Radcliffe Lightweights Shine at Sprints, Heavies Miss Out on NCAAs

The Radcliffe lightweight and heavyweight crews fulfilled some expectations yet faltered on others this weekend in one of their biggest competitions of the year at this weekend’s Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges Sprints Championships.

“Everyone’s excited going into sprints,” heavyweight co-captain Christine Baugh said. “We recognized the level of competition we were about to face.”

The races, which were held this past Sunday on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., marked the last competition for the heavyweights, while the lightweights will race again next month.

HEAVYWEIGHTS VS. EAWRC SPRINTS

The Black and White varsity eight failed to qualify for the grand final but redeemed itself later in the day, while the other heavyweight boats produced mixed results in their own heats and finals.

The varsity eight came in third in its morning heat behind Brown and Dartmouth, and although it missed making the grand final by just over seven seconds, it won the top spot in its next race.

“Our race in our heat was pretty disappointing, but we were really proud of the way people recovered, gathered together, and fought to victory in the petite final,” Baugh said. “It may not have been the grand final, but it was our grand final.”

The Radcliffe varsity eight upset both Northeastern and Columbia to win the petite final, and Yale went on to narrowly win the grand final.

The Black and White second varsity eight edged out Northeastern for a spot in its grand final but ended up finishing sixth out of six.

The Radcliffe varsity four had the best finish out of all of the heavyweight boats getting second in its heat and fifth in a very close grand final. The four teams in the middle of the pack were distanced by a total of just over four seconds, but the Black and White finished more than 16 seconds ahead of sixth-place Boston University.

Both the varsity four B and the third varsity eight made it to their petite finals where they took second behind Bucknell and Yale, respectively.

“Every boat regrouped and fought [its] way back with every stroke,” Baugh said. “It’s the sign of a true competitor.”

LIGHTWEIGHTS VS. EAWRC SPRINTS

Radcliffe lightweight crew continued its season’s success with all four boats placing in the top three—a goal the Black and White had set out to achieve from the very beginning of the year and a feat that no other lightweight squad at Sunday’s competition was able to accomplish.

“We wanted all of our girls to come back with medals, and the fact that we were able to do that really shows a lot of depth in our program,” lightweight co-captain Grace Hollowell said.

The varsity eight took third in the grand final just over two seconds ahead of Georgetown, breaking its three-year streak of fourth-place finishes at Sprints.

The Black and White second varsity eight and varsity four both came out with silver medals after close finishes. The second varsity eight was less than six seconds behind winner Wisconsin, a considerable improvement after the last meeting with the between Radcliffe and the Badgers.

The novice eight also finished second in its field of three. Although Wisconsin dominated by a margin of almost 34 seconds, the Black and White beat out Princeton by another 20 seconds.

“It was a great building point, and hopefully next year we’ll be able to turn those bronzes and silvers into golds,” Hollowell said. “It’s great motivation because some other teams still finished ahead of us, but we’re going to keep working until we’re first seed and we’re the ones being chased.”

The Radcliffe heavyweights missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships, but the lightweights will compete next at the IRA National Championships, also in Camden, N.J., on June 3-5.

—Staff writer Madeleine Smith can be reached at smith21@college.harvard.edu.