Like their heavy counterparts, the varsity underdogs also have a new lineup. The jaggling there has landed Dave Berger up from the J.V., in the six seat.

"What we've done has felt very good so far," Sheldon says of the three-day-old combination.

Harvard's record includes a loss to both Princeton and Yale at New Haven late last month, after a flukey wrong turn sent the Crimson off the racecourse.

The three schools are the powerhouses of Eastern--and, by default, national lightweight crew, and more often than not, the HYP champ goes on to win the Sprints.

Sometimes, though, in Sheldon's words, "One of the losers of HYP gets psyched up and comes out and stuns a boat that thought they had it locked up."

Yale knocked out Princeton last year, and Harvard will look to do the same to the Tigers Sunday afternoon. In the preliminary heats, the Crimson's only challenge besides itself will be upstart Cornell.

And in the afternoon, on all fronts, you can color Lake Quinsigamond Crimson.