By Bradley Rosenberg

It was a bittersweet moment.

In the last home race that the seniors will ever row in, the women’s crew team was soundly beaten by Radcliffe. But senior coxswain Kathleen Lavell was not disappointed.

“We knew going in that Radcliffe would be tough competition,” she said. “We went in with the expectation that we would have a tough fight, and we had one, but we did well.”

Coach Joe Wilhelm had very similar sentiments.

“I think [the varsity] raced fairly well,” he said. “I think we could have done a couple things a little better, but I thought we went out hard.”

Even though there was a span of 19 seconds between Radcliffe’s time of 6:50.4 and Northeastern’s time of 7:09.4, Wilhelm thinks that the varsity team has nothing to be ashamed of; Radcliffe’s varsity is ranked second in the nation. He still thinks there’s room for improvement, however.

“We were a little conservative at the beginning,” he said, noting the quick lead that Radcliffe acquired early in the race. “We kept on pace with them after that, but, once we got open water, it was pretty difficult to come back from.”

The junior varsity race was more of the same, with Radcliffe coming in at 7:00.7 and NU coming in at 7:20.5. Again, Wilhelm was not disappointed; Radcliffe’s JV team is ranked number one in the East.

“That [NU] crew had a little better start than the varsity, but Radcliffe was stronger than us,” he said. “I think that our team rowed a good race, though, and that we stayed on pace with what we were trying to do for the weekend. For the most part, except for being a little bit behind in the beginning of the race, they did a good job.”

Wilhelm said that he didn’t think intimidation was a factor in the race.

Lavell concurred.

“We knew Radcliffe was fast, but I’m not intimidated that easily, and I don’t think my boat is, either,” Lavell said. “If you go in being intimidated, you’ve already given them an edge. You can’t afford to be intimidated in our league.”

Lavell also added that the Husky novice boat, a team that has only lost once all season, is definitely not intimidated by anyone.

“If anything, they intimidate,” she said.

The novice team was able to beat Radcliffe by one second Saturday with a time of 7:15.4, and are now ranked third in the East.

“They have been my inspiration throughout the season,” said Lavell. “Just their ability to fight is incredible. They have an enthusiasm that you only find in novices, and they use it to the best of their ability.”

Novice boat member Devon Gracey has an explanation for where the group gets its zeal.

“One thing we’ve been doing lately is making sure we’re having a lot of fun,” she explained. “If you’re out there just because it’s what you’re supposed to do, you’re not going to race as fast as if you really want to do it. I think that’s what makes our team faster: we’re taking each race seriously and we’re racing to win, but we’re also having fun on the water.”

Gracey also attributes the novice team’s victories to the guidance of Novice Coach Shelagh Donohoe.

“She’s very good at helping us with what we need to work on,” the freshman said. “She knows what we need to do.”

Lavell, meanwhile, has similar feelings toward Wilhelm, and mentions that, as a senior, she will miss him dearly.

“For the last four years, Joe has been an incredible coach on and off the water,” she said. “He brings out the best in people. He’s taught me things I’ll carry with me the rest of my life, and I know that most of the seniors feel the same way.”

With that in mind, Lavell says that she’s ready for what could be her very last crew race ever.

“I’m excited going into this weekend,” she said. “This whole team has 50 girls who put up a fight every Saturday morning, and this is our chance to shine. Knowing that it’s our last race for Northeastern, it has to be our best one.”

Wilhelm believes that there’s a chance it may not be Lavell’s last race, however.

“I think we’ll have a shot at the finals,” he said. “But it’ll be difficult. We’re just going to make sure [during practices] that everything we do is as crisp and sharp as can be. I think everybody’s ready to do what we need to do next weekend.”

The Eastern Sprints will take place Saturday on the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey.