The Radcliffe heavyweight crew enters this weekend’s Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges (EAWRC) Sprints riding the momentum of its best dual season since 1990, posting a remarkable 10-1 head-to-head record.

“We’re really not thinking about past seasons, either in terms of past years or the past season so far,” junior Caryn Davies said.

But the one blemish on the Black and White’s schedule—a 2.7-second loss to Brown on April 27—is one that will have to be rectified if the women’s heavies are to end their season in golden style.

Radcliffe enters Sprints tied for fourth in the nation with Princeton and ranked second in the EAWRC, but still plays the underdog, chasing the Bears, who are tied for second nationally and hold the top seed in the EAWRC.

“We’re excited,” Davies said. “We think we’re fast and we want to prove it.”

And that leaves the Black and White with the opportunity to make a statement.

“It is a great incentive,” sophomore Heather Schofield said. “[The previous race] was a close enough race that we think we can win.”

But that’s certainly not the only motivation.

“Winning sprints is winning sprints,” Davies said.

However, besting the Bears may not translate to winning, as an elite field will be vying for NCAA championship berths and an opportunity to travel to England this summer to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta.

Radcliffe hasn’t been to Henley since 1989.

In addition to Brown, Princeton and No. 9 Yale—each of whom the Black and White bested by fewer than three seconds this year—will be gunning for first place. There are no undefeated crews in the varsity eight event and a lot of uncertainty at the top as the Tigers beat the Bears in March, Radcliffe defeated Princeton in early April and Brown then bested the Black and White just weeks ago.

“There aren’t a whole lot of teams that we haven’t seen that we’re going to race,” Davies said. “The thing about racing is you really have no control over the other boats. You just go as fast as you can go.”

In fact, the competition will be so difficult that No. 12 University of Virginia, fifth in the EAWRC, has withdrawn from the field to compete in Central/South Region Sprints in order to improve its chances of qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

“It just says that they think there are enough really difficult teams,” Schofield said.