Lightweight Varsity Eight Boat Repeats as Champion, Sets Course Record

The No. 1 Radcliffe lightweight crew team headed to Camden, N.J. on Sunday to compete in the EAWRC Sprints event as the regatta’s defending champion. In winning the Ulbrich Trophy for the second straight year, the varsity eight set a new course record on the Cooper River.

“The results are a great testament to the resilience and drive of this team,” co-captain Andrea Linares said. “We put up some great numbers against some great teams. The field was very competitive today, and we put out all that we had. All teams should be very proud.”

The EAWRC brought together familiar faces Boston University and Princeton in addition to opponents from Wisconsin to compete for the Konrad Ulbrich Points Trophy, awarded to the team with the best overall performance.

The Black and White’s varsity eight ran one of the best races of its season, coming in at 6:26.536, four seconds ahead of the second place Badgers. The Tigers and Terriers followed in third and fourth, respectively.

"The 1V went out there today feeling fully prepared for anything that was thrown at them," said Radcliffe head coach Lou Berl. "They were calm, confident, and composed when they shoved off the dock, and looked as hungry and tough as ever. It was a beautiful race.”

It was a successful day for the Black and White’s other boats as well. In the second varsity eight race, the Radcliffe crew crossed with a time of 6:46.139, placing it in second behind Boston University (6:45.569), and ahead of Wisconsin (6:50.247) and Princeton (7:25.344).

The varsity four finished in similar fashion, notching a second place finish (7:51.957). The boat came in five seconds behind the Badgers (7:46.455) but well ahead of the Terriers (8:07.438) and Tigers (8:57.90).

Rounding out the competition was the Black and White novice four boat, which crossed in 8:13.567 against first place Wisconsin (7:56.330) and third place Boston University (8:16.892).

"I am impressed with our team's performance this weekend in each event's competitive field," said co-captain Elizabeth Lenczowski. "We are grateful to have such strong competition from Princeton, Wisconsin, and BU…and look forward to racing again in June at the IRA regatta."