Princeton Tops 'Cliffe Rowers With Strong Sprint at Finish

Radcliffe had been waiting for this one ever since last season when Princeton handed the 'Cliffe a disappointing setback at the Intercollegiate Sprints, and added fuel to the already intense Radcliffe Princeton with its haughty attitude after the victory.

So Saturday's contest on Lake Carnegie in Princeton. N.J., had special meaning for the Radcliffe eight. But when it was all over, Princeton had once again played the nemesis, handing Radcliffe a heart-breaking one-second loss over 1000 meters.

From the way things began, Radcliffe should have run away from the women from old Nassau. The 'Cliffe took a one-seat lead on the Princeton eight at the start behind a combined Temple-Vesper team) which, via a power twenty after the first settle, increased to five seats.

Radcliffe held the lead until the last 15 strokes of the race, when the streaking Princeton boat came back to take it at the finish. The Temple-Vesper eight finished third.

"They looked like they were moving away, but then they just stopped moving away." 'Cliffe coach John Baker said of his team yesterday. "Radcliffe misjudged the finish and let up some, letting Princeton go by in the last 15 strokes."

Radcliffe may have been hindered by the fact that Baker re-shuffled the first 'Cliffe eight after extensive seat-racing last week. Four of the Radcliffe rowers were making their first appearance in a feature race. The first 'Cliffe eight had only rowed together once before Saturday's race.

Nevertheless, Radcliffe finished in a speedy 3:33.5 to Princeton's 3:32.5. Perfect conditions and a brisk tail wind aided the shells over the 1000-meter course.

The first boat loss, which was run before the J.V. contest, spurred the second 'Cliffe unit to an impressive ten-second win over two Princeton shells. The second Radcliffe eight finished in a time just two and one-half seconds off the 'Cliffe's showing in the feature race.

"Our second crew saw a bunch of Radcliffe women without their shirts [having handed them over to Princeton after the loss] and they just went out and beat the hell out of them." Baker said.

Baker will continue seat-racing this week, despite the fact that Radcliffe is halfway through its season. "It's a shame that the seat-racing is still going on at this point in the season," he said, "but we want to find our strongest unit for the really important races later on." Radcliffe is looking ahead, of course, to the Sprints, and then, the nationals.