Yale Oarswomen Dump 'Cliffe Heavies

The race had been billed as a battle of the heavyweight best. It had been called a preview of the May 12 Sprints. But on an unusually calm Charles River, the event turned out to be little more than a continuation of the past three years, as a powerful Yale eight smoked an upset-minded Radcliffe boat by an open-water, 10-second margin.

The 'Cliffe boat jumped the starting line unnoticed at a terrifying 45 stroke-per-minute cadence and settled to a 38 at about the 250-meter mark, two seats ahead of Yale.

"The plan was to gun it for the first 750 meters," cox Lizellen LaFollette said yesterday. "But our strokes were rushed and short--it was panic," she added.

After Yale pulled even with the women in black by the 500-meter mark, the two boats raced side-by-side to the 1000-meter split. "Yale just sat there," LaFollette said, in reference to the middle 500 meters of the race.

Reveille

But in the final third, the Bulldogs pulled out of their lull and opened up a commanding lead, cruising home with the open-water victory.

Though LaFollette said she wanted her boat to settle a second time into its usual 35-36 cadence, the heavies never could gain the relaxed stroke; and from the 1000-meter point, the bruising race was more blue than black as the Yale women, known for their last-minute sprints, rowed in with the victory.

The Yale heavies were one up on the 'Cliffe eight both in terms of weight and experience. The Bulldogs boast seven seniors and an impressive weight average of 160 lbs., whereas the Crimson oarswomen, of mixed tenures, average 148 lbs.

"We didn't have the time after each stroke to psyche ourselves up for the next one," six seat Tory Laughlin said yesterday. "We were not together, but I know we can beat those two boats [Yale and Dartmouth]," Laughlin added.

Coach Carrie Graves also attributed the Bulldog advantage to strength and experience. "Yale's going to be hard to beat," Graves said yesterday.

The 'Cliffe squad has developed a new starting line technique which, although not powerful enough a determinant to push the Crimson to victory over Yale Saturday, may prove, with more practice, a dazzling advantage at the Eastern Sprints in two weeks.

"We have a very good start and I think we can outsmart them," LaFollette said yesterday.

The Radcliffe J.V. heavies also lagged behind the Yale oarswomen on Saturday by a smaller margin of five-and-a-half seconds. The final margin is not indicative of the real strength of the J.V. women, cox Meg Ziegler said yesterday. Ziegler added, "We were even up until the 1000-meter bridge."

CRAB CATCHING: With a week off before the May 12 Eastern Sprints (New Preston, Conn.), the Crimson squad is hopeful. Three seat Karen Spencer said yesterday, "The Yale race freaked us out a little, but we can win. I'm convinced of it."