Dartmouth women's crew traveled down to Boston this weekend to race Northeastern, Buffalo and Boston College. Due to a biting wind, a downpour of sleet and hail and rough water conditions, the races had to be relocated from their original location to a 1,200 meter stretch of water near the Power-House Stretch of the Charles River.
Each race was decided in two flights, with the Big Green going against Northeastern in the first flight and either Buffalo or BC in the second flight, depending on the results.
In the varsity eight race, the Big Green opened slowly, but by gaining a lead in the middle third of the race and taking an early sprint, the women were able to finish in a time of 5:08 and best Northeastern by two seconds. This was the first Dartmouth win against the Huskies in several years.
"Most of us were too numb to feel the first 700 meters of each race [due to the conditions]," said Gretchen Gehrke '05, "but the sudden return of feeling to our legs made our middle moves all the more effective."
Putting the race in perspective, Julia Saraidaridis '05 explained, "This was a huge win for us, especially because we had no water time this week. I anticipate great things from this crew -- there's a lot of length, power and guts."
Racing Boston College in the second flight, the Big Green led from start to finish, successfully responding to all of the Eagles' attempts to take control of the race.
In the second varsity race, the Big Green was bested by Northeastern in the first flight.
"We got down off the start and never really regained ground," said Kate Carolan '05.
However, the women bounced back in their second race against Buffalo.
In the novice eight race, the Big Green dominated the competition, beating Northeastern by 16 seconds in the first flight and Buffalo by 12 seconds in the second flight.
"Our first race was very powerful," said Tietjen Hynes '06. "It felt good to come out of the first bridge as Northeastern was coming into it. The second race was much worse technically, but I think Buffalo had the same problem because they didn't take any seats off of our mistakes."
Unfortunately, the varsity four didn't have nearly as auspicious a first race of the season, finishing third in a three-way race in a time of 6:41.
This is just the beginning for the women's crew, as they will continue to train on a recently unfrozen Connecticut River.
As Gehrke stated, "I think this is a great starting point for strong season."
