Yale, Rutgers Top Radcliffe Heavies

A seat behind Rutgers and 18 seconds behind Yale was the outcome of Saturday's race on the Housatonic River in Derby, Conn., which left the Radcliffe varsity heavyweights in a disappointing third place.

Rowing with the current and a strong tail wind, the women in black and white battled crabs from early on in the 1500-meter contest, and when it came down to the line, Rutgers edged the Radcliffe eight.

Bulldogs Out in Front

An extremely strong Eli crew stayed out of all the traffic, disappearing on the horizon and leaving Radcliffe and Rutgers to fight for second. Radcliffe maintained a less-than-one-boat lead over Rutgers up until the final 20 strokes of the race, but the Harvard sprint to the finish could not hold off Rutgers in the end.

"They're in great shape and they're tough competitors," Radcliffe coach Carrie Graves said about her 1-2 charges. "It's just a lack of being able to power it through when the chips are down."

Yale also captured the J.V. race by a five-second margin, with the Radcliffe varsity lightweights edging the J.V. heavies by a half-second in a neck-and-neck battle for second between the pair of Cambridge boats.

The freshman heavies enjoyed the lone success of the day with a thrilling comeback victory over the Yale freshmen. After carrying a six-seat lead through the middle section of the contest, the Radcliffe eight caught a boat-stopping crab and dropped three seats behind the Eli shell.

But the freshmen retained the stroke and pulled back in the final 600 meters to grab a split-second win coming through the finish line.

"They just didn't fold under pressure," Graves said. "That's what the varsity has to do also."

The heavies will now have a weekend off while preparing for the season finale, the Sprints, set for Saturday, May 13, in Pittsfield, Mass.