The Radcliffe lightweights coasted to a three-length victory yesterday when its closest rival, Brown, caught a crab and inadvertently stopped 100 yards from the finish line.

Racing on the unusually calm Charles River against Brown and Wellesley, the undefeated (4-0) women found themselves seriously challenged for the first time this season.

Radcliffe opened with a power 20 and took a slim two-seat lead over Brown. Rowing at the strong pace of 35 strokes per minute for the bulk of the 1200-meter race, Radcliffe slowly increased the margin by taking occasional power tens.

Maine Lobsters

Six seats behind Radcliffe with 30 strokes to go, the Brown boat caught a crab, forcing it to a halt. By the time Brown recovered, Radcliffe had amassed a three-length lead, which it protected by sprinting the last 20 strokes.

The Radcliffe women felt they could have won without the mishap, captain Janice Nevin said yesterday. "I'm sure we would have kept the lead since we had a really strong sprint planned."

Strength over the stretch has characterized the Radcliffe lightweight crew this season. Coach Debbie Quinn said yesterday the crew had worked out intensively during the winter and added that Radcliffe has "the finest conditioned lightweight crews around."

In the two-week layoff before the Eastern Sprints on May 11 in Connecticut, Quinn will have the crew polish up on the finer points. She said, "We have to regroup, improve the timing, and work on speeding up our start."

Right, Coach

Nevin agreed, saying, "We haven't reached our full potential yet, and we look forward to doing so at the Eastern Sprints."

Since most colleges do not field a women's lightweight crew, Quinn said she expects only two other schools to compete: Connecticut College and Brown. She added that Brown will be "the team to beat."

Competing in the same race, the Radcliffe J.V. boat finished third, two lengths ahead of Wellesley and three behind Brown.