Radcliffe Heavyweight Crew Head Coach Liz O'Leary: "That's an outstanding crew we faced [Princeton] and, while we didn't win, I'm extremely encouraged by how we stayed with them." Photo by Jet Commercial Photographers Inc.

While how you finish is certainly more important than how you start, the Harvard and Radcliffe crews must be pleased with their season-opening results.

The heavyweight men, who are replacing six oarsmen from last year's undefeated crew that captured the Ladies Challenge Plate at Henley, debuted on April 10 by fending off Brown. Harvard navigated the choppy 2000-meter Charles River course in 5:46.0, with the Bears trailing in 5:48.3. The two boats overlapped the entire race.

"There were no missed steps and our crew handled a lot of good pressure from Brown," said Harvard Head Coach Harry Parker, whose crew earned the Stein Cup with the win. "I think we're going to see the same thing most of the spring with some good close races. We're hopeful they all have the same result."

Senior captain Henry Nuzum, who rows in the seven seat, and senior stroke Daniel Dias are the Crimson's lone rowers with previous varsity experience. Senior coxswain Jason Kastner is also back.

Harvard has now captured the Stein Cup 30 times in the race's 35-year history. The varsity's win came as part of a sweep of the visitors. The JVs rallied from a one-length deficit to win, 6:06.4 to 6:07.1, and in the much-heralded freshman race, which pitted two of the nation's top young crews against each other, the Crimson sped away in the final 500 meters for a two-length victory.

For the women, a regatta win appears to be right around the corner. Radcliffe has placed a close second in each of its first two outings, taking top-10 foes Brown and Princeton to the limit before falling. Still, the Black and White has edged Northeastern and Cornell in these three-boat regattas, the former win earning the squad the Rowlands Cup for the first time since 1994.

Competing most recently on April 10 on the Charles River, Radcliffe nearly pulled the shocker of the young season. The race with seventh-ranked Princeton and No. 21 Cornell quickly turned into a two-team tussle between the Tigers and the Black and White, and each time it appeared Princeton was going to pull away, Radcliffe answered back. But the final surge wasn't enough as the Tigers reached the finish line in 6:40.8, just two seats ahead of Radcliffe, which crossed in 6:41.5. Cornell (6:53.7) trailed badly.

"We responded extremely well to fight back into Princeton in the last 300 meters," said Head Coach Liz O'Leary. "That's an outstanding crew we faced and, while we didn't win, I'm extremely encouraged by how we stayed with them."

A week earlier on the Charles, Radcliffe jumped out fast and carved itself a six-seat lead over No. 4 Brown and a length advantage over No. 7 Northeastern after just 500 meters. But Brown made a strong move in the next segment and took the lead by the half-way point en route to a 6:29.9 finish. Radcliffe crossed next in 6:34.6, while the Huskies were third with a time of 6:42.0.

"This is an ambitious schedule for us," admitted O'Leary. "There's no margin for error when racing the top schools, yet we're rowing better each time out and making progress. With continued improvement and by gaining more confidence, I think we can be in the mix at next month's Eastern Sprints."

The coach's optimism is well-founded. Seven members of last year's NCAA qualifying crew, including senior captain Kate Tomford are back this spring. Tomford rows in the six seat.

On the lightweight scene, Harvard has shown it could be national championship material. Radcliffe, meanwhile, owns a dual victory, but now looks to shake off a fourth-place effort at the Camden (N.J.) Invitational.

Harvard Men's Varsity Crew Head Coach Harry Parker: "There were no missed steps and our crew handled a lot of good pressure from Brown." His crew earned the Stein Cup with the win. Photo by Tim Morse.

Because of the men's front-loaded schedule, they have already played three of their four scheduled regattas for the spring. Each outing has resulted in an open-water victory.

Last weekend, the crew faced unusual back-to-back races. On Saturday morning on the Charles, Harvard bolted away from Dartmouth and M.I.T. to easily capture the Biglin Bowl. The Crimson finished in 5:54.6, followed by the Big Green's 6:04.2, and the Engineers' 6:25.1.

But there was little time to celebrate the win as the lights jumped on a bus and departed Newell Boathouse by noon, headed to Lake Carnegie for a Sunday meeting against Rutgers. It was another day and another win for the Crimson, who were 8.1 seconds better than the Scarlet Knights. The season began on April 3 in Philadelphia with wins over Penn and Cornell for the Matthews Cup.

Only the Goldthwait Cup remains on the regular-season docket for the second-ranked rowers. But that should be the test of the year, as top-ranked and defending national champion Princeton (along with Yale) will visit Cambridge for the April 24 showdown.

If one believes in trends, then maybe this is the year for Harvard to topple the Tigers. The Crimson lightweights have won the national title every odd year this decade and have five members of last spring's first boat, including senior captains Tom Fallows and David Weiss back this spring. The Nationals will take place on May 28-30 in Camden.

The Radcliffe lights, who saw their three-year stranglehold on the national championship ended last June, are looking to bounce back in 1999.

An easy season-opening victory over Brown and Tufts served as a good building block. The Black and White won with a time of 7:01.3, with the Bears in the distance at 7:16.3, and the Jumbos crossing in 7:35.3.

Last Sunday's race did not go as well. Rowing on the unsettled waters of the Cooper River, Radcliffe had to settle for fourth in a five-team field that brought together the likely candidates for this year's national title. Princeton won the event.

Yet it might just be a matter of time for the crew to find its rhythm. The youthful squad has only two rowers and senior coxswain/team captain Rebecca Marks returning from '98 and race experience will be key to improvement.