In a season of national championship runs for both the Radcliffe heavyweight and lightweight crews, one would not expect to hear the word "heartbreak."

But that's just what happened to the lightweight varsity eights on May 30, as the two-time defending national champion saw a potential third fall by the wayside. Just six-tenths of a second separated Radcliffe and 1998 national champion Villanova.

Meanwhile the Radcliffe heavyweight crew was one of eight teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga., but all three boats failed to reach the Grand Finals.

Of course the season itself was anything but a wash.

Heavyweight Women

Radcliffe heavyweight crew was a strong player in women's rowing all season. The team, coached by Liz O'Leary, started out the season on shaky ground but continuously improved and found itself on its way to NCAAs.

Radcliffe spent much of its early season in the middle of the pack. In its first race, at home against Northeastern and MIT, the crew lost to the Huskies by a little over six seconds, with MIT not being a factor in the race.

Record: 5-4 (heavyweights) 7-2 (lightweights)

Coach: Liz O'Leary (heavyweights) Aubrey Borland (lightweights)

Highlights: Lightweights place second at Nationals; heavyweights reach NCAAs

Seniors: Landis Fisher, Catherine Malone, Amy Mecklenburg, Erin O'Malley, Amy Roth

The crew then traveled to San Diego for the Crew Classic and finished fourth behind Washington, Michigan and Northeastern by only 0.22 seconds, a clear improvement from the previous weekend.

The following weekend, Radcliffe beat Cornell by a substantial margin but lost to Princeton by six seconds.

The Black and White varsity found itself in the middle of the crews again at its next regatta, winning over Syracuse but losing to Dartmouth. The following day it lost to Brown.

Then the season turned around.