Wingnuts and Washers From the Weekend

A presser about Dayton's silver in the JV eight at Dad Vail originally called the boat the "lightweight eight." Perhaps they did a Bucknell after all. This link, though, goes to the "2nd varsity" story.

The Stanford and LMU pressers about PCRCs are here and here.

Sprints stories are up for Wisconsin, Princeton, and Radcliffe.

Wisconsin also won the inaugural Konrad Ulbrich Team Trophy, another feather to put in the Badger cap. Also, a few people mentioned that one of the Wisco rowers was a bit wobbly on the awards dock after the race. Unbelievably (because I watched the medal presentation) I missed it all. You know, rowers always joke about passing out on the last stroke of the race, but few actually pull it off. This woman apparently came pretty close and nothing more can possibly be said about giving your all. What a testament not only to the intensity of the race, but to the spirit and heart of that athlete.

Radcliffe Frosh Get Their Due; UCF, Not So Much

The Harvard Crimson published an article on the Radcliffe freshman light eight. It's a nice story with a couple of interesting points - the boat is comprised of all [six] recruits [a reader notes the article got this wrong], keeping the boat together is part of the Radcliffe way, and only one rower from the varsity eight graduates this year.

I think it's pretty significant that Radcliffe was able to bring in eight recruits this year. It obviously bodes well for the future of the program. When these freshmen mix in with the varsity next year, most of whom return, a pretty fast boat should result.

UCF, meanwhile, published a presser on the women's rowing team. In this case, however, it's really the heavyweight women's rowing team. It's a nice story about the recognition they're getting this year, but never mentions the lightweights. Not a problem if it wasn't for the fact that the heavies are treated as the whole team.

This story leads to the dark underside of the NCAA's involvement with rowing - the distorted boat priorities. Several of last year's fast lightweights have been brought into the heavyweight group. I haven't followed the heavies, but I believe one or two lights have been in the 1V. One might think that the others, who are spending time in the 2V or lower, would get released back to the lights to make a run at a national championship at IRAs. Thanks to the NCAA championship format, however, the program is forced to prioritize the heavy 2V above the light 1V, keeping the lightweight rowers out of the lightweight boat. Maybe you're thinking that it won't be a problem for IRAs since the heavies' season will be over by then? Sorry, if UCF heavies go to NCAAs, as it looks like they will, by NCAA rules those rowers who attend will not be allowed to race in another championship. It's sad to see a boat that had a real chance at challenging for a medal at IRAs torn apart simply to fill out a 2V so UCF can bring an entire team to NCAAs.

Just another example of how the NCAA works for the good of all female college athletes.

Who's #2?

There's a little discussion going on in the comments section of my last post that's now ready to bring to the front page.

As I was looking at the results of the Radcliffe - Princeton dual, I began to compare times across races. Now, we all know that you usually can't do this because conditions (including race intensity) vary too much across races. But, like all of you I often do it anyway. I first noticed that the Princeton 2V was faster than Radcliffe's 1V and only 3 seconds off of it's own number 2 ranked 1V. That would make them roughly the third or fourth fastest lightweight crew. I then moved on to the freshmen. Lo and behold the Radcliffe freshmen had the fastest time of the day! Well, now it was time to fall back on the fact that you usually can't compare races, and I let it go.

The first comment to that post pointed out the freshmen time, and I responded with the conventional wisdom, but wondered if the race used stakeboats (which would make times more comparable). Well it turns out they did and, as Aaron Benson (an MIT coach) noted, the conditions were excellent and very similar across all the races. Yikes! It looks hard to deny - the fastest lightweight boat on the water in Boston on Saturday was the Radcliffe freshmen! Yeah, it's only a second and if Princeton was pushed... But wait a minute, were the Radcliffe frosh pushed? Nope. What are those kids eating up there - Wheaties? Or is it superior coaching from Eric Catalano? Whatever, this is one fast boat.

The stage may be set for Sprints, but how about IRAs? I'm guessing that Coach Tucker will keep this boat together for Sprints so they can win a much deserved championship. Then she'll have two weeks to use all the freshmen and put together a faster varsity boat. I doubt the Radcliffe eight at IRAs will look like the boat we've been seeing all season. I thought Radcliffe would have more speed than they've shown so far, but I didn't think it would come from the freshmen.

The Stage is Set

All the players in today's drama played their roles perfectly. Wisconsin and Princeton both won, as their opponents fell into ranked order behind them. In Indianapolis, Wisconsin beat Stanford by 3 seconds, Georgetown by 11 seconds, and Ohio State by about 30 seconds. In Boston, Princeton beat Radcliffe by 11 seconds.

Both Wisconsin and Princeton were 3 seconds up on Stanford, while Wisconsin has been consistently 11 seconds faster than Georgetown, who was only 5.5 seconds off of Princeton. Wisconsin beat Radcliffe at Knecht by 22.5 seconds, as compared to Princeton's 11 seconds.

We can look at all of that and say that Wisconsin deserves its number one ranking, with Princeton a close second. I look at it and say one more thing - the momentum belongs to Stanford. The Cardinal seems to be the boat that is gaining speed faster than the others. Dare I suggest that this might be Stanford's year? Rowing is funny like that - it doesn't matter how fast you are during the season, it only matters how fast you are at the end.

Well, tuck the mental picture of Stanford standing on the medal dock in Camden in the back of your mind as we move on to more conventional thoughts. Eastern Sprints on May 13th has all the makings of a clash of Titans. While on paper Wisconsin appears to have the edge, the reality is that it's just too close to even hazard a guess. Georgetown and Radcliffe (who also seems to have gained a fair amount of speed) won't let Sprints turn into a two boat race, but we'll all be waiting to see what happens the first time Wisconsin and Princeton line up next to each other this season.

In the 2V, which will be a Sprints event for the first time this year, Princeton handily defeated Radcliffe by 24 seconds. We have yet to see Wisconsin race an actual 2V, so they'll be a complete unknown going into the regatta. More Wisco - Princeton drama.

Princeton's four won their race by 21 seconds. In freshmen races, Radcliffe remains undefeated as they beat Princeton by 16 seconds. The Wisconsin freshmen beat heavyweight boats from Purdue and Ohio State.

Knecht Cup Eights - They're Baaaack

There was no shortage of questions coming into the eights event at the Knecht Cup - could Georgetown maintain its slight 1 second edge over Radcliffe, how fast would Wisconsin be in its first race of the year, and could any other eights stay up with the three Sprints schools?

Heat 1 looked like a rowover for Wisconsin, and so it proved to be as the Badgers finished 29 seconds ahead of the Radcliffe 2V, with Buffalo finishing another 4 seconds back. Needless to say, Wisconsin was in control from the start.

Heat 2 quickly became a two boat race between Radcliffe and Georgetown. Radcliffe pulled away in the second half as the Hoyas, clearly executing a race plan, cruised to the finish rowing low and long. A moderately surprising Duquesne boat finished third to knock Lehigh out of the grand final.

By the time of the late day final, it was clear that Wisconsin was the crew to beat, and that Georgetown and Radcliffe had bigger worries than who was the fastest between them. Ultimately, the final played out like one more year tacked on to Groundhog Day, with the Radcliffe and Georgetown boats filled with Phil Connerses, praying to wake up from their nightmare. By the 1000 meter mark Wisconsin was ahead to stay, winning the event by 11 seconds. Georgetown and Radcliffe had a battle going for a while, until the Hoyas pulled away to take second, 12 seconds ahead of the Black and White. The Radcliffe 2V took fourth, followed by Buffalo and Duquesne.

Wisconsin hasn't actually won Knecht since 2002, reflecting what has been traditionally a late starting crew. At this point, I would normally talk about how little time Wisconsin has on the water this early in the season, and it holds true for this year as well. Because of the squirrelly weather, though, I'm not sure if it's been much less than the other northern crews. Has Wisconsin become an early starting crew, or has the water time simply evened out? Or, even more frightening, are the Badgers off to their usual slow start with the usual amount of speed yet to be gained?

The Georgetown-Radcliffe duel also proved to be anticlimactic, as the Hoyas opened up space between themselves and the Black and White. Radcliffe continues to have a bumpy season, reflective of the rebuilding effort going on in Cambridge.

Turning to the freshmen, the Radcliffe eight continued to dominate, winning the event by 12 seconds over Princeton, which was 3 seconds ahead of Wisconsin [and] Georgetown[, who crossed the line in a virtual dead heat. (The official results incorrectly reported Georgetown's time.)] and Philadelphia rounded out the field. Princeton and Wisconsin also made it to the grand final of the heavy frosh eight event, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Wisconsin's performance at Knecht was impressive, if not entirely unexpected. Things were a bit more interesting on the West Coast however, and we may need to rethink the rankings...

Saturday Races

Although UCF may have suspected psychological warfare, the Golden Knights arrived in Princeton earlier in the week to a swirling snow squall. For some, it was their first glimpse of the white stuff. Unfortunately for both UCF and MIT the reception never really got warmer.

Although the results aren't yet posted, a reader wrote in to say that Princeton won the V8 race by several lengths open, followed by UCF in second, a length ahead of Princeton's 2V in third, which was a length ahead of MIT. Princeton's freshmen beat two MIT frosh boats (great situation for the Engineers to have two frosh boats), despite catching a boat stopping crab during the race. The first heat of the afternoon fours race was taken by Princeton while the second, and faster, heat was won by MIT with Princeton second and UCF third.

This was a race that had a little bit for everyone. Princeton was strong and maintained it's status as favorite. A young UCF crew beat MIT and jumps them in the rankings. MIT showed that they can still put together a formidable four, while the eight is likely suffering from that most curable of problems - early season conditioning. Princeton's 2V, meanwhile, shows that if it were a separate school, it would deserve a ranking easily in the top ten.

In Rhode Island, Radcliffe raced in the 2v event against Bucknell, URI, and BC, finishing fourth. A difficult two weekends for the Black and White as after losing to Georgetown last week, the 1V finishes 20 seconds behind a Bucknell 2V that only beat Princeton's lightweight 2V by a little more than 3 seconds. The Radcliffe frosh continued their dominating ways as they defeated URI and BC heavy freshmen. Bucknell, in what looked like a potential IRA boat, put a light eight on the water for the 3V race, which included Radcliffe's 2V. Bucknell beat the Black and White by 30 seconds (and the URI 3V by 15). It would be nice to see a Bucknell lightweight eight race someone in the top ten so we can see their speed and get them ranked.

With such a dominating freshman boat and a varsity that is struggling a bit, it wouldn't be surprising to see a freshman or two move up to the varsity. It would be unfortunate for that freshman crew, but it's all about the V8.

Duals (and More) This Weekend

Radcliffe heads to Rhode Island on Saturday to meet Bucknell, Boston College, and URI. BC doesn't race lightweights and it appears URI has tossed in the towel, so I don't expect either of those teams to offer lightweight competition for Radcliffe. The information clampdown continues at Bucknell so we'll wait with bated breath to see if the Bison race a light eight or a heavy eight. Although the State Secret is still secure, I expect we'll see a heavy eight and, at this point, this is what I hope to see since a Radcliffe-Bucknell heavies race will give us a means to compare the Black and White with Princeton. Like Princeton's race last week, this will be a bit of a gimme for Radcliffe since they'll probably be racing all heavyweight boats. There will be some added pressure however, to come within Princeton's 10 seconds of the heavies. Conditions can make such a comparison wildly inaccurate, but why let that stop us?

Princeton, meanwhile, is back on the water as UCF and MIT come to visit. This is scheduled to be an all day affair with eights in the morning and fours in the afternoon, but it's not clear if that will happen and who will be in the fours. With UCF's 2006 IRA boat raided by the heavyweights (as we've discussed previously), and MIT only recently moving back onto the national stage in eights, expectations will be high for the Tigers. A stumble here would not be the way to start the lightweight season. Despite the loss of UCF lightweights, I don't exactly think the Golden Knights will be sending scrubs up north to face MIT and Princeton. The boat hasn't been tested yet against top notch lightweight competition, but that doesn't mean it's slow, only unknown. A good showing here sets the stage for the remainder of the season, which includes a Princeton re-match at Windermere. MIT has to be energized to start the season after a good fall campaign. Let's remember that this is a crew that beat Georgetown at the Head of the Charles. Clearly the Engineers have potential and despite being a bit rusty, they'll no doubt be feeling their oats on Lake Carnegie.

Two other duals to note - Lehigh races Drexel (which should be a heavyweight affair) and Cal races Santa Clara. Cal's race with Santa Clara should provide the Bears with a nice gauge of the progress they might be making against Stanford. Well, actually, all we know is that Stanford beat Santa Clara. Since they were timed scrimmage pieces, spreads were not reported.

To go back to UCF for a minute, a reader commented a few weeks ago that the the UCF lightweights that were taken by the heavyweight squad "are not being allowed to return for IRA's." If true, none of UCF's IRA crew will be rowing lightweight this year. As far as I know, the NCAA would allow these rowers to return unless the heavies went to the NCAA championship. Perhaps this is the coach's decision? Or, perhaps the heavies are so certain of a NCAA invite that they just assume the lights can't return. After coming close to an IRA medal last year, it's got to be difficult to spend a season toiling in the heavyweight 2V (a few are no doubt in the 1V) simply so the team can win the consolation prize at regattas (also known as the team championship). Once again we can thank the NCAA for creating the absurdity that causes 2V and 3V four events to be favored over a 1V lightweight event.

Georgetown - Radcliffe

Now that the results are posted, we see that Georgetown beat Radcliffe by just under 1 second. The Radcliffe release on the race notes that the Black and White were up a length at the 1000 meter mark, but the Hoyas reeled them back in. That should be an ominous sign for future Georgetown opponents - a crew that doesn't panic, doesn't feel it needs to win the race at the start, and now a crew with confidence in itself. As I said, a bow ball or a length, this is an excellent win for Georgetown. Knecht Cup will be a great race!

As we look through the other races, we first notice that the Radcliffe 2V beat Georgetown's 2v by a bit more than 23 seconds. Clearly Radcliffe has some athletes able to challenge for the 1V, and I'm certain the Black and White will spend the next couple of weeks trying to figure out if they have the right combination. For Georgetown, the race was close enough that they realize they can't rest on their laurels (not that they would anyway) and will be doing the very same thing.

Radcliffe also won the 4 and the F8. This was the first test for the Radcliffe freshmen who dominated in the fall, and they passed by 14 seconds.

Georgetown is for real, and they're not going away. At this point in the season, we can say something that I don't know has ever been said about women's lightweights - we have a four way dog fight for best in the nation, and all the dogs have yet to show their fangs.

Reader Comment - Georgetown beats Radcliffe

A reader just posted a comment saying that Georgetown has beaten Radcliffe this morning. I don't know by how much, but even if it's a bow ball, the Hoyas have just made a statement. It's going to be a hot spring! More when we see the full results.

Duals this weekend

Two more Sprints schools swing into action this weekend as Radcliffe travels to Georgetown and Princeton welcomes Bucknell.

On Saturday Radcliffe and Georgetown battle over the Class of 2004 Cup. And I do mean battle. Radcliffe is looking for revenge and Georgetown is ready to prove that 2006 was no fluke. The Harvard Crimson article I linked to previously plays right into these themes:

The Radliffe lightweights will look to avenge this late-season turn-for-the-worse in the coming weekend against those very Hoyas.

Next Saturday, the Black and White will travel to Georgetown for the first meet of its young season, and, more importantly, for its first chance at redemption.

Having failed to win an IRA national championship over the past ten years, defeats such as the ones incurred at the hands of the Hoyas and Wisconsin last year are striking setbacks.

But these challenges motivate the squad, and, with the spring season about to begin, the team is ready.

The fact is, Radcliffe is strong this year, and could very well dominate the entire league, not just Georgetown.

Then again, shall we just stop taking the Hoyas for granted right now? This was the second place team in the nation - a position earned, not given. Last year was a breakthrough season and this race will be the first opportunity for Georgetown to state, once and for all, that it was only the beginning. Second was great, once. Now it's on to the championship, and the trip begins Saturday.

On Sunday, Princeton takes on Bucknell. We don't know if it will be a lightweight or a heavyweight Bucknell boat. Rumors still persist that the Bison will only race heavyweights until the IRAs, but the last Bucknell press release stated that the "lightweights" will be racing at Princeton. I've asked Bucknell for some clarification, but I haven't yet received a response.

For the Tigers, however, it doesn't really matter if it's the heavyweights or the lightweights, because a crew that hopes to win IRAs must beat either boat. While there is almost no way to actually compare speed, I think you can make a pretty good case for saying that the lightweight IRA champion is faster than the Dad Vail heavyweight champion. Bucknell heavies were in the petites the last two years, but even if you assume they win Dad Vail this year (although it's not on their schedule), Princeton must be faster if they want to be on track for an IRA championship. This will be a nice race for Princeton and given that it's early in the season (when brute force often dominates skill), this could be a bit of a see-saw battle.

As for Bucknell's plans for the rest of the season, we'll know a little bit more when we see who races at Princeton. [Update: See comment for an interesting take on this.]

Radcliffe Press Release

Harvard athletics published a nice press release on the Radcliffe lights. Some highlights:

- Five returning seniors
- Three rowers participated in a U23 camp last summer
- Freshmen dominated in the fall (did we mention that here once or twice?)

The most significant fact for me is the participation of three athletes in the U23 sculling camp. I know the sweep rower ethos, because at one point I drank the Kool-Aid along with everyone else - scullers are pansies, they're loners, they think technique is important, their catches are too soft, they're too in control. Uh-huh. Keep thinking those thoughts as as you suck down their wake. Those of you who are only sweep rowers don't believe me now, but to learn to scull well is to learn to move a boat. While sweep "hammers" wrench in oars, throw their bodies around the boat, and burst veins in their necks, scullers impassively turn pain into poetry while defying observers to know the difference between the paddle and full pressure by anything other than boat speed. Why? Because they know that any errant movement will upset the balance of a boat, that any wasted energy will come back to haunt you when you are the only engine. Don't get me wrong, I like to jump into the engine room of an eight and whale on the oar as much as the next person, but if you can scull, you can make any boat go fast. If you look back at my summer nationals post, you'll see the names of those Radcliffe rowers mentioned. (UCF had two rowers sculling at Nationals while Princeton and Bucknell each had one. And don't forget Bucknell's fall sculling program.) I'll get down off of my soapbox now, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Speaking of warning, I said before that when Radcliffe meets Princeton on April 28th it will be a 1 vs. 2 race. This will be Princeton's first race with any of last year's top three crews, while Radcliffe will have won Knecht (not a particularly bold call, assuming Wisco has their usual slow start). This may very well be Princeton's first wake up call of the year and the rest of their season will depend on how well they handle it.

2007 Season Preview - Radcliffe

At the end of the 2006 IRA regatta, when the Bitter Pill Pharmacy opened for business, Radcliffe stepped up right behind Princeton. True, the Cliffies had medals around their necks, but in a season in which they seemed destined for greatness, bronze just didn't cut it. A hiccup at Princeton and a silver at Sprints made some observers think their run was over, only to see them come roaring back at IRAs as they rowed the most impressive heat of the regatta, winning it over Bucknell and Georgetown while dragging a log several hundred meters down the course. A championship was not to be, however, and for the six returning rowers plus coxswain, 2007 is a season of retribution.

The retribution distribution begins on March 31st when Radcliffe heads to Washington, DC to take on Georgetown. (This tells us that Bucknell's race against Georgetown on the same day is with the heavies.) A win here would leave the Black and White thinking that all is right with the world, at least until they see the Hoyas again in two weeks at Knecht. Following the Washington trip, Radcliffe travels to Rhode Island the following week to race URI, Bucknell, and Boston College. URI seems to be de-emphasizing lightweights and BC is usually a heavyweight only squad, so the main race here should essentially be a Radcliffe - Bucknell dual. The following week is Knecht, when everyone except Princeton, UCF, and Stanford will come out to play.

Returning home after Knecht, Radcliffe meets up with MIT to battle for lightweight dominance of the Charles. This will be the first spring meeting of these two crews in a race which used to be almost a rowover for Radcliffe. The Engineers are a different crew these days and there will be no free lunch handed out here. Speaking of no free lunch, the next weekend Princeton comes to town for the Class of '99 Cup. Radcliffe raced Princeton 5 times last season and won every race but one - the Class of '99 Cup. Hmmm, think April 28th might be highlighted on the Radcliffe schedule?

Mid-May brings Sprints, followed by IRAs in the beginning of June.

Radcliffe only lost a couple of rowers from last season's IRA boat, but at least one was a material loss, as evidenced by the way she lit up the summer rowing circuit in a 2x. Nonetheless, with a solid core back from a very strong boat last season, the Black and White will be capable of ruining everyone's day. Radcliffe is clearly on their way back to the top. They almost reached it last season, but settled instead for firing a warning shot (broadside, really) across the league's bows. There will be no settling this year as every Radcliffe boat will come to the line with her decks cleared for action and her gun ports open. They won't be sneaking up on anyone, but I would guess that's just the way they like it. (Calendar updated)

Below is Radcliffe's start at the HOCR:



If you want to download the high res version, you can get it normal size or large size. (As always, thanks to Dan Morken for the video.)

Foot of the Charles Results

On Saturday the New England schools took to the Charles for one last race in 2006 - The Foot of the Charles. In the varsity four competition (at least I assume that's what it is, it's not named in the results) MIT was the top lightweight boat, finishing 14th out of 40. Radcliffe was next, 9 seconds back, followed by UMass, Radcliffe B and C, and MIT B. In the novice eight race the mighty Radcliffe freshmen were third, 20 seconds off of the Radcliffe heavies and 5 seconds off of the Dartmouth heavies. The MIT freshmen were 17th out of 30, almost two minutes behind Radcliffe. MIT was followed by the Radcliffe and MIT B boats. In the varsity eight race MIT lights were 3rd out of eight boats while the Radcliffe lights were 8th. I'm not entirely clear on what this race is since it's small and the results are often odd. I'm sure a reader can tell me but I assume these are 2 or 3Vs? [Update: See comments.]

MIT has to be pleased with their fours performance. They beat their own heavyweights as well as a few other heavyweight A boats and a whole lot of heavyweight B and C boats, not to mention Radcliffe's lights. This is also a nice turnaround from last year when MIT was almost a minute behind Radcliffe. The Radcliffe freshman eight continues to churn up the waters, here apparently facing stacked heavyweight boats. This boat appears to be very, very fast and unless it's broken up to bring some rowers into varsity boats, it should be exciting to watch in the spring. It seems untouchable at this point and it would likely go through undefeated, much as Princeton did last season. One of the effects of the Radcliffe freshmen has been to overshadow the MIT freshmen who are having a good fall in their own right. In the middle of the heavyweight pack on Saturday, they beat several heavyweight A boats, including their own.

Radcliffe Wins the Belly!

I don't mean wins the lightweight category, I mean wins the race. Yes, the heavyweight boats in this freshmen race are supposed to be evenly matched, but c'mon, this is a great result for the Black and White. The next fastest boat was the Princeton heavyweights who were 2 seconds back. Princeton, by the way, only had one heavy eight entered so I'd say this is the best they've got. The Princeton lights were the next lightweight boat, 43 seconds behind Radcliffe, with the Georgetown lights another 26 seconds back. Both Radcliffe and Georgetown entered B boats which finished a bit further back in the pack.

That Radcliffe boat must have been smoking. No doubt the freshmen provide a good training partner for the varsity. The key point here seems to be that Radcliffe can bring some of these freshmen into the mix for seat racing this spring, adding speed to the V8 while still keeping a fast freshman eight. Thinking of the Pittsburgh four, this makes me wonder what the average erg score is of the Radcliffe boat. Think it's faster than all of the heavyweights in that race?

Two crews have now thrown down markers this fall - the Princeton varsity and the Radcliffe freshmen. Now, when the snow starts to fall, they'll move inside and begin making or breaking their spring seasons.

Radcliffe - The Fine Tuning Continues

Radcliffe has switched around their lineup for IRAs. The latest press release has their captain, a starboard, in stroke. Looks like the boat is fully re-rigged to starboard stroke, rather than a bucket. They've also added another freshman into the lineup.

Robbing the Cradle

A recent article in the Harvard Crimson noted the rise of freshmen on Radcliffe varsity crews and sees this as reflective of a national trend. This trend fits in well with my reader’s suggestion (discussed in an earlier post) for how to increase participation in women’s lightweight rowing. Moving recruits into the varsity as freshmen forces programs to rely on walk-ons for their novice boats, giving more women a chance to row and experience good racing. There is more than this going on in the heavyweight ranks, however, because the NCAA discourages novice events by not including them in its championship. As a result, although heavy crews still race novice boats, the results have no bearing on NCAA bids or championships so they dismantle them for NCAAs. It’s easy to see a time when you’ll be as likely to see a heavyweight women’s novice race as you would be to see a freshmen college football game. Whether you think this is good or bad, it’s more evidence of the NCAA’s effect on women’s rowing.

As a reader pointed out, the freshmen in the varsity trend has hit the top lightweight teams as well - every V8 at sprints had at least one freshman in it, with freshman strokes in the top two boats.

It’s obvious that currently the NCAA is lightweight women’s rowing’s Darth Vader, but the more I see of its influence, the more I wonder if it isn’t simply the source of all rowing evil. On the plus side, it has clearly increased the number of heavyweight women, but that often has embarrassing results and it tends to leave wreckage from the other categories in its single-minded wake.

By the way, did you catch the shot at the Princeton frosh near the end of the Crimson article?

Meeeoooow.

Whew, it’s getting rough out there!

That Reminds Me...

Reading the Daily Princetonian article reminded me of an article in the Harvard Crimson I read a few years ago. It discusses a member of the Radcliffe heavyweight crew and the key quote from her is,

I love that we’re big women and proud of it and proud that we’re strong and we love to eat. I think that the way that we relate to our bodies is really healthy.

I'm really not that interested in how much or how little heavyweight women eat, but I am interested in how insidious is this politically correct notion that "bad" women watch their weight (are lightweights) and "good" women eat as much as they can (are heavyweights).

Let me be the first to tell you that the emperor is wearing no clothes.

Not Exactly Bulletin Board Material...

but the best line from this Harvard Crimson article on Saturday's race with Princeton is this - "It was not a total disappointment for the lightweight squad, as the team only lost by that three-second margin while racing poorly."

Harvard Crimson Article

I didn't see this article in the Harvard Crimson until after Saturday's race, so I'm a bit late with it. It's a good article on the Radcliffe program that describes a team on the rise. Oddly, it almost presages Saturday's result. The article also confirms that Radcliffe has been rowing a freshman in its V8, which had been rumored since the start of the season.

Demons Exorcised

When the Princeton crew arrived at their boathouse Saturday morning, they could not have been heartened by the sight of the Princeton holiday flag flapping in the stiff breeze, at times gusting straight out from the flagpole. This was Windermere weather. This was Georgetown weather without the rain. This was not Princeton weather, it was Radcliffe weather. If the eight heard any results at all from the men’s racing taking place before the lightweight’s, the mood could only have darkened. Boat after boat fell to Brown and the day began with a decidedly anti-Princeton cast. By the time the Radcliffe and Princeton lightweight freshmen lined up, however, the home crowd mood had brightened as the Princeton heavy men’s V8 had handled Brown.

The Princeton lightweight freshmen turned in their usual dominating performance, beating Radcliffe by open water. The row wasn’t always pretty, but it was fast, and that’s all that counts.

As the freshmen rowed back up the course and the varsity eights locked onto the stakeboats, the wind picked up, mocking the crews waiting to race, daring them to row fast and clean. Radcliffe had to have been confident, and they deserved to be, having beaten Princeton twice before, and seeing the Tigers stumble last week against Georgetown. Princeton, while perhaps not confident, was certainly determined.

At the start of the race, Princeton executed a fast, clean start and jumped out a seat or two on the Black and White. By the time both crews’ starting sequences were done, Princeton had four seats on Radcliffe. This margin held fairly steady as both boats moved into the second 500.

When you try to forecast a future event, the only thing you know is that it won’t work out the way you say it will. This race wasn’t about the third 500, it was about the second. With hindsight we know this, but at the time no one, including the two crews, knew it. In the second 500, Radcliffe took a move. That move bought them a seat or two. What it didn’t do, was buy them what they needed, which was four or five. It was enough to bring a sinking feeling to the stomachs of the Princeton partisans in the crowd, but not enough to pull them even. It would be Radcliffe’s high-water mark.

Princeton didn’t so much respond to Radcliffe’s push, as ignore it. They accepted the loss of two seats, gathered themselves, and then once more began the job of moving away. This wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t quick; they were, after all, racing Radcliffe. As the boats crossed the 1000 meter mark, Princeton was up by six seats. Radcliffe was as tenacious as you would expect the number one boat in the country to be, but the Tigers gradually pulled away. The head wind hit in the third 500, as it had so many times before, but now it was Princeton doing the mocking. They had learned to row into the wind. In the last quarter of the race both boats went into their sprints, with the exertion of rowing from behind making Radcliffe look perhaps slightly less clean. Nonetheless, the Black and White found a bit of speed there, picking up maybe a seat, but at the finish it was Princeton by a little less than a length. For possibly the first time this season, Princeton had rowed a complete race – a fast start, a strong body, and an effective sprint – and it brought them the number one ranking in the country. Princeton had been haunted all season long by demons in the form of wind and waves, and Saturday those demons were exorcised. The Class of 1999 Cup remains on the shores of Lake Carnegie.

Radcliffe, meanwhile, rowed a valiant race. They rowed a race that left nine Princeton women wishing they didn’t have to see the Black and White two more times this season. They rowed back up the course with the look of a home run hitter who just struck out in the second, but who saw every pitch the pitcher has to throw. “Now that I know what you have, I’ll be ready the next time.”

Princeton’s Rule of Four continued in the V4, as the Tigers won a four boat race, followed by Radcliffe, Princeton, Radcliffe. This race began with the Black and White jumping out to a lead and Princeton moving through them in the second 500. That lead held up and expanded as Princeton won by open water. The winning Princeton boat looked strong as they pushed away from Radcliffe with every stroke. Radcliffe and the second Princeton boat were in a tight finish as Princeton put on a charge at the end to draw within half a length.

The races today continue to write a compelling storyline for the championship season to come. Princeton seems to have discovered their true potential and Radcliffe, while beaten on Saturday, is hardly defeated. Wisconsin, with a big win over Georgetown, has shown that, once again, they are picking up a lot of speed as the season matures and Georgetown, while maybe a bit further behind Wisconsin than they would have liked, is still clearly a dangerous crew. Finishing 6 seconds behind Georgetown, Ohio State has shown more speed than I thought they had and will slip under no one’s radar at ECACs. UCF waits in the wings, having already shown some of their speed, Stanford has yet to visit the east, and somewhere in central Pennsylvania, Bucknell has a surprise waiting for everyone. And then there’s Dayton, URI, and Buffalo. So strap on your helmet and buckle your seatbelt because… huh…oh, yeah…your mom says don’t forget to study for finals.