After making a seven-hour journey to western New York, the men's heavyweight crew team finally got its fall season underway on Sunday, placing an impressive fifth at the Stonehurst Capitol Regatta.
The boat race, which was held on the home course of the Rochester Institute of Technology, consisted of a field of 35 top-flight crews, some of which came from Toronto and other parts of western Ontario.
Despite starting toward the rear of the field, the Dartmouth men rowed an efficient race through rough waters, finishing in a time of 29:41.92.
Unfortunately for the Big Green, that time was 55 seconds behind the first-place Crimson crew of Harvard, whose nearest competitor, Brown, came in a distant 23 seconds out of first.
Head coach Scott Armstrong felt somewhat optimistic, however, about his team's performance over the weekend.
"[Our] guys rowed hard and powerfully, but didn't have the quick, fast rhythm you need to really fly," Armstrong said.
Those hard, powerful strokes made up for the rather low stroke rating that prevented the Big Green from posing a formidable threat to Harvard's first boat.
"[We] rowed 30 [strokes per minute] over the course too low to compete with Harvard, Brown, and Yale, who were rowing [between] 33-35," Armstrong added.
"I [also] learned that I need to change the lineup around to seek a faster rhythm. We'll make some changes before the Charles."
Indeed, the heavyweights, along with the rest of the Dartmouth boathouse, will get a chance to knock off the best crews of the East Coast and beyond at next week's Head of the Charles regatta in Cambridge, Mass.
Not only will Dartmouth be competing against its Ivy League rivals on the five-kilometer, but the Big Green will also have to contend with national team crews and the 300,000 spectators that are expected to line the banks of the Charles River next Sunday.
The Head of the Charles marks the collegiate debuts of the heavyweight, lightweight and women's novice crews as well.
