At Poughkeepsie

For more than two decades, Columbia University has had varsity crews that have just missed being good. The 1927 season seemed, at the beginning, no exception. With an all-sophomore crew, which had been magnificent in 1926 as freshmen, Columbia's hopes were thwarted on the Housatonic River in May by Yale. Then Columbia tried a shakeup, put a couple of upperclassmen in the boat, trailed the Navy and Princeton in the combined Stewards' and Childs' Cup regatta at Philadelphia a few weeks later.

Water sharps picked Columbia to finish behind the Navy, Washington and California at Poughkeepsie last week; but sharps have been wrong so many times this season that duller men have taken to flipping coins before betting.

Columbia took the lead at the start at Poughkeepsie, but was soon passed by California. Just before the three-mile (three-quarters) mark, Stroke Eric Lambert raised the beat in the Columbia boat, killed California in a mighty struggle. Then along came the giants from Washington, thrashing down the turgid current almightily. But the youngsters from Columbia, averaging 19 years in age, had something left--an unbelievable spurt that Washington failed to catch by three-quarters of a boat-length. It was Columbia's first victory in the intercollegiate four-mile regatta since 1914. The winning time, 20 min., 57 sec., was slower than had been made at Poughkeepsie since the original race in 1895.

Washington, California, Navy,

Cornell, Syracuse, Pennsylvania* finished in the order named.

* Hitting a log early in the race, puncturing its shell, Pennsylvania did well to finish at all.