Although disappointed by not meeting early expectations of placing high in several events, the men's and women's crew teams returned home Sunday night from the Canadian Henleys relatively pleased with their results in one of the largest regattas in North America.
The Henleys, known for its intense competition, features the top rowers in Canada and the United States as well as competitive international crew teams.
Being one of the top collegiate crew teams though, the Big Green squads were not intimidated with the level of competition and entered each race intending to place.
"When you are in a regatta like this you really can't expect to win," lightweight Coach Dick Grossman said. "If you come up with a win then, it is a great accomplishment."
That accomplishment is just what the men's heavyweight eight man boat achieved. After failing to place in the finals in all but the 500 meter sprint, the heavyweights were somewhat disappointed, but they released all frustration in the finals of the sprint and captured the surprising victory.
"We were pretty ecstatic," Grossman said. "It was a really tight race. They got a great start, jumped out in front and held out to the end."
The men's lightweight made it past qualifying rounds into the finals of the 500 meter sprint, lightweight four and lightweight eight. The fourman boat and the eightman sprint boat placed third, while the regular eightman boat placed sixth.
Recent graduate Edward Demetriou '95 unexpectedly captured a third place finish in the 145 pound single division. Demetriou began rowing singles just this summer.
In the women's divisions, there was some disappointment. During the senior qualifying eight race, the women were rowing particularly well when Kirsten Andrews '97 began to experience heat exhaustion during the race. The women still finished fourth in their heat, but fell short of qualifying for the finals.
With Andrews unable to compete, Kim Sanderson '96 stepped inand rowed well for the Big Green.
"Dealing with a change in line up is always a challenge and they did a great job," Coach Barb Kirch said.
On the brighter side, the women qualified for the 500 meter sprint final and placed third. They also raced in the women's four and pair finals but because these were senior events, the Big Green found the competition unexpectedly tough.
"Having the guts to go out and try is a very important thing to be able to do," Kirch said. "You never know how you're going to do, so you try."
Overall, the regatta was successful for the Big Green, Grossman said. The numerous races gave Dartmouth rowers needed experience and hopefully sparked interest in returning to the world recognized event.
"We had a number of men who were juniors and wanted to compete in the race again this year," Grossman said. "They wanted to do it again and do it better, and I think they did."
The regatta symbolized the end of the summer competition for the Big Green crew teams. Practices will resume when classes begin in September.
