GOLD RIVER, Calif. – In near-perfect racing conditions at Lake Natoma and the Sacramento State Acquatic Center, the Harvard-Radcliffe varsity eight rowed its way to the A/B semifinals, while the second varsity and varsity four earned spots in their respective C/D semifinals.
The first varsity, coming in No. 13, upset its seed and will finish among the top-12 crews this year after an incredible performance in the repechage. After clocking a 6:44.123 in its early morning heat to place fourth, the 1V put together the fastest first 1500m of the first rep, giving it all it had. Against the likes of Yale, Washington State, Wisconsin, UMass, Southern California and Jacksonville, Radcliffe took second in a barnburner of a race, finishing in a much-improved 6:29.088 – 15 seconds off its heat time.
Like the 1V, the second varsity took fourth place in its morning heat to earn a spot in the repechage. The 2V Black and White finished in 6:47.781 against the likes of Washington, Stanford, Indiana and Gonzaga – a tough group of competition. Back in action in the afternoon, the 2V was pitted against even stingier boats in Michigan, Virginia, Princeton, UCF, Northeastern and Navy. Though Radcliffe boasted a great start and the fastest second 500m in a very close race, UVA and Michigan ran away with the bids to the A/B final, leaving the 2V on the short end in 6:40.268.
The varsity four performed up to the challenge all day as well. The Black and White completed in the second heat of the day against Brown, California, Texas and UMass, but took fourth in 7:46.062 heading into the repechage. In the very last rep of day one, Radcliffe sprinted out to a very quick 1000m, but eventually tailed off to take fourth, though not by much. The V4 finished in a nicely improved 7:42.489 to earn a berth in the C/D semifinals on Saturday.
Action at Lake Natoma picks back up on Saturday at 8:30 a.m local time (11:30 a.m. ET). The first Radcliffe boat to race on day two will be the 1V at 9 a.m. (noon ET); they will face Ohio State, Washington, Princeton, Stanford and Brown in the second A/B semifinal. The 2V will be in the first lane of the second C/D semifinal, squaring off with Notre Dame, UMass, UCF and Jacksonville at 9:20 a.m. (12:20 p.m. ET). Finally, the V4 sits in the second lane of the first C/D semifinal, taking on Southern California, Northeastern, Gonzaga and UMass at 9:50 a.m. (12:50 ET).
