LONDON — Oxford's heaviest ever crew won the university boat race against Cambridge on Sunday for its fourth victory in five years.

Cambridge matched Oxford through the first half of Sunday's race and even led through the second of the three bends, but the favorites surged ahead late, tapping into their greater stamina and power.

It was Oxford's 75th victory in 155 runnings of the rowing classic on the River Thames.

Cambridge chose to start at the Surrey station after winning the toss and led by half a length 2 miles into the 4.25-mile race, but could not pull clear of the Dark Blue boat at the sweeping middle bend.

Oxford cox Colin Groshong stepped up the pace at the Chiswick Reach and powered clear for a seventh win under coach Sean Bowden.

"I knew we had the guns for the whole course," Groshong said. "I knew we could go the whole distance and we had the power. It was a great feeling knowing I had that at my fingertips."

The Light Blues had done well to recover from a shaky start but a missed stroke seemingly canceled out any advantage from winning the toss and gave Oxford a crucial early lift.

"I knew if we stayed in contact, we were in a good spot," said Oxford's Alex Hearne, who had one brother row at Cornell and another for Princeton. "We just had a beautiful rhythm and it is my most exciting moment in rowing."

Oxford had been expected to win, particularly after picking a crew containing five Olympic competitors. The crew weighed an average 220 pounds, 3 pounds more per man than the record it set in 2005.

The Cambridge crew weighed in at an average of 211 pounds.