Radcliffe Crews Find Mixed Results at Sprints

CORRECTION APPENDED

The results for the Black and White heavyweights this weekend were as mixed and varied as the weather in the Northeast. At Sunday's Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges Sprints Championships, the Radcliffe lightweight and heavyweight crews lived up to some expectations yet stumbled on others.

Although the Eastern Sprints proved fruitful for the Black and White lightweights, the heavyweights' results seems to have jeopardized their chances of a berth into NCAA regatta and a chance at the national title.

“While we were disappointed at the results this past weekend, it was an improvement from last season,” said sophomore 3V coxswain Andrea Rickey. “Next season, we are looking to continue along that trajectory and on that path to finding more speed.”

The races, which were held this past Sunday on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., could very well mark the last competition for the heavyweights, while the lightweights will race again next month at the IRA Regatta.

HEAVYWEIGHTS

Early in the regatta, most of the Radcliffe crews handily qualified for the grand final. The 1V, 2V, 4A and 4B all finished second in their respective heats to win berths into their grand final races. Of the five Black and White boats, the 3V boat was the only boat that missed out on a grand final berth, after it placed third in its heat. Nevertheless, the 3V crew redeemed itself later in the day in its petite final, as it finished two seconds behind Boston University for second place with a time of 6:53.72—a time that was faster than that of half of the teams in the grand final race.

For the Black and White 1V, its early success in the heat stage was wiped away in their grand final. In the grand final race, which was an all-Ivy affair with Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Yale, the Radcliffe 1V crew finished in fifth place, less than a second behind Yale and four seconds behind Dartmouth.

With these victories over Radcliffe, the Bulldogs and Big Green successfully avenged their dual-meet season losses to the Black and White. Similar to their 1V counterparts, the Radcliffe 2V, 4VB boats lost their early day momentum and finished in fifth place in the finals. The 4VA placed sixth in its hotly contested grand final.

“I think that the overall results that we got from our finals weren’t something that we were shooting for,” co-captain Olivia Coffey said. “However, I think that the fact that our 1V, 2V and [varsity four] made the final, was still very positive.”

Following the less than optimal results from this year’s Eastern Sprints, the Black and White is now positioned on the knife’s edge along with other EAWRC schools on the bubble, feverishly awaiting an at-large bid into the NCAA Championships Regatta and a shot at the national title. Nevertheless, many on the heavyweight side remain cautiously optimistic about their prospects.

“Right now its 50-50 for us to make it into the NCAAs,” Coffey said. “Right now I think the margins are in our favor, but it’s really up to the selection committee.”

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Radcliffe lightweight crew continued its season’s success with all two of its three boats placing in the top three, giving the Black and White lightweights 26 team points and a tie for second place overall. Radcliffe’s total was only seven fewer than Wisconsin and equal to Princeton's total.

The Black and White 1V took third place behind Princeton and Wisconsin with a time of 6:41.59.

The Radcliffe 2V also came out with a medal with a second-place finish with a time of 7:01.69, more than six second ahead of Ivy foe Princeton.

While, the Black and White’s performance this past weekend was impressive on paper, it was even more impressive given the last minute challenges faced by all three boats.

With the injury of co-captain Leah Schwartz, Radcliffe was forced to make several last minute personnel changes to its lineups. Schwartz’s absence in the 1V was filled by freshman Katherine Mallet, who rowed the varsity eight for the first time.

Schwartz, on the other hand, still made the trip to Camden but was not expected to compete in the Sprints. However, at the last minute, Schwartz stepped into the 4V boat and led the crew to a respectable fourth-place finish. [CORRECTION APPENDED]

For the Black and White heavyweights, selections for the NCAA Championships will be announced this coming Tuesday at 5 pm. The Radcliffe lightweights, now turns its attention to the IRA National Championships to be held June 2-4 back on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

—Staff writer Oluwatoni A. Campbell can be reached at oluwatoni.campbell@college.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION

The story "Radcliffe Crews Find Mixed Results at Sprints," which ran May 19, incorrectly stated that an injury to co-captain Leah Schwartz had forced Radcliffe to replace her with Katherine Mallett. In fact, it was co-captain Natalie Wong who was injured at the last minute and replaced in the first varsity lightweight eight by Mallet. Schwartz was not scheduled to race but did join the varsity four crew.