With each new season come great expectations.

With the season-opening weekend now in the books, the Radcliffe Lightweight and Heavyweight crews both made solid starts to their seasons by displaying strong performances in their races on Saturday and Sunday.

While the lightweights stayed home on the Charles River to host Buffalo, the Heavyweight crews traveled to San Diego to participate in the Crew Classic.

SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSIC

Powerhouse crews from all over the country descended upon Mission Bay, Calif. for the 37th installment of the San Diego Crew Classic, and the Radcliffe Heavyweights showed why they belong in the conversation for national honors this season.

Both the Black and White varsity eight and second varsity eight crews qualified for the final round on opening day of competition on Saturday.

The 14th-ranked varsity eight finished third in its heat, edging out UC Davis by less than a second—6:59.45 to the Aggies’ 6:59.52—to claim a spot in the finals. No. 3 Virginia led all varsity eight crews with a time of 6:39.00.

“We had a little of trouble at the start of the race,” captain Laura Huppert said. “But we eventually found our rhythm. What mattered to us though was that we got the job done, and we did what we needed to do [to qualify for the finals]. It was a good opportunity to figure out what we needed to work on for Sunday and get out there on the course.”

The competition was not nearly as close for the Black and White second varsity, as Radcliffe finished second in its heat with a time of 7:13.78, a comfortable 11 seconds ahead of the next boat in its race.

But the Black and White’s momentum would end there.

In Sunday’s final rounds, both crews struggled on the water, as the varsity eight took fifth place with a time of 6:53.33. Once again, Virginia led all crews, followed by USC, UCLA, and Washington State.

Meanwhile, the second varsity finished sixth in its respective heat, finishing just 2.47 seconds behind UCLA with a time of 6:59.54.

Both crews used the Crew Classic as an opportunity to prepare for league competition, and the Black and White is hoping that the trip out west will pay off for the relatively young crews.

“It’s great to race—so many boats so early in the season,” Huppert said. “We’re really excited to keep building for the rest of the season, and we expect nothing but an upward trajectory.”

HARVARD VS. BUFFALO