CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The outcome was never certain until the final 30 strokes of the race, but in the end the Big Green varsity lightweight crew finished one-half length ahead of Harvard University, winning the Biglin Bowl competition for the first time ever.
In 1992, the lights lost to Harvard by inches. Last year, the Crimson handed Dartmouth its lone loss of the season -- a season which included a first place finish at Eastern Sprints.
But yesterday was different and the Big Green finally broke the Biglin Bowl curse.
In 51 years of competition between the two schools, the Big Green had never defeated Harvard during the regular season.
Heading into the weekend, the Dartmouth lights wanted to prove that the 52nd meeting would be unlike all the others.
With yesterday's victory, the Big Green did just that.
Dartmouth and Harvard were virtually even off the start of the race, but then the Big Green moved ahead for a slight lead on the Crimson.
By the halfway mark of the 2,000-meter course, Harvard had pulled even, but the Big Green made a move to gain two seats on the Crimson. Harvard managed to close that gap, but Dartmouth fought back to hold onto its lead.
It wasn't until the final 500 meters of the race that the Big Green sprinted past Harvard for the win, recording a time of 5 minutes, 52 seconds.
Dartmouth is currently ranked first in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges and will return to Eastern Sprints on May 15 as the defending league champions.
