“It seems like the league this year is very fast, and it's definitely clear that we have some work to do in the next couple of weeks leading up to HYPs and the Eastern Sprints to unlock some speed” Klein said. “We have all the pieces, just need to put it all together.”
Women’s Heavyweights
The No. 17 heavyweight team had a full weekend, with the first and second varsity teams making an appearance in Clemson, S.C. for the Clemson Invitational, while the third and fourth varsity boats stayed behind to compete against four other Boston teams.
“The Clemson Invitational is an important race for us because we get to race so many teams that we otherwise don't see except at NCAAs, so doing well there can be crucial so the people who select which teams go to the national championships can see how we compare to them,” junior Abigail Parker said. “Therefore, we really try to do our best at Clemson. We're always trying to get faster.”
After second and third places in qualifying races against ranked teams earned the first varsity boat a place in the finals, the Black and White found itself again in close competition with the likes of No. 4 Ohio State, No. 14 Washington State, and San Diego.
While Ohio State had pulled away to nab the top spot by seven seconds at 6:34.7, the second place was left up for grabs by Washington State, Radcliffe, and San Diego. By the end of the race, Radcliffe had been outpaced by the Cougars by four seconds with a time of 6:41.8, but had themselves outpaced the Toreros by that same amount to take third place with a time of 6:45.1.
The second varsity boat, after qualifying for the final race, finished fourth in the final race. Like the V8 squad, the 2V boat competed for third place with Louisville and San Diego. The Black and White was just edged out by Louisville by one second and took fourth with 7:01.7. Ohio State also took this race with 6:44.8, and Washington State followed again, stopping the clock at 6:53.0.
The V4 boat finished second twice on Sunday, first with a time of 7:47.7 and then later on with a time of 7:20.4.
Back in Cambridge, the 3V A and B boats took first and second in their race against Dartmouth, Northeastern, BU, and UMass, with times of 6:57.6 and 7:06.4, respectively.
Women’s Lightweights
Also in Cambridge was the No. 4 lightweight crew, which competed in the fifth annual Lightweight Invitational against BU, MIT, Stanford, and Wisconsin.
In the petite finals, both the first and second varsity boats won against MIT. The first varsity won by seven seconds, crossing the finish line at 6:42.2, and the second varsity won by open water, finishing at 6:54.7.
By the end of the first day, Radcliffe was solidly in second place. Facing choppy waters, the V8 boat finished at 6:46.0, nine seconds behind first-place finisher Stanford, which stopped the clock at 6:37.8. The second varsity boat won over MIT by open water.
“I think all three of our boats racing at Clemson had some good and some bad in their races this weekend,” Parker said. “We all faced tough competition and got a chance to fight it out in close races, which is great experience. Our four especially had a really great weekend and beat a lot of teams that we weren't able to catch in our first two eights, which was awesome to see.”
—Staff writer Katherine H. Scott can be reached at katherine.scott@college.harvard.edu.