The Radcliffe heavyweight and lightweight crews opened their seasons Saturday on two completely different notes.

While the heavies dropped a heartbreaker to Princeton, the Black and White lights notched a smashing season-opening victory over Wellesley and Truits.

The heavyweight race, on Princeton's Carnegie Lake, was tightly contested the whole way. Radcliffe nipped Cornell for second, but finished a boatlength behind the speedy Tigers.

"It was disappointing, because I don't think we rowed anywhere near our potential," said sophomore Allison Townley.

Especially disappointing for the Black and White, but extremely satisfying for Princeton. Last year, when the same trio raced on the Charles River, the Tigers were the last to cross the finish line.

This year, Princeton has already dealt a serious blow to Radcliffe's high hopes for the season.

In addition, a rule change has slowed the speed at which this year's crew will get.

Saturday's race was Radcliffe's first at 2000 meters. The official distance has been upped from 1500 meters--the length at which the Black and White defeated the Tigers a year ago.

The Town Line

"We're still working on our line-ups," added Townley. "We have a long way to go yet."

If their first performance is any indicator, the lightweights have a much shorter road ahead of them.

The Black and White oarswomen were practically out of their boats and in street clothes before their floundering rivals crossed the line

"We were happy," senior Co-Captain Chris Doyle said of the half-minute margin of victory. "We had had a few changes in the boat that worked fairly well."

Radcliffe took the opportunity to experiments with its strategies against two of its weaker opponents, and concentrated on spending up the first half of race.

Pight from the gun, the contest was a battle for second place, as the Wellesley and Tufts beats could only watch the Black and White pull away.