Successful Foot of the Charles Brings Radcliffe Fall Season to a Close

Faced with pristine morning conditions on the Charles, the Radcliffe lightweight and heavyweight crews took to the water to take on opponents from far and near in the annual Foot of the Charles Regatta Saturday.

The Black and White heavyweights and lightweights, coming off dominant showings at the Head of the Charles Regatta last October, returned to their home waters hoping to make a statement in the last race of the fall season.

In the varsity four race, the heavyweight A four was the top boat in the regatta, finishing the course in the fastest time of the day and taking first in the A four class, while the heavyweight B four finished in 10th place overall and fourth among B four boats. The lightweight A four finished in 19th place and second overall among lightweight A fours, while the lightweight B finished in 24th place overall and first in its boat class.

In the novice eight, the Radcliffe A boat captured first place, just head of local rival Boston College, while the Radcliffe lightweight A novice eight finished 18th overall and first among novice eight crews.

HEAVYWEIGHTS

After a pair of strong finishes at the Head of the Charles Regatta last month with the Black and White 1V and 2V earning second and 22nd-place finishes in the Championship Eights respectively, the Radcliffe heavyweights were eager to bookend their fall season with another strong showing on the water.

“I thought we all did great as a whole this past weekend,” junior Marissa D'Orsogna said. “It was a nice end to the season, and I think overall we are in a good place heading into winter training.”

In the Regatta’s main event—the varsity four race—the heavyweights fielded three boats, each of which was assigned a different boat class assigned by letter. The heavyweight A four was the top finisher for the Black and White, finishing the course in 13:45.7. With that time, the heavyweight A four, led by senior coxswain and co-captain Jill Carlson, sophomore Deva Steketee and juniors Michelle Pearson, Mary Maginnis and Scout Moran, earned first place overall in the varsity four and in their boat class. Ivy foe Brown finished second overall and among other A fours over 20 seconds behind Radcliffe, in 14:06.1.

The Black and White heavyweights had strong showings in other boat classes. The varsity B four finished fourth in its class in 14:33.6, behind Rhode Island and the Bears, who finished three and five seconds ahead, respectively. Syracuse earned a first-place finish among the Varsity B fours in 14:07.3.

With the fall racing season having come to a close, the Radcliffe heavyweights look to carry some of the lessons learned on the water into their winter training and future competitions during the spring racing season.

“There is a lot that happens between now and spring season,” D'Orsogna said. “Ending on a good note was a great moral booster, but we have to go into winter training with the strong mentality that we’ve picked up from the fall. We know that there is always room for improvement and we are going to improve during our winter training ”

LIGHTWEIGHTS

After strong showing in the Head of the Charles Regatta, the lightweights looked to pick up where they left off last month.

“I think we did well overall as a team,” senior coxswain Maryana Vrubel said. “The Foot is a race where we race mostly heavyweight crews, so we just go out and have a good race and see where we place. It’s always a fun race for us because it's so low pressure.”

Though both the heavyweights and lightweights were faced with a slight challenge in the form of the format of the regatta’s main event—a four-person boat instead of the typical eight-person—the lightweights, much like their heavyweight counterparts did not disappoint, as three out of the five lightweight boats took first place in their respective boat class.

“4V races are more technique-based because you are racing with just four rowers and rowing a lot more,” Vrubel said. “But overall, it is a great opportunity to work on your technique, skills and learn how to move better as a boat.”

The lightweight A four, led by sophomore Elizabeth Lenczowski, junior Elizabeth Hamilton, co-captain Emma Lukasiewicz, senior Kelly McCarthy, finished the course with a time of 14:51.6, earning 19th-place overall and second-place among lightweight A fours. Buffalo emerged victorious in the lightweight A four with a time of 14:45.6.

Among lightweight B fours however, the Black and White finished in 24th place overall and first in its class with a time of 15:04.7.

The lightweights finished in 18th-place overall in the novice eight in 16:16.1, but first place in its class over local rivals MIT and UMass.