Radcliffe Freshman Fitzhenry wins "Crew of the Year"

Lizzy Fitzhenry, a freshman on Radcliffe heavyweight crew, was recognized on Tuesday for her pre-Harvard success.

Fitzhenry’s Saratoga Junior Women’s Pair was voted 2011 “Crew of the Year” by row2k.com, one of the world’s most heavily trafficked rowing websites.

As high school seniors, Fitzhenry and her partner Kristina Wagner, currently a freshman at Yale, won the Junior Pair, the Under 23 pair, and the Championship Pair at the Canadian Henley.  They also came in second place at the USRowing Elite Nationals.

“We were so excited and surprised,” Fitzhenry said regarding the poll results. “But we trained really hard over the summer and had a strong finish to our season.”

Row2k welcomes “Crew of the Year” nominations from its readers, seeking crews who have had particularly exceptional seasons or have overcome obstacles to achieve victory.  From the reader-nominated crews, row2k chooses 10 finalists.  The winner is then selected by poll voting.

Over 8,500 total votes were cast this year, resulting in a very tight finish for the “Crew of the Year” title.  Fitzhenry’s crew only narrowly defeated last year's Cal Freshman Eight by 1.2% to win the vote. The Golden Bears were nominated by virtue of their undefeated season in which they won the freshman eight event at the IRA national championships and won the Temple Cup at Henley Royal Regatta while setting a course record in the event. Cal and Saratoga traded leads throughout the voting period, but a final push gave Fitzhenry and Wagner the win.

“We were so thankful for all of our friends, families and teammates who voted for us,” Fitzhenry said.

In addition to Fitzhenry, other Harvard rowers were also recognized by row2k.  The US Women’s Eight, with Radcliffe crew alumna Esther Lofgren '07-’09, was selected as a finalist in the competition based on its sixth straight World Championship, and the Harvard men’s freshman eight received a nomination.