W. Crews Fall One by One

Shaken by last-minute changes in line-ups, the Radcliffe heavyweight crew lost all but two races to Yale this weekend on the Housatonic River in Derby, Conn. The Black and White emerged victorious from the second novice and varsity four ‘B’ events.

An injury in the first varsity boat had a domino effect, as sophomore Genevieve Cadwalader vacated her spot in the 2V to fill in and a rower from a four stepped into the 2V.

“The team was affected by the line-up change,” captain Michelle Guerette said. “Physically, the boats were shaken up by the changes, but mentally, we raced aggressively. We raced as hard as possible.”

Due to a turn in the river, No. 9 Radcliffe first varsity started half a length ahead of No. 6 Yale in the staggered start.

“That shouldn’t really affect racing,” Guerette said, regarding the staggered start. “But it would be nice early on to know what your speed is compared to the other boat.”

Off the start, the Elis pulled out fast, but the Black and White staved off the competing boat with a strong move to make up for the ground Yale made up on the turn.

“We had a pretty strong move at the 1000 where we were holding them at the turn,” Guerette said.

Though there was no definite moment when the Elis made a winning move, Yale persisted in gradually walking through Radcliffe, finishing 2.8 seconds ahead.

“There was no point where they moved out ahead of us,” Guerette said. “They just chipped away.”

The Radcliffe 2V and first novice boats also suffered close losses. The Elis second varsity won by four seconds and their first novice boat dished out a heart-breaker with a margin of three-tenths of a second.

The victorious Radcliffe second novice boat took a nine-second win while the Black and White lost by the same margin in the varsity four ‘A’ event. Radcliffe’s other win, in the varsity four ‘B,’ came by 4.4 seconds.

Next weekend, Radcliffe returns to the Charles for its second and final home regatta this season. The Black and White start at 8 a.m. against No. 20 BU, No. 16 Northeastern and MIT.

The regatta will not only determine Charles River supremacy but also celebrate 30 years of women’s rowing at Radcliffe. The crew program began in 1971 and the team went on to take third at Nationals that year.

“For us, it’s going to be a huge matter of pride,” Guerette said. “They are the boats to beat to go into sprints with good standing. Last year, we lost to [BU] and that hurt a lot. So this year, we’re ready to get ownership of the Charles back.”

Radcliffe heavyweight crew

at Housatonic River

First Varsity 1. Yale 6:13.6 2. Radcliffe 6:16.4

Second Varsity 1. Yale 6:33.5 2. Radcliffe 6:39.5

First Novice 1. Yale 6:41.8 2. Radcliffe 6:42.1

Second Novice 1. Radcliffe 7:03.0 2. Yale 7:12.0

Varsity 4 “A” 1. Yale 7:03.8 2. Radcliffe 7:12.8

Varsity 4 “B” 1. Radcliffe 7:23.9 2. Yale 7:28.3