Heavyweight Oarswomen Open Season Impressively With Win Over Williams

The Radcliffe heavyweight crew opened its season with a gutsy performance on a gusty day, storming past Williams to register a 17-second victory on the Charles Saturday.

The normal 1500 meter course in the basin between the MIT and B.U. boathouse fell victim to the windy weather and turbulent waters. The two teams agreed to move the race upstream to the "powerhouse stretch," shortening the course by about 100 meters.

The weather also forced the squads to take a flying start instead of the usual standing start.

Taking command right from the beginning, the heavies opened the gap to the eventual winning margin during the middle 500 meters, and then staved off any Williams challenges to finish in 5:41.1, three boat lengths ahead of their opponents.

The oarswomen maintained an unusually low cadence of under 32 strokes per minute to combat the inclement conditions.

"Despite the low cadence, the boat still moved. The crew played it cool--that's what they're supposed to do," coach Carrie Graves said yesterday.

"The squad is stronger this year--they're approaching races more confidently and competently," she added.

Although the heavies rowed well, according to Graves, the race was not a very good indication of the crew's prospects in upcoming battles against Ivy adversaries.

"Williams hasn't been in the water for very long. Next week's race at Princeton will be a real test," the second-year coach and former Olympian said.

Thinking ahead to next week's Princeton contest as well, Strong said she thinks it will be "one helluva race--and Princeton knows that too."

The Princeton boat trounced the oarswomen with an eight-second margin of victory last year.

Senior Nelia Worsley, who hung up her goalie skates last month to fill the oarssomen's bow position, said yesterday, "We kept our pace solid, and the low cadence helped deal with the wind. We're psyched about the rest of the season."

As if the strong wind gusts were not enough, the J.V. boat blew away the Williams crew, triumphing in 6:07.5--a devastating 36 seconds in front.

The novice crew made it a clean sweep, dunking Williams by more than 20 seconds in another impressive display of pulling power.

So the oarswomen anticipate next week's New Jersey showdown with cautious optimism. Last year, in conditions similar to this weekend's headwinds, the Crimson stayed even with the Tigers for 1000 meters before succumbing, as Strong said, to Princeton's superior technique.

This season, the oarswomen may be hoping for a tempest.