WOMEN'S CREW: Radcliffe Crews Take the East

It has been an exciting finish to the 2012 season so far for the Radcliffe crews. The Black and White lightweights grabbed their first gold at Eastern Sprints since 2007 while the heavyweights took first in a pair of events at the Ivy League Championships. But the season goes on for both squads.

Both the heavyweight and lightweight squads still have one more competition remaining on their schedules. The lightweights will compete at the IRA National Championships starting on June 1 while the heavyweights will race at the NCAA championships starting May 25.

“Right now we’re back at it training hard, trying to maintain our fitness level and working on some technical issues,” Gregorie says. “Every day we’re learning something new, trying to work together more cohesively, building that power and that speed.”

HEAVYWEIGHTS

The Radcliffe heavyweight crew’s season culminated in victories for both the first varsity eight and varsity four A at the first-ever Ivy League Championships on May 13 in Camden, N.J.

Previously, the title had been given to the Ivy 1V that finished best in the Eastern Sprints.

The Black and White’s newest conference title rounds out its total Ivy championships to eight and is its first in nearly a decade.

Seeded fifth, Radcliffe came from behind to take the crown in thrilling fashion.

At the 1000-meter mark, No. 1 seeded Princeton held a slight edge over the Black and White. But Radcliffe quickly overtook the Tigers and maintained its lead the rest of the way, cruising into first place and seizing the 2012 title. The Black and White finished with a time of 6:17.74 seconds, 2.8 seconds ahead of second-place Cornell and more than four seconds ahead of the Tigers.

“I think we were right in it from the get-go,” says sophomore Jenna Gregorie, a member of the first varsity eight. “We followed our race plan, and it was just really exciting to be able to have that amazing performance all come together when it mattered at the end of the season.”

The winning eight were rowers Michelle Pearson, Lucy Grinalds, Liz Soutter, Mimi Tanski, Courtney Diekema, Scout Moran, Mary Maginnis, and Gregoire and coxswain Jill Carlson. For Gregoire, it was her second Ivy title on the year, the first of which she earned as a member of the Crimson’s women’s swimming and diving team.

Though Radcliffe claimed two of the three Ivy titles up for grabs Sunday, it was Princeton, which took the team title, besting the Black and White by three points for a total of 73 points on the weekend.

The Black and White’s achievement at the championships comes at the tail of a successful season in which the women trumped several national competitors.

LIGHTWEIGHTS

The Radcliffe lightweights kick-started the spring season with a splash, defeating No. 5 Georgetown by a wide margin of 11.35 seconds to seize the Class of 2004 Cup for the sixth time in eight years.

The lightweight 2V rounded out the weekend with another win, trumping Georgetown with an even greater 13-second gap.

In an invitational two weeks later featuring an elite crop of teams, Radcliffe came in third in the grand final, finishing behind Wisconsin and Stanford.

The following day, in the Muri Cup Regatta, the Black and White varsity and novice eights swept the MIT teams, finishing the weekend on a high note.

The Radcliffe lightweights ended their dual-regatta season with a momentous win over Princeton. The Black and White outstroked the Tigers by 3.1 seconds to earn the Class of 1999 Cup for the first time in three years. The novices also added a tally to the win column, ousting the Princeton boat by 1.2 seconds.

The Radcliffe lightweights then participated at the Eastern Sprints on May 13, with the varsity eight finishing in third place behind Wisconsin and Bucknell.

—Staff writer Marina Watson can be reached at mwatson@college.harvard.edu.