The heavies will travel to Redwood Shores, Ca, for the Stanford Crew Classic in April to compete against Stanford Washington, Berkeley, and other non-Ivy crews.

"It's the only time before Sprints where we can see Wisconsin and get to race with West Coast crews," O'Leary said. "In addition to Yale and Sprints, it is where we see our most competitive races."

Last year's varsity eight included three rowers who were technically lightweights, making it one of the smaller boats Radcliffe has had in years. Many of this year's lightweights also have a shot at the priority varsity boat.

"Size isn't always everything," O'Leary said. "We're tough racers who are really, really aggressive."

Lightweights

While there may not be much of a distinction between the ability and toughness of the Radcliffe lightweights and heavyweights, the Black and White lights are lengths ahead of most other lightweight programs in Heavyweight Crew Coach:  Liz O'Leary Captain:  Juliet Thompson Last Year:  (6-2, 2-1) Home Meets:  Charles River The Schedule

April Sun, 9  MIT  10:00 a.m. Sat, 15-  Redwood Shores Regatta  -- Sun, 16  (at Stanford, Ca.)  -- Sat, 22  at Dartmouth/Syracuse/New Hampshire  10:00 a.m. Sun, 23  Cornell/Princeton  TBA   (at New Haven, Conn.) Sat, 29  YALE  12:45 p.m.

May Sat, 6  BOSTON UNIVERSITY 8:30 a.m. Sun, 21  EWARCH Sprints(New Preston, Conn.)  -- Lightweight Crew Coach:  Holly Metcalf Captains:  Sarah Yeates, Hye-Jin Lim Last Year:  (2-0, 1-0) Home Meets:  Charles River The Schedule

April Sat, 1-  at S.D. Crew Classic  -- Sun, 2  (at San Diego, Ca.)  -- Sun, 9  MIT  10:15 a.m. Sat, 15  at Cornell/Princeton  10:00 a.m. Sat, 22  WELLESLEY/SIMMONS/MIT MT. HOLYOKE  9:30 a.m. Sat, 29  YALE  9:15

May Sat, 6  MT. HOLYOKE  9:00 a.m. Sun, 21  EWARC Sprints  --   (New Preston, Conn.) the country.

The varsity lightweight four has not lost aregular-season regatta in six years, and for threeout of the past four years, the lightweight eighthas captured the San Diego Crew Classic.

And the year they didn't win, 1986, theyweren't even there.

The main problem this season, as it has beensince the inception of the program, is findingtough competition. Lightweight Coach HollyMetcalfe has been consistently working on luringcrews from the Dad Vail League to compete againstRadcliffe and this year, Mount Holyoke mayparticipate in a regular-season regatta.

Other Ivy crews have been developing theirlightweight programs and, this year Princeton willbe racing two lightweight fours.

For the lights, this is bittersweet news, asthe Tigers edged out the Black and White by justunder one second in the nationals last year.