Women’s Heavyweight Crew Opens Strong

Radcliffe crew opened its 2002 season with open-water victories against Boston College on the brutal waters of the Charles River Saturday morning. The boats battled a cross-wind on choppy water that took particular effect at the start and finish of the course.

The Eagles took a half-length race over Radcliffe in the teams’ last meeting in 1996, but could not repeat the feat this weekend as the Black and White swept the races.

The Radcliffe varsity boat pulled out a two-seat advantage at the start, then extended its lead in the second portion of the course for a four-length victory.

“The first 1000 [meters] was a bit rough,” senior Raegan Kennedy said. “Once the water calmed down a bit, we had a really great second 1000 meters.”

Only three rowers remain from last year’s NCAA-qualifying boat. But the strength of last year’s 2V boat—which finished second at Eastern Sprints—and the Varsity Four—which went undefeated through the dual season—bolsters the varsity crew this year.

“Last year’s 2V and Varsity Four were very strong,” Kennedy said. “It’s good to have youth in the boat.”

The Radcliffe 2V boat found success against the Eagles Saturday, riding an early lead to a finish that bested BC as well as the Black and White lightweight contestant.

“We had a really fast start,” sophomore coxswain Sarah Ronis said. “By the 500-meter mark, we were about astern of the lights and BC and we just kept on moving.”

The Radcliffe lightweight crew sent an eight into the 2V race and a four into the Varsity Four race, creating an unusual but enjoyable competition.

“It was fun to race them,” Ronis said. “We race them during practice a lot. On Tuesday mornings the entire squad goes out together, so it was kind of fun to race them in a competitive situation.”

The Black and White lightweight boat pulled in almost 18 seconds after the Radcliffe 2V, while the Eagles trailed 13.5 seconds behind the lightweights.

Both novice eight boats earned open-water victories over BC, as the first boat recovered from a couple snags to win by 47.3 seconds.

“I think all the boats did a really great job, especially the novices,” sophomore varsity stroke Caryn Davies said. “[The race] showed not just the strength of our novices, but also the depth of our team.”

The freshmen also competed in a four, the Radcliffe A/Novice boat, which earned first in the Varsity Four event.

“All the freshmen are rowing with the novice program,” Kennedy said. “We have a pretty strong varsity program this year, so we don’t need any freshmen.”

The Black and White A boat earned first place, followed by the Radcliffe B boat, the lightweight boat and the BC four. The course in this event was shortened to 1500 meters due to the poor weather.

“The wind got worse as the day went along,” Davies said. “Also, the four is more difficult to row...in those conditions, so they shortened the race. It’s pretty unusual for them to do that, but given the conditions, it was reasonable.”

Radcliffe hopes that its success against BC will carry over to next Saturday when the Black and White face Brown, the defending Eastern Champion.

“Our main focus in the past week has been on rhythm,” Davies said. “Sometimes we get a little frantic. We work too hard, but don’t go as fast. I think that’s something we did pretty well on Saturday morning and that sets us up well for next weekend.”