In last Saturday's crew action, the Dartmouth women defeated Cornell on Cayuga Lake Inlet in Ithaca, N.Y. Fighting through varying headwinds and slight to moderate chop on the water, Big Green rowers returned with the Parent's Cup for the first time in three years.
Dartmouth took top honors in the very exciting first varsity race with a time of 7:13.3, besting Cornell's effort of 7:15.9. From the start, it seemed as though a win was unlikely for the Big Green women, as Cornell led most of the race.
With only 500 meters remaining, coxswain Katie Baines '04 called on her rowers for a "power 10" as they rounded a corner in the course. With that call, the Dartmouth boat quickly picked up speed and "the boat started flying," Baines said.
From that moment, the fate of the race was in Dartmouth's hands. As Baines said, "We had an awesome victory this weekend. We killed Cornell with our sprint. I went from being on Cornell's coxswain to their bow ball in about 10 strokes."
As for the remaining races, Cornell claimed victory in all five. In the second varsity eight race, Cornell navigated the two-kilometer course in 7:17.5 while Dartmouth finished in 7:24.6.
The Big Green varsity four finished in 8:32.3 while Cornell clocked in at 8:21.7. In the varsity B four, Cornell finished in 8:26.1 while Dartmouth trailed in 8:56.0.
In novice competition, Cornell took the first novice eight race in 7:29.9, while Dartmouth followed in 7:37.1. Cornell also took the second novice eight race finishing in 7:43.7, ahead of Dartmouth's effort of 8:04.1.
The Dartmouth women return to action May 18 at EAWRC Sprints in Camden, N.J.
