For Radcliffe alum Esther Lofgren '07-'09, 2010 keeps getting better and better. Already a world champion, the rower gained further recognition for her crew's performance when the US national team women's 8+ was nominated for row2k's crew of the year. On Nov. 7 in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, Lofgren's eight took the competition by storm, winning the world championships by a margin of nearly four seconds. The race capped off a strong year for the women's 8+, which also won at the World Cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Lofgren stroked the women's eight in Lucerne but moved to the five seat for the World Championships. Meanwhile, the current leaders in the fan voting, the U23 pair of Ashley Kroll and Felice Mueller, were guided by Harvard's own Linda Muri. Muri, coach of the Crimson lightweight freshmen, coached the U23 women's pair, four, and eight this summer, helping all three boats win gold in their respective events. Radcliffe co-captain Olivia Coffey was a member of that women's eight.