As the minds of many at Dartmouth are focused this week on the excitement of homecoming weekend, the women of Dartmouth crew have been excitedly gearing up for the Head of the Charles Regatta, which will take place this Sunday on the famous Charles River in Boston.
The Big Green plan to enter boats in both the champ eight and the youth eight categories. The women in the champ eight expect to meet up with competition from the U.S. and Dutch National Teams, to name a few.
"This is an open division," Coach Barbara Kirch said. "It's the toughest event."
The other entry, a youth eight, is made up of freshman rowers 19 years old and under.
"It's going to be a novice crew," Kirch said. Two of the eight have previous rowing experience; the rest have learned to row this fall.
Rowing at the head of the Charles is a unique experience, and the women hope to take advantage of this.
"We hope to finish in the top ten in the champ eight," Kirch said. Yet as far as results go, "It's exciting to be in it no matter what," she said.
Selection for the champ eight was based on erg tests and seat racing, Kirch said. The Varsity team consists of two eights and a four, and there are 12 rowers not currently on campus who are also a part of the team. Kirch described the numbers as "tremendous."
The line-up for the Charles boat is as follows: Vanessa Santaga '96 [coxswain], Wendi Potter '96 [stroke], Annie Briggs '97, Kim Sanderson '96, Beth Meyer '96, Olivia Giddings '98, Tracy Tylee '98, Courtney Bell '96, and Sarah Kopplin '97.
Co-Captain Santaga feels her boat has much to gain from the race this weekend.
"It's the most competitive boat we've put together in a while," Santaga said. "It will be a good way to start. It should give us a gauge as to where we fit into the hierarchy of other women's' boats."
Sanderson, the other co-Captain, said she is very excited. "We're putting a great foot forward."
Much of the race will be affected by the conditions of the river and the surrounding land.
"The Charles is a battle of conditions," Santaga said. "It is such a mystical place. It's a great race to begin the season with. There are a lot of distractions ... it demands a lot on all levels."
With the Head of the Charles known as the largest single day regatta in the world, over two hundred thousand spectators are expected to turn out for Sunday's race.
