Radcliffe Set for New Jersey Showdown

This is it. What we’ve all been waiting for. Go time. T-minus zero. The moment of truth. The witching hour. The apocalypse.

You’ve guessed it—it’s Sprints time. Tomorrow and Sunday, both the Radcliffe heavyweight and lightweight crews will be heading south and a little bit west to the watery track of the Cooper River down in Camden, N.J., for the Eastern Sprints showdown.

The No. 5 heavies enter the races with a good deal of momentum. Two weekends ago, the first and second varsity eights smashed No. 17 Boston University, while the first four put together a good race and fought off frisky charges from Northeastern and BU.

The first varsity boat underwent a revamping before that last race, with five rowers finding themselves in new seats.

There was no racing last weekend, so the crew has had plenty of time to ready itself.

“As a boat, we’ve focused a lot on finding good ratio and taking a little time to come into the catch prepared and in control,” said captain and bow Heather Schofield. “As a squad we’ve focused on getting ready to race both physically—getting enough rest, eating well, etc—and also mentally, because we all know that races at Sprints are all going to be extremely competitive and require real concentration within the boat.”

Last year, the first varsity entered with very lofty expectations and wound up finishing second to Princeton in a dogfight, losing by exactly one second. The heavies finished in third in the race for the Willing Point Trophy, awarded to the overall point winner with every race taken into account. This year, hopes are just as high.

“My expectation for my boat this weekend is that we will use all of the things we’ve learned from the dual season to put together the best race we can on Sunday,” Schofield said. “There are a number of teams who could win the final, the top three or four teams are all very competitive.”

The second varsity also underwent extensive lineup shuffling before its last race, and this weekend will also mark only the second competition that features rowers in the seats they are in now. To complicate matters, though, junior five-seat Ella Spottswood is suffering from a stress-fractured rib and may not be able to suit up for the races. If she can’t row, sophomore Betsy McCormick will move into the five-seat from her three-spot and, in all likelihood, a novice will fill the three-hole.

“After recent problems with injuries, this week we focused on maintaining and solidifying the positive changes we have made over the past couple weeks and making sure no matter what lineup we race on Sunday, that it will be fast,” said sophomore seven-seat Katie Golden. “We have made huge improvements over the season and are eager to prove that to our competition.”

The No. 3 lights will again face off against rivals No. 1 Princeton and No. 2 Wisconsin, as it has throughout its past. Last year, the Black and White first varsity put together its best row of the year in the Sprints and topped the Badgers by nearly three seconds and the Tigers by three-and-a-half. Two weeks before Sprints last year, the lights knocked off Princeton for the first time in 11 attempts, and in the Knecht Cup last April, they took down Wisconsin.

This year, though, Radcliffe has yet to best either of its two sworn enemies. The Knecht Cup witnessed the Tigers ascending the podium yet again, while the Badgers grabbed the second slot. Two weeks ago, the Black and White met up with Princeton on its own turf, but Princeton edged out the first varsity by seven seconds.

But this weekend, the Sprints are on the line, and redemption is the name of the game.

—Staff writer J. Patrick Coyne can be reached at coyne@fas.harvard.edu.