NEW LONDON, Conn. — When Yale’s crew team got to Gales Ferry a little more than two weeks ago, there was still a bit of unfinished business from the year before.

The rock along the Thames River already had been painted blue, covering up the claim Harvard had to it for the previous seven years. But the Elis still had to put the finishing touches on it.

“We had to finish up the ‘Y’,?’’ said Yale captain Hubert Trzybinski.

After running away with last year’s Harvard-Yale Regatta by 17 seconds and finally breaking the vise grip that the Crimson held in the rivalry, Yale comes into this year’s race with a completely different vibe.

“We won last year, obviously, for the first time in a long time and it was a really great feeling just going over to the rock with all the guys there,’’ Trzybinski said. “And then when we came back this year and finished the paint job and put the white ‘Y’ on, that was just a cool feeling.’’

From its vantage point directly across the river at its training site at Red Top, the rock is an eyesore for Harvard.

For so many years, whenever the Crimson arrived to prepare for arguably their biggest race of the season, they could look out and see that their territory was already marked.

“It’s certainly very different,’’ said Crimson captain James Croxford. “It’s a constant reminder of what we’re trying to achieve, really.’’

In a rivalry that dates to 1852, making it easily the longest-running rivalry in college sports, Harvard historically has been dominant.

But Yale’s victory a year ago was a sign of a possible shift in the tides, and coming into the 151st Harvard-Yale Regatta on Sunday, it’s something both teams could sense.

“[Last year] was a difficult year for us,’’ said Harvard coach Charley Butt. “And everybody knew that there were significant challenges going forward because of the strength Yale demonstrated. But that doesn’t mean that our team is daunted. As a team, they’re performing at a very high level.’’

For Elis coach Steve Gladstone, this is the culmination of a process he started when he took the job six years ago. It started last May, when Yale won the Eastern Sprints for the first time since 1982. A month later, the Elis won their first Harvard-Yale Regatta since 2007. In October, they won the Head of the Charles for the first time in school history. They put together a perfect regular season, capping it by winning the Eastern Sprints for the second straight year.

“There’s definitely over this past two years, there’s been a very different feel to the squad,’’ Gladstone said. “It’s not a cockiness, but there’s a sense of it feels like they belong in the top echelon. When they’re racing now, there’s a level of confidence that’s hard to achieve if you’re not doing very much winning.’’

Part of shifting the tide meant shifting the culture, Gladstone said.

“That’s the critical issue,’’ he said. “Mind-set is always the critical issue. It starts with a defined way of going about the work. What you do is there’s training, and the way you approach your training is how the culture is established.

“However, there are lots of people that come into the program — not recently, but when I got here — that weren’t interested in changing the culture. So what you have to do is you establish a way of doing the work, and hopefully the people you bring into the program are ambitious and receptive to doing things in a way that’s going to put you in a position to succeed.’’

Perhaps two of the more important pieces in the rebuilding process were Trzybinski, who won a pair of gold medals for Germany in the Junior World Championships in 2008 and 2009 before coming to Yale, and coxswain Chris Carothers, who bought into Gladstone’s vision when he was recruited out of New Trier High School in Kenilworth, Ill., and watched it come to fruition over the last four years.

“It’s been incredible,’’ Carothers said. “As a senior, I’ve seen that transformation over the past four years and with increased depth, with increased speed and with all these guys over the years, it’s a great time for the program and it just makes the work much easier when you have guys who are confident.

“They know they’re fast, they trust each other, they respect each other, and it makes my job as a coxswain much easier. It does help with the camaraderie, it helps with the overall feel of the program.’’

The Elis’ strength is impossible to ignore, but Butt also pointed to Harvard’s depth. The Crimson are coming off one of their best showings at the IRA National Championship last week.

“Yale has attracted very talented oarsmen, there’s no question,’’ Butt said. “And so have we. And they’ve managed to bring in people into their varsity every year for the last three, four years who make a positive impact. In our case, it might take a year or two to develop the people to have that impact, but they’re going to have that impact regardless. So whether it’s immediate or after two years, that just depends on the year and who you’re getting. But there’s no question that our oarsmen are stepping up to the challenge that this outstanding group of Yale oarsmen pose.’’

Butt acknowledged that “on paper we’re clear underdogs.’’ But while the roles might be reversed, Carothers said, the aim is still the same.

“You come in with different expectations,’’ Carothers said. “Obviously last year, you’re still trying to prove different things. We hadn’t won this race in seven years, so it was something that we were really going for. I think this year, obviously you’re coming in with a different situation. But your goal is to still be the fastest and to win the race.’’

And as fun as it was to put the last brushstrokes on the rock this year, Trzybinski hopes it won’t need another paint job for a while.

“Of course we want to keep the rock blue,’’ Trzybinski said. “We want to have a very successful race this year, hopefully next year and the years to come.’’

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.