Just like its female counterparts, the Dartmouth men's lightweight crew team won two races in their last event, held Saturday, March 20 in Aiken, S.C.
As a result, the team finished second in the yearly Augusta-Aiken Country Spring Regatta. The Dartmouth freshmen eight also impressed, winning by a margin of 16 seconds over Georgia Tech on Langley Pond.
In another event, the Dartmouth varsity open four led from start to finish to claim a one-length victory, leaving Duke, Clemson and North Carolina State in its wake.
The two top varsity eights were not divided between a varsity and junior varsity boat, but rowed in even line-ups instead.
"We raced after only three days on the water at the Augusta Training Center. We weren't really in a position to dominate the competition," said team co-captain John Hertzer '04.
"To go up against crews who have been on the water non-stop, and you've only had a few practices since last November, that's tough," added co-captain James Perencevich '04.
Duly, Georgia Tech took first and second place through on the strength of its heavy and lightweight eights. One of the Big Green boats finished third, followed by the heavyweight Augusta Junior crew.
The other Dartmouth boat took fifth place in that race. In the last race, the freshman four took second place behind another Georgia Tech's boat.
The goal of the men's lightweight crew team is to prepare as well as possible for the Eastern Sprints event in May. When asked about his expectations for the spring, Hertzer said, "It's still pretty early to tell how this season will go, a lot will depend on how the water on the Connecticut is this spring. The more calm the water and the warmer it gets, the faster we will be. Our goal this year, as with every year, is to peak and do well at the Eastern Sprints where all of the fastest lightweight boats compete at the end of each spring."
Perencevich is also excited about the season, and expects strong crowd support: "There are two races at home this season [Harvard/MIT and Cornell], and having a great fan base makes boats go fast," he said.
The male lightweights are back in action Sunday, April 4. They will compete against Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
