For the Black and White, a second-place cumulative finish is a one rank improvement upon the third place finishes of the last three years.
“The good part is that at last year’s sprints, varsity lost to them by like 12 seconds,” Milne said. “But at least we know they’re more within our reach.”
A strong two-boat effort in the lightweight fours secured the runner-up position.
Princeton would not be denied, outpacing the pack by 7.84 seconds. But third and fifth place efforts from Radcliffe’s two entries vaulted the crew over the Badgers, who placed second in the four-women event and third in the varsity eights.
“Princeton clearly was the fastest boat out there,” junior Bonnie Scott said. “We knew it’d be hard to catch them. We were just going out there trying to keep pace with them.”
The Black and White seeks to strip the No. 1 Tigers of their national championship when the two return to Camden’s Cooper River for the third time this year, competing at the IRA National Championships beginning May 29.
—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.