Radcliffe Rowers Scheduled To Race in Women's Nationals

The Radcliffe crew will compete in the Women's Rowing Nationals in Old Lyme, Conn.. June 18-20. The team will face crews from Australia and Canada, as well as other American entrants from as far away as the University of Washington.

Coach Garrett Olmsted '68, a former Harvard oarsman, said yesterday that competition at the Nationals "will be stiff but interesting." The team will stay in Cambridge June 7-17 for two practice sessions every day to prepare for the Nationals.

Olmsted and his wife Hope, former captain of the Radcliffe sailing team. decided this spring to coach a Radcliffe rowing team-the first since 1946.

No Males

They plan to coach the team again next year, and most of this year's team will be back. Anthony J. Kane '71. who has a Harvard letter in rowing, has been coxswain for the season, but the rules of the Nationals require the team to find a female replacement.

The crew has had mixed success in racing against Harvard boats. In a B-boat intramural competition. the team beat out Leverett, Quincy, and Lowell and qualified for last Tuesday's B-boat finals, where they placed last.

Radcliffe raced last Friday against a team from Blood Street Club in Connecticut, and won by four lengths. "athletic, though not particularly big.

Olmsted describes the rowers as Though the girls are weaker than men, they are quite a bit more skillful and graceful than the average oarsman."

He said the women are "more coordinated than men. I worked for hours trying to teach a 6' 4", 200-Ib. fellow what any one of my girls learned in 15 minutes."