Radcliffe Lights Cruise to Victory on the Charles

Coming off a frustrating eight-second loss to Princeton last week, the Radcliffe heavyweight crew came alive on the Charles Saturday as the oarwomen cruised to an open-water win over Dartmouth, Syracuse and Mount Holyoke.

Coach Carie implemented a change in strategy for the race as she sent a starboard-stroked boat--with freshman Anne Benton in key position--to the line.

The strategy certainly did not hurt, as the 'Cliffe boat crossed the finish line of the 1200-meter course in 5:26.5, two lengths ahead of Dartmouth (5:35.5) and Syracuse (5:35.8), and a curvature of the earth ahead of Mount Holyoke.

Hammering

"Last Saturday we were sort of hammering away," Benton said yesterday, "and in this race we were a lot smoother."

Of the new seating arrangement, Benton said, "I really liked it. It was kind o a new psyche."

The race did not start all that well for the eight, as Dartmouth jumped perhaps a seat ahead at the start, despite Radcliffe's 39 strokes-per-minute cadence.

Erasers

The women in black quickly erased the Big Green's small lead, as they put together a smooth, powerful stretch of rowing after the settle.

Moving at a 34 strokes-per-minute clip, the women in black picked up nearly a seat a stroke following the settle, and by the 300-meter mark they owned a lead of just under a length. By the halfway mark the lead grew to a full length, where it held steady until the closing sprint.

Benton had the boat sprint over the last 30 strokes, and it was over that short stretch that the lead grew to eight seconds by the finish.

The junior varsity boat also won Saturday, coasting to a 21-second win.

"The thing about this race was that we beat them, but only by about eight seconds," varsity seven seat Cynthia Strong said yesterday, "and Yale beat them by something like 14 seconds."

Showdown

The all-important showdown with the Elis comes this Saturday at Derby. Conn. Asked if the crew wanted to beat Yale all that badly, Strong said. "Oh, more than anything."