The No. 3 Radcliffe lightweight first varsity boat couldn’t top No. 2 Princeton on Saturday. The Crimson had beaten the Tigers in April.

The celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Radcliffe rowing program didn’t go exactly as the Black and White had planned on Saturday, as the lightweights were caught from behind by Princeton, who defended its Class of 1999 Cup.

On Sunday, though, the No. 8 first varsity heavyweight boat turned in its fastest time on the river this spring in its last home and regular season race of the year en route to a commanding victory over BU, Northeastern and MIT. The win over the Terriers earned the Black and White the Allen-DeWolfe Cup for the fourth time in five years, while the victory over the Huskies gave Radcliffe its fourth consecutive Rowlands Cup.

W. Heavyweights

In front of several hundred fans, including many former Radcliffe rowers, the novice eights got the Black and White off to a strong start early Sunday morning. In the morning’s first race, the BU crew caught an over-the-head crab in the first twenty strokes, allowing Radcliffe to cruise to victory by three lengths and more than ten seconds.

Then, the second novice eights took to the course. Controversy soon ensued as the BU coxswain led the Terriers through the racing arch along with Radcliffe and Northeastern, causing the latter two boats to crash oars. The incident didn’t seem to bother the Black and White, which won the race by nearly five seconds, but Northeastern, which finished second, filed a protest. Ultimately, the officials refused to force a re-row and upheld the results.

Radcliffe’s momentum was broken slightly when Northeastern’s second varsity eight rallied from its third place position after 1800 meters in the final twenty strokes to force a photo finish. After reviewing the videotape of race’s finish, officials declared Northeastern the winner and gave second place to BU, two-tenths of a second ahead of Radcliffe. Indeed, the Terriers and the Black and White were so close that BU edged Radclife by less than a stroke.

The Black and White has fought to preserve some continuity despite lineup changes in each of its last several races, but Radcliffe could not pin down the cause of its disappointing performance.

“I felt like we rowed fairly well and we were plenty intense about,” sophomore Megan Smith said. “So I’m still not sure how we came up a little short in the end.”

But the Black and White recovered in the first varsity eight race, despite the absence of senior Raegan Kennedy due to injury. Inspired by the alumnae they met Saturday night—including members of a 1945 crew that beat a team of Harvard men—the Radcliffe rowers couldn’t wait for the race to begin.

When it finally did, adrenaline pushed the Black and White to an even higher stroke rating than it had planned during its new start sequence.

Radcliffe expected Northeastern to be its main competition and was surprised to see the Huskies lagging behind at first. The Black and White couldn’t get complacent, however, as BU managed to stay with Radcliffe for 750 meters. But the Black and White didn’t worry about the Terriers.

“We know that if we don’t focus on our own boat, we row badly,” sophomore Caryn Davies said. “So we knew we had to be calm. We kept our focus on our own boat and made sure we were rowing our best.”

And Radcliffe was, as it gained open water with a strong burst at 750 meters. The Black and White further extended its lead to 1.5 lengths with its patented “Radcliffe move” at the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge, during which junior coxswain Cait Koss yelled “thirty years” in reference to the program’s history.

As University President Lawrence H. Summers watched with his daughter, Ruth, BU started its sprint 10 strokes early. Even that, though, couldn’t faze Radcliffe on this day, as it continued pulling away through the finish, eventually winning by two lengths in 6:43.3, its fastest time on the Charles this spring.

After the race, jubilation was the rule. Indeed, the younger Summers was so excited to watch the crew toss Koss into the Charles that her father arranged for the Radcliffe rowers to grant her the same treatment.