By the first checkpoint, Radcliffe challenged even the highly-touted Riverside Boat Club for course supremacy, reaching the post just 1.531 seconds behind, although it ultimately fell short in capturing second overall.

“[Coach Cecile Tucker ’91] wanted us to set up a rhythm in the first mile,” Bates said. “I think it was a mix of adrenaline and being pumped.”

But the Black and White came perilously close to expending all its energy over the first half of the course, with an eight-second lead over Wisconsin dwindling to a final margin of less than two seconds.

“Our strategy was actually a negative split—to row faster in the second mile than in the first mile and faster in the third mile than the second mile,” Bates said.

Given the course conditions and Radcliffe’s level of fitness, the Badgers could not complete the comeback attempt.

“Today we were just thinking about racing the clock,” Bates said. “We were hoping to go for a course record or at least a fast time, which we did.”

Finishing in 17:09.584, Radcliffe was left in the dust by Riverside, which is a feeder for the U.S. national team and finished in 16:47.776.

“Club crews are unpredictable,” Bates said. “You never know who is going to be rowing for them.”

The Radcliffe heavies, defending Eastern and NCAA Champions, finished eighth, improving three spots upon the crew’s finish at the 2002 Head of the Charles.

The London Training Center, USRowing and the Princeton Training Center each shot off during the course’s first leg, distancing themselves from their collegiate opponents by the time they had reached Riverside.

Far behind but itself several seconds ahead of its spring competition, Yale led Princeton by more than six seconds and slowly extended its advantage to nearly 13 seconds.

In the group that followed—the Tigers, Brown, Radcliffe, Michigan, Stanford, Virginia and Wisconsin—short bursts followed by breakdowns led to a twisting battle with several changes in overall position.

The Black and White—fourth in that group as the crews reached Riverside—slid into third when the Cavaliers and Cardinal collapsed as the race neared its end.

But the battle of attrition took its toll on the Black and White, as the crew finished nearly eight seconds behind Brown and nine and a half behind Princeton while just barely eking out a three-tenths of a second victory over the Wolverines.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.