Misfortune Befalls W. Heavies

The Radcliffe heavyweight crew proved this year just how fragile a season’s worth of training can be. Through a few small mishaps, a once promising team struggled to its worst finish in five NCAA appearances—11th out of the 12 qualifying squads.

Such an uncharacteristic ending didn’t seem possible back in late April. The first varsity was steadily climbing the national rankings. The second varsity, on the strength of a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Princeton and Cornell, was named an EAWRC Crew of the Week and the No. 2 team in the East. The novices were ranked No. 1, and the varsity four was ranked No. 3.

“They’re the backbone of our team,” said senior first varsity stroke Margaret Winterkorn-Meikle at the time. “The novices have been doing great and the second varsity has gone above what they might have expected of themselves. I’m really proud of them.”

Then, the mishaps began. An injury to just one rower—senior Raegan Kennedy of the first varsity—spurred a massive domino effect through all the boats as Coach Liz O’Leary juggled lineups incessantly. The effects showed right away as the Black and White was swept by Yale the next weekend.

The second varsity and varsity four struggled to regain their past glory. By Eastern Sprints, the two boats had fallen to No. 7 in the Eastern rankings.

Kennedy came back in time for Eastern Sprints, and helped the first varsity back to a surprise third-place finish, avenging an earlier loss to Princeton, which brought its national ranking to No. 6.

“Raegan struggled through a back injury all season,” Pascavage said. “The way she handled herself and came back to help us at Sprints and NCAAs made a big difference.”

The second varsity rebounded to fourth-place, though the varsity four struggled to a 10th-place finish. The novices placed a disappointing third.

The strong overall Eastern Sprints performance was more than enough to secure an NCAA appearance in Indianapolis for the Black and White.

The change of scenary didn’t end a seemingly cursed season for the Radcliffe second varsity. Just past the preliminary heat’s 100-meter mark, where a race cannot be stopped for technical difficulties, the second varsity boat’s scag and rudder fell off, making the boat impossible to steer. Despite being unable to finish the preliminary race, the second varsity still rebounded through the repechage and Petite Final to place 10th overall, but that finish was far below early-season expectations.

The varsity four, which had been the bane of the Black and White’s team performance at Sprints, turned in a strong result by winning its preliminary heat to reach the Grand Final. The boat placed last in the final, but its sixth-place finish was still the best of the three NCAARadcliffe crews.

The first varsity could not match its performance from Sprints. The boat placed just 12th out of 16 in the field and could not top three Eastern crews it had beaten earlier this season.

“A lot of the crews want to peak at the NCAA Championship,” said sophomore Leigh Pascavage. “As it happened, we reached our peak at the Sprints. We were working towards it all season and we really came through there.”

The Black and White first varsity may have had an Eastern Sprint performance to remember, but the team’s NCAA results leave regret for what might have been.

WOMEN'S HEAVYWEIGHT CREW

RESULTS 5th at EAWRCs, 11th at NCAAs (team)

COACH Liz O’Leary

CAPTAIN Michelle Guerette

HIGHLIGHTS The first varsity peaked at Sprints, where it placed third. The second varsity was an EAWRC Crew of the Week in mid-April.