By Edward Hewitt, Globe Correspondent, 6/4/2004

COOPER RIVER, N.J. -- Crossing the finish line at an easy trot of 30 strokes per minute, the Harvard varsity eight glided easily into the semifinals at the 102d Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta yesterday, finishing well ahead of the pack in their heat.

Pushing into the lead just before the 500-meter mark of the 2,000-meter course, the crew bolted from the field just after the halfway point, and soon eased into a relaxed and patient groove it rode to the finish line in 5:42.71.

"The varsity felt very good about their row," said Harvard coach Harry Parker. "They found a good rhythm, and were able to settle in nicely."

This marks the second consecutive year Harvard has chosen to attend the IRA; prior to 2003, it had not attended since 1995 because of conflicts with the Harvard-Yale race, which takes place next weekend in New London, Conn.

Harvard won the IRA last year, and went on to complete a perfect season the following weekend on the Thames.

"We had a good experience last year, and with Yale's cooperation, or rather instigation, that may be the right word, and the way the schedule lined up, we were able to attend again this year," Parker said.

The coach resists the notion he chose to attend the IRA because he had a fast crew. "The schedule worked out this year, but there's no guarantee that it will always be the case."

California, Washington, and Navy also advanced directly to the semifinals. Winning times for the four heats were nearly identical, with a mere 0.8 seconds separating the four winning crews, but Parker will wait for tomorrow's semifinals to judge his team's chances.

"In the heats, most crews will go no harder than they have to. We'll know more after the semifinals," he said.

Harvard also won its heats in the second varsity and freshman eights, advancing directly to today's semifinals. The second varsity, which also comes into today's racing undefeated, rowed an almost identical race as the varsity, taking the lead by the midpoint, and settling into a cruising rhythm to the finish.

The freshmen took a more circuitous route to a similar destination after stroke Brendan Hodge suffered a muscle strain in practice Wednesday, and was unable to race. Matt McLane (Weston, Mass.) moved into the eight, Chris Johnson (Ashby, Mass.) moved to the stroke seat, and Toby Medaris switched from starboard to port for the race, the rowing equivalent of a breaststroke swimmer competing in a championship in the backstroke, or batting from the other side of the plate. Nonetheless, the freshmen won their heat handily, besting Boston University by a small patch of open water.

"We had to juggle the lineup, but the crew did beautifully despite having every excuse not to," said freshmen coach Bill Manning. He said Hodge is expected to recover in time for the semifinals.

After failing to advance to the semis from the morning heats, BU and Northeastern met in the last repechage of the afternoon, with Northeastern winning the rep to advance to this morning's semifinal, while BU failed to advance in placing third behind Rutgers.

BU does advance to the C-D level semifinals.

Heats for the women's lightweight eight national championship take place this morning, with the final tomorrow. Radcliffe comes into the event as the top seed after winning the Eastern Sprints here May 9. The men's lightweight eights national championships also takes place this weekend, with both heats and finals tomorrow. Harvard placed second behind undefeated Navy at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester May 15.

This story ran on page E7 of the Boston Globe on 6/4/2004. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

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