Radcliffe Crew: Continuing a Winning Tradition

"As the gentleman once said. 'Eat 'em!'," said the notice accompanying the bag of chocolate kisses in Weld boathouse last Saturday morning. It did not refer to the kisses themselves, though. Instead, the notice was aimed at the fourteen women's crews which went to the line last Sunday in an attempt to depose Radcliffe's heavyweight eight as the premier women's crew in the East.

And again, for the third time in as many years, the attempt to defeat Radcliffe was futile, as the boat successfully fought off a strong Wisconsin challenge to win the third Eastern Women's Rowing Association championships on the waters of Lake Beseck. Conn.

The victory meant more than the Eastern championship, though. Much more. By smashing Wisconsin and Yale in the most competitive regatta in the country, the crew established itself as the fastest collegiate eight in the nation.

Wisconsin, Yale, and Radcliffe all entered the EWRA undefeated. Yale was first-seeded, although the reasons for the choice were far from clear. Both the Elis and Radcliffe could boast of having beaten certain common opponents by more than the other crew had.

Wisconsin was seeded sixth, and was in the first heat with Yale on Sunday morning. The Badgers quickly disposed of any notions that Yale might be the best in the East, upsetting the Elis by a stunning two lengths on the 1000-meter course.

In the second heat, Radcliffe easily handled number five seed Williams, winning by slightly over one length, as the top crews in each heat advanced to the finals.

Meanwhile, Princeton and Dartmouth both defeated third-ranked UMass in the third heat, to reach the championship round, which was held seven hours later.

The Radcliffe squad was clearly worried by the fact that in the heats Wisconsin had recorded a time six seconds better than they had. This, coupled with the fact that Yale had originally been seeded to win, seemed to shake their confidence.

In fact, many of those at Lake Beseck felt that Radcliffe's two-year monopoly of the event was about to end.

But this was not to be, for Radcliffe jumped on the Badgers for a two-seat lead after only ten strokes, and slowly lengthened their lead to a full length by the end of the race. Again, the 'Cliffe is the kingpin of women's collegiate towing.

The highly-touted Eli boat finished third, a length astern of Wisconsin. "We wanted it so badly. It was just a matter of going out there and doing it," coxswain Nancy Hadley said after the race.

Women's rowing is a recent entrant to the collegiate sports scene. The foundation of the EWRA only three years ago marked the official beginning of what has now become a major collegiate sporting event. Before that time only a few women's crew existed. And most of them, such as Wellesley (which had the first women's crew) did not compete at all. Instead, rowing was viewed merely as pleasant exercise.

But new ideas have arisen, and things have changed. Practices at 5:30 a.m., workouts twice a day over spring vacation, and a year-round commitment have all blossomed into reality. Or, for some of the oarswomen, involved, it is a daily ordeal.

"We have to make a lot of sacrifices, and sometimes you wonder whether its worth it--until race season comes, and you start winning," stroke Barbara Norris said last night.

Three years ago John Baker, an ex-Harvard heavyweight oarsman, assumed Radcliffe's coaching chores on a no-salary, volunteer basis. Around a nucleus of five freshmen. Baker built the crew into national champions in the space of a single season.

The crew lost but once that year, in April to a tough Princeton eight by one second. They bounced back in the first EWRA championships, though, trouncing the Tigers by two lengths. Then, in the national championships in Philadelphia, they overcame a strong Vesper boat club crew by one second to win the right to represent the U.S. in the World Championships at Moscow.

There the crew failed to qualify for the finals, but rallied to defeat Czechoslovakia and win the consolations.

Last year, the squad's second, was an undefeated one for the varsity eight. Also, the program was expanded, as a varsity four was incorporated into it. In the EWRA finals, both cruised to victory by over two lengths.

But things did not go so smoothly for Radcliffe at the nationals in San Francisco, as the eight lost to a powerful Vesper boat by a length of open water, placing second in the final. The only consolation was the fact that Vesper's eight, which went to Lucerne, Switzerland after the event, was not a collegiate one; instead it was a group of women from many other colleges who banded together after the regular season to form an unbeatable crew.

The first-seeded four did no better, failing to even qualify for the finals. They finished third (.2 seconds out of first place) in the first heat, B.U., whom the boat had defeated four times in other regattas earlier in the season, won the final, and with it a trip to Europe.

This year, the program has expanded still further. The team's success drew 95 women to the organizational meeting in the early fall, and 40 of them have stayed. Two other coaches have been hired, one for the revamped lightweight program, and one for the J.V. heavyweights.

The lightweights, hampered by a lack of interest in previous years, now field a varsity and a J.V. eight. This season first-year coach Peter Huntsman '74 brought varsity into Lake Beseck as the number-one seed, undefeated by any other lightweight boat. In the rough water, though, the boat placed second behind the same B.U. crew it had beaten earlier in the season.

The heavyweights, besides the varsity, have a J.V. four. The eight also posted an undefeated year, smashing Yale, who finished second behind them, by over two weeks on Lake Beseck.

But for the third year in a row it has been the varsity heavies that have stolen the show. Before last Saturday, they had defeated nine different crews, and eight of them by more than one length of open water. Only Princeton, whom they faced on an unfamiliar course, was able to come within a length of them.

However, it was not until Sunday that they were truly pressed, and they responded with a poise found only in a true champion as they exploded past first-seeded Yale and dark-horse Wisconsin to maintain their grip on the Eastern championship. And, for all practical purposes, the national championship as well.

The heavies will row against Yale tomorrow in New Haven in a two-mile contest. Last year marked the first year that they have been included in what has traditionally been an all-male event at New Haven.

After Saturday, the team's plans for the future are still uncertain. While the men's heavyweights plan to go to Henley to compete for the Grand Challenge Cup, the women have no similar opportunity. Thus they may not compete as a team again this year, and instead rest to prepare for the tryouts for the national team, which will begin in July.

On the other hand, they may go to Princeton to compete in the national championships in mid-June. But, as stroke Barbara Norris said. "We've beaten all the top college teams there are already. And now that there's a national camp, they really don't mean very much. We've really won all there is to win."