Months of training, weeks of racing -- both have ended for the Big Green heavyweight and lightweight crews. At the Eastern Sprints Championship on Sunday, one six-minute race will decide the best in the league and, most likely, only seconds will separate first place from last place.
The varsity heavyweights enter the event as defending champions. Last year's squad had an undefeated dual race season with nine victories and no losses.
The heavies surprised the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges in 1992 when they won Sprints, finished in a three-way tie for first place at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships and lost to Harvard by inches at the National Championships.
But that was 1992.
"Last year we had the talent to win it all," Co-Captain Dave Dragseth '93 said. "This year we have the heart."
Brown is the overwhelming favorite to win the varsity heavyweight event. With two former Olympians in the boat and two others with international rowing experience, the team has won all its races by open water.
But like David slayed Goliath, Dartmouth can defeat Brown.
"If they have the race of their lives, they can pull it off," said heavyweight crew coach Scott Armstrong of his boats. "Anything can happen."
In their first race of the year, open water separated the Big Green from Yale but Dartmouth came from behind to close that nearly insurmountable gap to lose by only 0.8 seconds.
Wins over Cornell, Boston University and Rutgers gave the squad momentum heading into the match-up against Brown, but the Big Green couldn't stay with the strong Brown squad and lost by seven seconds.
Since then, the Big Green defeated the University of Wisconsin and finished a close second to the University of Washington.
Seeded seventh, the varsity boat must finish first or second in the morning heats to advance to the Grand Finals in the afternoon. With the undefeated Brown varsity in the same heat, the morning race will be a good opportunity for the Dartmouth heavies to see how fast they are.
The second varsity is seeded eighth and must also finish first or second to move on to the afternoon finals.
"After a big win against Wisconsin, the boat shows the ability to perform at top levels," said Matt Fitzgerald, six-seat of the second varsity. "We have the speed, we've proven that to ourselves. We're most concerned with performing, not with who's in our heat."
The freshman heavies head into Sprints seeded sixth. According to freshman coach Max Borghard, the squad has many first-time rowers but should still have a strong showing at Sprints.
"They're one of the hardest working freshman classes to come to Dartmouth in a long time," he said. "They are still having a lot of fun and that is important for a successful season."
The lightweight crew has also earned respect within the EARC. The varsity lightweights have had the most successful season in recent history and have the potential to finish the season as Eastern Sprints Champions.
"We've had a good season and our preparation has gone well," lightweight coach Dick Grossman said. "With a good race, we can have a great weekend."
At the Augusta Invitational Regatta in Augusta, Ga., at the end of spring break, the lightweights had a decisive victory over a fast Princeton crew. This win gave the boat confidence heading into the season.
The varsity then defeated Yale for the first time in 17 years to win the Durand Cup and also collected victories against Rutgers, Columbia and 1992 Sprints champions Cornell along the way.
On Apr. 25, the varsity put its 5-0 undefeated record on the line when they faced Harvard for the Biglin Bowl. The Big Green have never won a dual-meet race against the Crimson since competition between the two squads began in 1955 and, in rough conditions, Dartmouth lost this year's edition by less than one second.
"We were not pleased by our loss to Harvard," coxswain Brian Crounse '94 said. "Vengeance will be ours."
Indeed, the Big Green enter Sprints seeded third behind Harvard and the same Princeton boat they defeated earlier in the season.
"Having defeated Princeton by nine seconds in Georgia and having stayed with Harvard during the entire race, I'm not too intimidated by either of them," Captain Chip Davis '93 said.
According to the stroke of the varsity, Dave Cramer '93, the boat has rowed well in practice this week.
"If we have a race comparable to [our practice yesterday] Harvard will have to row a pretty sick race to beat us," Cramer said.
"I'm confident we can win," he added. "If we lose, we'll lose to ourselves."
The second varsity is seeded second only to Cornell. That same Cornell boat handed the second varsity its only defeat of the season.
"The season has gone better than anyone has expected," said Chris Woll '95, who rows in the four-seat. "Cornell was one small mistake."
On Sunday, the boat has the ability to defeat Cornell and finish first for the Eastern Sprints title.
"This is it and we're really ready for it," coxswain Hannah Wolfson '93 added. "This is the year to do it and there's nothing that can stop us."
The freshman lightweights are seeded fourth going into Sprints. Freshman coach Chris Schmidt describes his crew as "inconsistent" but is confident that the boat will row well on Sunday.
"We'll definitely break into the top three at Sprints," he said. "Being ranked fourth puts less pressure on us."
The freshman lightweights' victory over Cornell was a bright spot in the season and the boat has improved steadily since then.
One race will define the season. Eight rowers and a coxswain will decide the outcome -- if they have the race of their lives. The race is six minutes over 2,000-meters and the Big Green heavyweight and lightweight crews have the talent, the speed and the potential to bring home Eastern Sprints titles.