Although the outcome of the races in Derby, Conn. last weekend wasn't what the Big Green wanted, both women's and men's heavyweight crew hope to rebound from those losses, for they and men's lightweight crew all face tough competition this weekend.
Saturday, the women race Radcliffe and Syracuse in Cambridge, Mass., and men's heavyweight crew challenges Boston University and Rutgers in Hanover. On Sunday, the heavies host cross-state rival, the University of New Hampshire while men's lightweight crew begins league action against Harvard in Cambridge,Mass.
"If we can beat BU and Rutgers this weekend, we will be ranked top six in the country," heavyweight coach Scott Armstrong said. "It is a very big race for us."
Against Yale and Cornell, the varsity heavies moved right off the start but never broke ahead of the Bulldogs.
Two moves in the last 800 meters allowed the Big Green to come within two seats of the Yale boat during the final sprint, only to lose by less than one second.
Yale finished first with a time of five minutes, 43.4 seconds. Dartmouth was second and Cornell finished third.
"We found out we were fast, and we want to be faster," heavyweight captain Fred Malloy '94 said. "We have every reason to believe that we'll improve as the season progresses. This weekend, we're looking to repeat our five-boat sweep from last year against BU and Rutgers."
A steering error in the second varsity race exaggerated the margin between first place Yale and Dartmouth, but the Big Green are confident they will come through with a strong race against BU and Rutgers.
"I think most schools are going to have trouble matching the experience of four seniors and an Olympian we have in this boat," said Tom Gilmore '96, stroke of the second varsity. "It is this depth that should help the entire squad as the season progresses."
Saturday, races will start every 20 minutes beginning at 11 a.m. with the second freshmen and ending with the varsity race at 12:20 p.m. Sunday, races will be held from noon to 1 p.m., with starts every 20 minutes. The best place for spectators on the 2,000-meter course is at the finish line, which is located behind the Chieftain Motel on Route 10.
While the heavies race in Hanover, the Big Green women face Radcliffe and Syracuse on the Charles. Last year, the Big Green women defeated Radcliffe for the first time since 1985.
This year, Radcliffe had a slow start to the season, but a line-up change just this week in the varsity boat should make a difference, according to Big Green women's coach Barb Kirch.
"Last year we won in rough conditions and they felt they had been cheated," Kirch said. "This year, they want blood, but so do we."
Against BU and Yale in Derby, Conn., last weekend, the Big Green finished a close second to the Terriers - second in the nation last year and former national champions in years past. The second varsity finished first in its race against Yale and BU.
"I though they raced really well," said Kirch of the varsity boat. "But they know they can be faster. We're doing really well, but we still have a lot of work to do."
At this point in the season, the Big Green varsity and second varsity are both ranked fourth in the coaches' poll. Victories this weekend will prove that Dartmouth is a legitimate force in the league this year.
Sunday, the Big Green men's lightweight crew lines up for its first league race of the season when it faces Harvard in Cambridge for the Biglin Bowl. Dartmouth has never won the Biglin Bowl in the 52 years of the competition between the Big Green and the Crimson.
Although last year's varsity defeated Harvard at Eastern Sprints, the Big Green's lone loss during the 1993 regular season was to the Crimson in Hanover when Dartmouth lost a close race by half a length.
But this year may be different, for the Big Green have shown great speed at this point in the early season despite their late start on the water in Hanover.
"We've never beaten Harvard in the dual race," lightweight captain Brian Crounse '94 said. "We think that's crap."
With four members returning from last year's boat that won Sprints, the 1994 varsity should prove to be one of the top crews in the league. A win against Harvard will only confirm this fact.
