Though crew is traditionally thought of as a man's sport, the Radcliffe crew team has proven that you don't have to wear a jock strap to row competitively and successfully on the Charles River.

Radcliffe Lightweight Crew

1986 record (combined): 7-0

1987 record to date: 2-0

(Eastern Sprints on May 17)

Radcliffe Heavyweight Crew

1986 record (combined): 7-0

1987 record to date: 4-0

(Eastern Sprints on May 17)

Since its inception 17 years ago, the Radcliffe varsity heavyweight team has been a powerful force in the East, and this season the squad threatens to do what it has only been hinting at for the past two years.

For two years in a row, Radcliffe has barely missed winning the national championships. Two seasons ago the heavies lost to Princeton in a close race, and last year the Crimson lost in a photo finish to Wisconsin by a scant four-hundredths of a second.

This year, the Radcliffe heavies are working to see that something like that doesn't happen again.

The heavies have already started their season off strongly, defeating MIT, Northeastern, Princeton, and Cornell, capturing each race by at least seven seconds.

"Everyone always gages themselves off of Harvard and Radcliffe," MIT Crew Coach Mayrene Earle said. "They know that they're racing quality."

With only three returners from last year's varsity lineup and a few key rowers out with injuries, the impressive depth of the squad is attested to with each victory accumulated this season.