The men's varsity lightweight crew team outpaced the Tufts University heavyweights in a preseason meet on the Charles River Sunday.
Dartmouth's fastest boat finished the 2000-meter course in 6:05, 12 seconds faster than Tufts' first boat.
"That is a pretty substantial margin," Captain Doug Marple said. "By the end of the race we were driving hard but not sprinting."
"We were able to get some open water on them in the first minute and a half. From then on out we continued to walk away," Marple said.
Dartmouth's second boat finished just behind Tufts's first boat in 6:18.
Marple described the race as "a warm-up for us and a warm-up for them."
Because Dartmouth's lightweight teamswere competing with Tufts's heavyweights, the meet was somewhat"an anomaly," Marple said.
Marple is optimistic about the season ahead.
"I think the lightweight crew team has just as much, if not more, potential than the last couple years. I think this year we can do just as well," he said.
Last year the lightweights were undefeated in the regular season, won the Eastern Sprints and finished second behind Princeton at the national competition, Marple said.
