The Dartmouth men's lightweight varsity and junior varsity boats were eliminated last week from the Royal Henley Regatta in England, only after both boats were able to advance to the second round of the prestigious race.
The defeat of the Big Green team came after several wins against British crew teams.
The varsity boat came from behind on Wednesday to beat the Molesley Boat Club, and the junior varsity boat also won over another British crew team.
But the Big Green's final match at the Henley came on Thursday, when the varsity boat lost by a length to a London crew team. The junior varsity boat also lost by a length to the Cambridge 99 crew club, according to lightweight Coach Dick Grossman.
"Both boats raced exceptionally well," Grossman said. "No Dartmouth crew team has made it this far before."
According to Grossman, competition gets harder and harder each year at the Royal Henley, and for an American crew team like Dartmouth to succeed, it is a great achievement.
"The chances are never particularly good for American college crews coming over,"Grossman said in an earlier interview."This was a tremendous experience for the rowers."
The lack of lightweight crew teams in England meant that the Dartmouth rowers competed against teams that would normally be considered in the heavyweight division.
The Big Green rowers on average, weigh between 160 and 165 pounds, Grossman said, further adding that most other teams average around 190 pounds.
The 154-year-old regatta, which is held onthe Thames River approximately 30 miles outside of London, attracts some of the best crew teams in the world.
A team from Brown University won the Ladies' Challenge Plate, and a four-with cockswain team from Harvard University was able to beat Cambridge University's Goldie Boat Club on Sunday.
The Big Green team arrived in England almost three weeks ago, and since then had been training for the Royal Henley. They also won the Reading Regatta two weeks ago against Colgate University.
