Radcliffe Lights Win by Seven Lengths

The Radcliffe varsity lightweight crew thundered to a victory of almost 30 seconds on the windswept Charles in a trimeet with Northeastern and MIT Saturday.

Racing for the first time this season, the women in black posted a time of 6:31.2 over the 1500 meter course against MIT's (7:09.1) and N.U.'s (7:00) third-ranked varsity heavyweight boats. Neither school has a lightweight crew program.

The strong crosswind made the start "really a mess," stroke Nancy Kerrebrock said, adding, "We couldn't hear the starter very well."

The crew members didn't start rowing at the same time, but captain Janice Nevin said, "We weren't fazed at all," adding that after five strokes, "We were all rowing together," at a brisk cadence of 38 strokes per minute.

Gradually settling down to a 32 beat over the first 20 strokes, Radcliffe forged a length's lead over its adversaries, who found themselves caught in a race for second place.

For most of the race, Radcliffe kept the cadence around 32, a higher pace than the other crews could manage, and slowly increased its lead. With 500 meters remaining, the oarswomen took a power ten, and the shell started "moving really well, really fast, really smooth, really under control," Nevin said.

Sprinting the last 20 strokes at a cadence of 34, the varsity, which coach Debbie Quinn put together as a crew only last week, finished the race "never challenged," as Nevin said.

Waiting in the inclement weather--40 degrees and a fierce wind--for the races to conclude, John Everett, a judge of the race and a 1976 U.S. Olympic crewman, said, "I can see why crew never made it as a money sport."

Crew Results

On the Charles, Saturday

Women's Crew

Varsity Heavyweight

1. Radcliffe 5:17.4; 2. MIT 5:22.9; 3. N.U. 5:40.

J.V. Heavyweight

1. MIT 5:52; 2. Radcliffe 5:54.8.

Varsity Lightweight

1. Radcliffe 6:31.2; 2. N.U. 7:00 3. MIT 7:09.1

First Novice

1. Radcliffe 6:30.2; 2. MIT 6:30.3; 3. N.U. 6:50.5.

Second Novice

1. Radcliffe 6:37.4; 2. MIT 6:43.2.