Lake Waramaug, nestled well off the beaten path in tiny New Preston, Conn., might not see much hustle or bustle during the course of the school year.

But yesterday it played host to one traditional, action-packed rite of spring--the Eastern Sprints.

Radcliffe boats joined women's crews from across the east in the annual highlight of the racing season, competing in several divisions on the 1950-meter course.

The only Black and White crew to bring home a first place crown was the varsity lightweight four, which pulled to a 21-second margin over second place Pennsylvania.

"We were worried a bit about UPenn," boat member Kathy Cox said. "They looked big, and pretty fit, and they got out ahead at the beginning."

Radcliffe managed to draw ahead around the 300-meter mark, and maintained its lead over the Quakers and third place Cornell.

Less fortunate, however, were the Black and White's two top eights, both of which finished second behind tough Wisconsin crews.

And both of which entered the Sprints undefeated.

The Badgers, however, were undefeated as well. And by the end of the afternoon, their status--unlike Radcliffe's--hadn't changed.

Technology?

In the varsity race, Radcliffe lost to Wisconsin by 2.7 seconds--less than a boat length--while covering three quarters of the course without a working "cox box."

Less than 500 meters into the race, coxswain Mary Boland's communication system broke down, leaving all but a few people in the stern unable to hear her calls.

"A very good boat is more than the sum of its individual rowers," Boland said. "Everyone pulled real hard but [the malfunction] had some effect on the race, especially the sprint--it was very disorganized. We just didn't add up to much."

Nonetheless, individual effort kept the Black and White close to the Badgers, and far ahead of the other competing crews.

"It was almost like there were two races going on," Co-Captain Joyce Gallagher said. "We were out there racing Wisconsin, and then the three, four, five and six boats were very close to each other."