The Dartmouth women's crew team made its presence known this weekend as it headed down to Boston for the 40th Annual Head of the Charles Regatta on the Charles River. The first varsity boat entered the Championship Eight race and finished 20th out of 42 international boats with a time of 12:56.3 on a 2.3 mile racecourse, shortened from three miles because of poor weather conditions.
In addition to the less-than-ideal weather conditions, the number of boats on the river influenced racing conditions.
Coxswain Colleen Harrison '05 recalled, "My only concern before the race was being side-by-side with another crew going under Weeks Footbridge."
"Although I had to wait a few extra seconds to make the turn, we didn't lose any ground to either boat through the turn. After the next bridge, the women gave me a powerful move that allowed us to slip in front of Colby to port and get the inside of the Eliot Bridge."
This year's finish is a vast improvement over last year's 36th place finish and the team is looking forward to building on the momentum garnered at Sunday's race.
According to Julia Saraidaridis '05, "On the whole, our boat looks to have a lot of potential, especially with three sophomores and one freshman, and this weekend's race looks to be a good kickoff for the year."
Kyle Engelman was the only member of the freshman class to make it into the first varsity boat. When asked about the race, she commented, "Having never rowed on the Charles River, I made it my goal for the fall to make the first boat, and I couldn't have imagined a better first experience. Our race was solid and aggressive, and the success of our results was just an added bonus to the pride of rowing well. I have never been happier than I was walking off the water in the Dartmouth uniform."
In addition to the First Varsity Boat, the Dartmouth women's crew team alumni entered a boat in the Club Eights Race competing under the name "Full Fare Boat Club" and finished 16th out of 36 crews with a time of 14:09.7.
The women's crew team's next race will be Nov. 6 in Hanover, as the Big Green hosts the Dartmouth Invitational.
