Men's crews dominate Ivy competition, cruise to victories in New York races

Crew is a pretty old sport. As old, in fact, as the pyramids. A few thousand years ago, teams of Egyptian rowers competed on the Nile River for the favor of the pharoah. The teams that lost were quickly killed and buried so that the memory of their ignominious defeat could be quickly forgotten.

This weekend in the Child's Cup, a race with a long tradition all its own, on a river that was not the Nile, and for a trophy that bequeathed no royal privileges, men's heavyweight crew nonetheless left the opposition dead and buried, beating second place Penn by a comfortable five seconds.

A few hundred miles away in the kingdom of Ithaca, N.Y., the lightweight men dominated the Platt Cup, earning key victories over Rutgers and Cornell.

According to senior captain Mark Flickinger, the weekend could not have been better for the heavyweights.

"I was really pleased with this weekend's results," Flickinger said. "On a tough Columbia course with a lot of variables, we managed to stay tough. Each week we spend together as a boat and as a team allows us to get faster."

Despite second-place Penn's desperate desire to stave off elimination, the Tigers were relentless.

"Penn was a good test of our speed. They never gave up, challenging us the entire way down the course," Flickinger said.

The lightweight men built on their momentum from last week's annihilation of Navy, easily defeating Cornell and instate-rival Rutgers with a time of six minutes, 25 seconds. With Penn next on the schedule and Harvard and Yale in two weeks, the lightweights seem primed to end the season on a high note.

As for the heavyweights, the sweetness of this weekend's victory in the 123rd annual Child's Cup has quickly given way to thoughts of the future. Next weekend the Tigers will face Harvard at home in a race that has suddenly taken on a great deal of importance. After the Crimson's shocking upset of defending Sprints champion Brown last weekend, the Tigers realize that they have a chance to make a big statement on lake Carnegie Saturday.

"Next weekend is a huge meet for us," Flickinger said. "Battling Harvard at home after they took out Brown, the No.2 team in the nation, will be a real test of our mettle."

If the Tiger lightweights lose to Penn next weekend, they will not be killed. Nor, despite rumors to the contrary, will the heavyweights mysteriously disappear if they fall to Harvard. The days of the pharaohs and post-defeat executions are long gone. But don't be surprised if there are some pacifist Quaker casualties of war next weekend. Or if Lake Carnegie takes on a distinctly crimson hue late Saturday afternoon.