The day concluded with the varsity four races, where the Black and White “A’ boat finished second to Princeton, while the “B” crew won its race. The latter had spent the week working on starts and sprints to improve its performance at each end of the race.

“We knew we could hang [through the middle]” freshman Lacey Whitmire said. “But we really wanted to sharpen it up because we didn’t want to start down and we wanted to use up everything we had at the end.”

The strategy worked, as the varsity four “B” jumped out to its strongest start of the year and widened the gap throughout the first 1000 meters before cruising to the victory.

“Tradition has been a theme all year,” Whitmire said. “So it was good to solidify River [bragging] rights in front of [the alumnae],” Whitmire said.

W. Lightweights

On Saturday, the No. 3 Radcliffe lightweight varsity eight and varsity four raced well, but were overshadowed by No. 2 Princeton, the defending national champion.

The strong cross headwind provided the Black and White with a significant home course advantage compared to Princeton’s flat, sheltered, buoyed course.

“It’s like dragging something really heavy behind the boat, like a sofa or something,” sophomore Laura Spence said.

The familiarity with rough conditions seemed to serve the varsity eight well as it got off to a strong start and led through the first half of the race, despite a revamped lineup with changes in the stern.

Slowly, though, Princeton narrowed the gap and then moved ahead with a strong move in the third 500 meters of the race, eventually winning by over four seconds.

“We don’t really know what happened,” Spence said. “We kind of got a little frantic in the last 1,000 meters of the race. I think we still have to get over the mental obstacle that we actually can beat Princeton.”

The Black and White did defeat the Tigers earlier this season, but Princeton came back and beat Radcliffe soon thereafter.

Now, the task for the lightweight varsity eight is to combine Saturday’s start with the strong finish upon which the crew typically relies.

The varsity four race featured many of the same themes, with a Black and White boat still trying to become comfortable with a new lineup turning in a strong start, only to be caught from behind by the Tigers.