After earning victories over Cornell and Princeton last Saturday, the Radcliffe second varsity boat was named an ECAC Crew of the Week last week.

The Black and White’s success did not come easily as the Tigers and the Big Red led over Radcliffe at the start. Cornell overtook Princeton’s fast start in the first 500 meters, while Radcliffe still fought to find rhythm on the choppy water of the Charles.

“We went into the race anticipating that Princeton would get out quickly—they’re known for their fast starts,” sophomore coxswain Sarah Ronis said.

Radcliffe walked through the Tigers in the third 500, but the Big Red still remained between the Black and White and the finish line with only 500 meters left.

The final 40 strokes brought Radcliffe past Cornell, as the Black and White walked through the Big Red with room to spare and won by one seat of open water in 7:33.7. Cornell followed in 7:37.5 while Princeton trailed in 7:42.2.

“This boat loves to sprint,” Ronis said. “They sprint well, they live for it.”

Last year, the Radcliffe Novice Eight suffered only two season losses—to Brown and Cornell. Seven rowers from that boat are now in the second varsity boat and, though they lost to the Bears two weeks ago, they avenged their other loss on Saturday.

Radcliffe travels to Syracuse on Friday to race Dartmouth and the Orangewomen on Saturday. Tuesday’s EAWRC polls have the Black and White second varsity ranked second behind Brown while Syracuse stands at fourth and Dartmouth at 14th.