The women's crew team and the men's lightweight team stomped their competitors this weekend, while the heavyweights had a disappointing loss to Rutgers.
The women upset powerful Radcliffe on the Connecticut River Saturday. Dartmouth finished the 2,000-meter course in 6:32, three seconds ahead of Radcliffe and 10 seconds before Syracuse.
The Big Green started slower than Radcliffe but was quick in making up lost ground. They responded to Radcliffe's surges, keeping two or three seats behind their competitors.
The varsity eight surged at 1,000 meters, pulled even with the Crimson and edged them out in the final sprint.
Varsity Coach Barbara Kirch said, "The most noteworthy thing is we are racing up to speed."
This weekend the women will race Princeton and Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Varsity coxswain Vanessa Santaga '96 said, "We don't plan on going into it saying we can't win. We're going to have to take a step up, and we're ready to do that."
But she admitted, "Princeton is huge."
The novice women's top eight got smoked by Radcliffe's freshmen, losing by 11 seconds. But the Big Green beat out the first Syracuse boat by 12 seconds.
Novice rower Kathleen Eibl '98 said, "Radcliffe was probably the fastest crew we'll encounter before sprints. But we'll see them again."
The men's lightweight team lost to Yale on Saturday but rebounded to defeat Columbia on Sunday.
In Saturday's competition the first lightweight boat was even with Yale through most of the race. With 500 meters to go, the Elis turned on the juice to win by a few seats.
Varsity Captain Doug Marple '95 called Yale's sprint "spectacular."
In Sunday's race against Columbia, Dartmouth established an early lead and maintained it through the finish.
"They never pressed us seriously," Marple said.
"We don't worry about [Columbia] much, so that didn't lift our spirits," MorganSoutter '97 said.
According to Marple, conditions on the river in Derby were "ocean-like."
"It was the worst conditions I've ever rowed in," Marple said. "Every stroke or two, water would cascade into the boat."
The lightweights are gearing up to face Cornell next week. Like the Big Green, Cornell lost to Yale in Derby this weekend.
The heavies had less luck, letting the Bill Cup slide to Rutgers in a race Saturday. The trophy had been in the Dartmouth boathouse for three years.
Dartmouth finished five seconds behind Rutgers and 14 seconds ahead of Boston University in the 2,000-meter contest.
Varsity Coach Scott Armstrong said a lack of zeal contributed to the loss.
"I think the crew raced with not enough inspiration and with not enough determination," Armstrong said. "As a result they were whipped by a crew that wanted to win more."
Rutgers established an early lead in the choppy Charles River and maintained it in spite of Dartmouth's power 20 around 1,000 meters. The Big Green never recovered.
Dartmouth will race the mighty Brown program next weekend. Brown is "the crew to beat this year," Armstrong said.
