The Radcliffe heavyweights faced off against Tulsa Saturday morning on the Charles, while the lightweight squad took on both the Golden Hurricane and MIT. The 19th-ranked heavyweights posted wins in the varsity and second varsity, and their lighter counterparts cruised to victories too.

Braving the cold and blustery conditions on Saturday morning, the Radcliffe lightweight and heavyweight crews out-rowed their opponents on the Charles River in the first race of the spring season.

The lightweight team squared off against Tulsa and MIT, while its heavyweight counterparts rowed head to head against the Golden Hurricane in the 2000-meter race.

“We’ve been gearing for this upcoming season all year especially during the fall and winter,” co-captain Olivia Coffey said. “We had done the work that was necessary. We just had to put in the effort. The race wasn’t going to feel good because it was freezing cold, but we wanted to start the season off right.”

The first race of the morning did not start as well as anticipated for the Black and White. Tulsa bested both the Radcliffe A and Radcliffe B varsity fours by a margin of 4.1 seconds and 16.5 seconds, respectively, finishing at a time of 8:55.0.

But the Black and White turned the tables quickly in the second varsity eight race. Radcliffe, with a time of 7:48.0, dominated the Golden Hurricane by 30.2 seconds, while the third varsity trailed Tulsa by 44 seconds.

The Black and White’s second eight immediately claimed the lead and held it throughout the entire race, consistently widening the gap between themselves and the Golden Hurricane.

“We knew we needed to get out there and go for it right from the start,” said co-captain Rachel Rauh, who coxed the second varsity eight. “We were confident that we could do pretty well. We just wanted to push every stroke regardless of what was going on next to us, whether we were ahead or behind.”

The first varsity eight carried the momentum into its race against Tulsa in the next race of the morning.

As soon as the race started, Radcliffe came out strong and powered down the course, leading by 14 seconds by the 1000-meter mark.

But the Black and White did not let down its guard. Instead, it extended its lead by another 14 seconds in the second half, crossing the line at 7:25.9 for a 28-second win.

“As soon as we came down off the start, we had a strong, sustainable rhythm,” said Coffey, who stroked the first varsity eight. “We could increase our margin steadily throughout the race. We were consistent, and that’s what we wanted throughout the race.”

Then the scene was set for the lightweight team to take over against both the Engineers and the Golden Hurricane.

Because Tulsa only brought one varsity four team, the first varsity eights of both Radcliffe and MIT divided into two boats for this race.

The Black and White A entry took the lead right away and maintained it throughout the race, beating the second-place Golden Hurricane by 18.7 seconds, finishing with a time of 8:50.4.

“I think it was a great first race out there,” said junior Kelly McCarthy, who rowed in the bow seat of the A four. “We did the best we could with our start given the conditions, and we just did the best we could. It was fun to have the other four out there as well—though nothing is ever completely sure until the end of the race.”

The Radcliffe B entry had a far tougher race. The Black and White and Tulsa fought for the lead between themselves, until Radcliffe claimed it at the 1000-meter mark.

But the Black and White boat hit a boat-stopping crab, allowing the Golden Hurricane to take the lead by a margin of six seconds.

In the second varsity eight race, Radcliffe only competed against the Engineers.

The Black and White started off strong and consistent and took the lead and held it throughout the entire race.

Radcliffe finished the 2000-meter race at a time of 8:33.0, 40.2 seconds faster than the Engineers.

The Black and White hopes to build off of this success in their remaining races of the season.

“It put us in a very good place for us to build off of. Tulsa is not in our league, but it serves as a good point of comparison for teams in the Midwest, South, and West,” Rauh said. “It gives us a perspective of where we stand. It gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”

“Working on last year’s results, our performance across the board give us an idea of where we are,” Coffey added. “I think we can do better. We have a lot of inexperienced rowers that are good but can do better. It is always really good to start off on a positive note, and we are all really hungry for some wins from our duals and the rest of the season.”