and their record-breaking fourth consecutive Eastern Sprints win. The New York Times: “Taking the lead at the start at 43 strokes per minute, Harvard was closely challenged by Penn for 500 meters, with both rowing in the middle 30s. Then the tremendous power in the Crimson boat was asserted, and at the halfway point it was a full length in front. “Northeastern, which had lost to Harvard by only one seat at the start of the season,4367 and Cornell were a bit back of Penn, and Yale was staying with them. “Hitting hard on the catch and swinging beautifully at 33, Harvard continued to draw away, and the fight was for second place. “Penn at 35 and Northeastern at 33 pulled in front of Cornell at 32. Penn took second by eight-tenths of a second from Northeastern, which finished less than a length in front of Cornell.”4368 Allen: “We came much closer to Harvard at Worcester [7.6 seconds versus 11.3].”4369 Sculley: “In the fiercely fought final, we finally lost to Harvard by about one length,4370 taking second place, while the undefeated Jayvees won their final handily. Our confidence was restored, and we set our sights on the IRA, the race we had trained for since September.”4371 Allen: “Yes, Harvard was a great crew, but Joe had been training us all year for a 4367 See Chapter 116. 4368 Allison Danzig, Harvard Varsity Wins E.A.R.C. Race, The New York Times, May 14, 1967 4369 Allen, op. cit. 4370 Actually, it was closer to two. 4371 Sculley, op. cit. 1199
