No. 1 Tigers Best Rising Crimson

Championships are not won in the regular season, but they can be lost.

The Radcliffe crew is doing all it can to prevent the latter from happening.

Last weekend, both the lightweight and heavyweight teams put out solid efforts against the best competition, solidifying the Black and White’s position as a top contender coming into the heart of the crew season.

Despite the heavyweights’ loss at No. 1 Princeton on Sunday, the two teams now boast a combined 8-1 mark for the season.

“Everyone is going to be working extra hard to match our speed,” said lightweight captain Sarah Bates following her varsity eight’s Knecht Cup victory on Sunday, “So we have to work harder to stay on our toes and remain at the top.”

Radcliffe’s lightweights did just that last weekend, rolling to a fourth straight victory to start the season while winning the Knecht Cup at Villanova.

Racing against the top competition in lightweight crew, including powerhouses Wisconsin and Princeton, the varsity eight controlled the heat with a time of 7:08.9 to beat the second-place Tigers, who posted a time of 7:12.13.

“We didn’t have any expectations going into the race because we had only raced Princeton two weeks ago,” Bates said. “But we were really pleased with our effort.”

Bates was able to lead the varsity eight to an important victory in the finals, for the Knecht cup serves as a preview for the big race at the end of the season, the Eastern Sprints, which determines who goes to the NCAA finals.

Despite the success, there is still room to improve for the lightweights, as the competition will be gunning for the Black and White for the rest of season. The race win, combined with successes at many other levels, nonetheless provided a promising sign for the future.

“We definitely want to find some more speed,” Bates said. “But it was a definite testament to the depth of our team to have so many boats do so well.”

For the heavyweights, Saturday did not result in victory, but some rowers found solace in the disappointment.

“I think we feel pretty good about the race today,” heavyweight senior Laura Martin said. “It gave us areas to improve upon, and there are a lot of races this season for us work on theses areas and get better.”

Coming off last weekend’s upset victory over No. 4 Brown, the Black and White’s rankings, in addition to its expectations, were on the rise. Against the best team in the nation, however, its aspirations fell short.

“Obviously going up against the no. 1 team we didn’t think it was going to be an easy win,” said Martin. “We knew we were just going to have to fight the whole way.”

The effort paid off, as the team only lost by twelve seconds to Princeton and defeated Ivy foe Cornell by fifteen seconds in the varsity eight, posting a time of 7:23:5.

Radcliffe (3-1) also posted a second in the second varsity eight and the varsity four, while the second novice eight attained the Black and White’s lone victory on the day.

“It was a pretty strong race given the conditions and where we are in the season,” Martin said. “We were able to go out there and give everything we have so far.”

Conditions likely will be more favorable for the Sprints.

A strong head wind and downpours stymied the team’s efforts to come from behind on Saturday.

“There was a little bit of a head wind, and pouring-down rain,” said Martin. “But it affects both equally; however, when you’re trying to row back in the race it does not help our team.”

The Black and White will look to bounce back next weekend in Hanover, N.H. at the race in honor of its head coach, Liz O’Leary. In the race, appropriately named the O’Leary Cup, Radcliffe will face Dartmouth and Syracuse.

—Staff writer Walter E. Howell can be reached at wehowell@fas.harvard.edu.