"We definitely made a step forward this week," women's captain Sarah Alexander '10 said. "There was a lot of really good racing out there."
Alexander said that the team was especially nervous before the race because Radcliffe had been improving in the rankings throughout the season.
The Big Green nearly managed to sweep the meet, with the first, third and fourth varsity boats all winning their races, and the second varsity squad barely falling to Radcliffe.
"Our goal across the board was to put together a faster race than last week, and to do that each boat had different focuses," Alexander said.
She added that the team was unfazed by the rough weather conditions despite a lack of experience in the rain.
Next week, the women's squad will enter one of its toughest meets of the season, as it takes on Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.
The Tigers have had a successful season so far and the Quakers have also been a traditionally strong squad, Alexander said.
"We're feeling positive, but also we have a lot of speed to find," she said.
The men's heavyweight (2-2, 0-1 Ivy) and lightweight (2-1, 1-1 Ivy) teams posted losses to Boston University and Harvard University, respectively, over the weekend.
The men's heavyweight team had to tackle last-minute lineup changes and finished just .8 seconds behind the Terriers. The team managed to beat Rutgers University, however, by a large margin.
"We were excited to try to surprise [BU] and I think we did surprise them with how close we were," captain Evan Greulich '10 said.
In addition to the late lineup switch, the heavyweight squad also had to battle the unexpected weather conditions.
"I think the crew handled the conditions pretty well," Greulich said. "I was happy with how each crew really didn't let the rough waters and the wind get to them."
Greulich also said that the close margin made it a tough loss for the team.
"It's frustrating to get close and not quite win," he said.
The second-place finish has motivated the team even more to reach its potential in the next few weeks, Greulich said.
The squad will now focus on its race for the Atlanta Cup next weekend. The team will race in Providence, R.I. against Brown University, which is ranked in the top five.
"[Brown] is probably the toughest dual meet that we have all season," Greulich said. "But the higher quality teams we race against, the more prepared we are to compete at a higher level."
The lightweight team suffered a hard loss to a Harvard University squad that is considered one of the top teams in the country.
Lightweight captain Josh Patch '09 said the team went into the race with high expectations because of a solid prior week of training in which the team focused on technical changes and improving overall team energy.
"We were also a little more relaxed and really focused because we knew we had nothing to lose," he said. "We just wanted to put a good race together and see what happens."
Despite the loss, Patch said he was proud of the team's overall performance.
"There's no shame in losing to the best team out there," he said. "As long as you have a good race and put it all on the line, it puts us in a good position going into next weekend."
The lightweight team will also compete against Ivy foes next week with meets against Yale University at home on Saturday and against Columbia University on Sunday in New York City.
For the upcoming double-meet, Patch said the lightweight team anticipates a long week of training and tough competition, especially since both the men's heavyweight and women's teams have already endured losses at the hands of the Bulldogs.
"I think we can put a good race together, and we'll see what happens," he said.
