No. 7 W. Heavyweight Crew Tops Defending Champion Bears

During the first weekend of competition, the Radcliffe women’s first varsity heavyweight crew found lucky number seven helpful en route to an early 3-0 mark in spring dual races.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Black and White earned the Rowlands Cup after handily dispelling river rivals Northeastern and Boston College on March 26.

With the opponent different and the site the same, No. 7 Radcliffe beat No. 4 Brown on its home course Friday. The Bears, the 2004 national champions, finished a full boatlength behind the victorious Radcliffe first crew.

RADCLIFFE VS. BROWN

In Friday’s dual race against the No. 4 Bears, only one boat outlasted Brown, but the women’s first varsity crew had been waiting to do so for quite some time.

“This was the first time I’ve beaten Brown in a dual race,” said captain and two-seat Heather Schofield. “We were very excited for this race since so many of us we had faced off against Brown and never won those dual races.”

Their victory came a day earlier than scheduled, as the race was moved from Saturday to Friday in anticipation of heavy weekend rains. The mild Friday conditions made for easier rowing for both squads.

“Historically, Brown-Radcliffe races have had terrible weather,” Schofield said. “I was very glad they took preemptive measures this year to make it a fair race.”

Fair and even it was—for a little while. Both boats stood near even after the race’s thirty strokes, but as both crews settled off of the quick start, the Black and White began moving through the Brown boat seat-by-seat. With 1,000 meters down, Radcliffe’s stern sat on Brown’s bow, a full boatlength ahead of its Ivy counterpart.

Though Brown made a push near the halfway mark and took back three seats, the Black and White maintained a steady lead throughout the third 500 meters. A strong final sprint secured Radcliffe the boatlength lead it had held at the midpoint, and the Black and the White crossed the line in 6:24.7. Brown finished in 6:27.5.

“We were really happy with the results in the 1V,” Schofield said. “It’s great for our confidence.”

The other Radcliffe boats could not match the first varsity’s success, with the second varsity, two varsity fours, a novice eight, and a novice four falling to the Bears on Friday. Each of the six boats, however, improved its time from the previous weekend’s victories over BC and Northeastern.

RADCLIFFE VS. BOSTON COLLEGE AND NORTHEASTERN

Aided by a swift quartering tailwind, the Black and White broke out fast against Northeastern and BC and spent all 2,000 meters widening the gap.

Though Radcliffe had spent part of the week preparing to race in a headwind, a tailwind presented itself on Saturday, and the Black and White used it to its advantage. Though the wind made for unpredictable choppy waters, it also gave Radcliffe added speed.

“It felt pretty good, considering the conditions,” Schofield said. “We had been doing a lot of work in headwinds and were expecting that, and there was a lot of chop in the second 1000 meters. Part of racing on the Charles is just adjusting to the conditions.”

In the first varsity race, Radcliffe held a three-quarters-of-a-length lead over Northeastern after just 500 meters. Boston College sat a distant third. Paced by a series of 10 and 20-stroke power pieces in the heart of the race, the Black and White increased its lead during each of three subsequent 500-meter stretches. Radcliffe crossed the line over three boat lengths ahead of Northeastern and six lengths in front of BC. The Black and White clocked in at 6:34.8, with Northeastern following in 6:44.4 and BC in 6:52.1.

“[The first race] is a good way to get our legs under us and get a better sense of where we need to make our improvements,” Schofield said. “The first one is just a very good chance to get the adrenaline pumping and figure out where you can improve.”

The second varsity crew dispelled its opponents with similar ease, starting out with a comfortable lead and extending it even after the boat had an open water advantage over both crews.

“Once you get out in front, you don’t want the margins to stay the same for the second half of the race,” seven-seat Katie Golden said.

Radcliffe finished in 6:52.4—just 0.3 seconds slower than the Boston College first boat. Like the first varsity crew, the second varsity finished multiple boat lengths ahead of second-place Northeastern. The Huskies finished in 7:04.8, more than 12 seconds and four boat lengths after Radcliffe.

With the first novice boat finishing 12 seconds ahead of Northeastern and more than a minute in front of BC, Radcliffe secured its seventh consecutive Rowlands Cup and 18th victory out of 22 tries. The second novice, varsity four A, and varsity four B all enjoyed open water wins as well.

“We know we can make this a great season,” Golden said. “We’re all working really hard right now.”

The Black and White will return to competition on the Charles next weekend with a dual race against Cornell and a talented Princeton crew. Princeton defeated Radcliffe in last year’s dual race in Ithaca, N.Y., and edged the Black and White for first place in the 2004 Eastern Sprints Championships.

“We don’t want to get overconfident looking ahead to next week,” Schofield said. “We have Princeton to face and they beat Brown by four seconds. [Beating Brown] is a step in the right direction, but it’s something we want to take in stride and work from.”

­—Staff writer Aidan E. Tait can be reached at atait@fas.harvard.edu.