Even Coach Tucker does not deny the rivalry between the teams.

“Princeton has been at the top of the heap for the last few years,” Tucker said. “Radcliffe has finished second and third behind them. I’d say that’s what makes a rivalry; it’s purely the nature of the competition.”

While Radcliffe bested Princeton at last year’s Head of the Charles and a week later at the Princeton Chase, the Black and White faced the Tigers five times this past spring and lost every time, including at Eastern Sprints and Nationals.

“There’s definitely a rivalry with Princeton,” senior Avaleigh Milne said. “Head of the Charles is not as important as Nationals, but we’re always out to get them. There’s never an exception.”

In the 2000 and 2001 regattas, Wisconsin placed first overall in the lightweight eight competition. The Badgers also beat Radcliffe at Nationals in 2002.

Though they did not plague the Black and White last spring, there’s no counting them out.

“Every year teams change, so it’s hard to know what you’re getting before the race,” said senior Christina Minami. “A lot of schools—like us—have only been on the water for five weeks, so it’s hard to tell.”

Milne agreed, saying, “It’s really unpredictable from one year to the next, so we assume they’re just as fast as they were last year and work to get to that level.”

Though the competition is high and the event greatly anticipated by rowers and spectators alike, Radcliffe’s finish at the Head of the Charles Regatta will not make or break its year.

“Everyone wants to place as well as they possibly can. But it’s not the most important thing,” Tucker said. “We look at crew as a yearlong sport, with the spring season being the primary focus.”

“Obviously, a strong finish in the fall is a good sign for the spring,” Tucker added, “but there’s a lot of in-between time, so they’re really separate.”

The difference lies in the nature of the racing. The fall features head-on races, in which teams race one after the other according to a clock, for lengths of about three miles.

The spring races, on the other hand, feature head-to-head competition in which crews face off side-by-side so you can watch your opponent the entire way. The spring also features distances of 2000 meters per race.

Spence concurred with her coach, saying, “Head of the Charles doesn’t carry over to the spring season, but it’s definitely what drives us through the winter.”

“To beat Princeton at Head of the Charles and at the Princeton Chase gives you a mental edge that might carry over,” junior co-captain Ame Bothwell said.