On Saturday morning, the heavyweight crew team battled Harvard on the Thames River in New London, Conn., in the 147th Yale-Harvard Regatta. The Bulldogs’ varsity boat lagged 9.9 seconds behind its opponent at the finish line of the four-mile downstream course, finishing at 19:51.2 and ceding a fifth consecutive victory of the annual race to Harvard. The Crimson’s varsity boat finished at 19:41.3.

In addition to dominating the varsity race, Harvard won the freshman and junior varsity races earlier on Saturday morning. Yale’s freshmen finished 8.5 seconds behind Harvard over a two-mile race with a time of 10:34.1. The junior varsity completed its three-mile course at 15:27.2 – 31.7 seconds behind the Crimson.

Described by head coach Stephen Gladstone as “the grand-daddy of them all,” the Yale-Harvard Boat Race first took place in 1852 and was the first intercollegiate athletic event held in the country. Harvard is ahead 93-54 in the longstanding matchup and has won 12 of the last 13 events. Yale last won in 2007.

Two weeks ago, the Bulldogs placed eighth overall at the Eastern Sprints Regatta and secured a spot in the IRA National Championship Regatta, which will take place next weekend.

Yale will complete its spring season at the national regatta in Camden, N.J., from May 31 to June 2. Last year the varsity squad placed 10th overall in the country.