The men's lightweight crew began the season by capturing victories in three out of their four races against the University of Delaware this weekend.
The Big Green women's squad overcame difficult racing conditions during Saturday's regatta, topping Northeastern University, the University of Rhode Island and Boston College.
The Dartmouth women's varsity eight clocked in at 7:38.7, just ahead of Northeastern, who finished in 7:43.7.
Battling strong headwinds and plowing through white caps, the Big Green women established a half-length lead at the settle, and a full-length lead by the 500-meter mark.
The morning's choppy waters and 20 miles per hour gusts made for a rough first 500 meters, according to captain Kate Harney '09, although the squads adapted to the conditions.
"For rowing, wind is an important factor," she said. "You never know what you might get in terms of weather. On Saturday, there was a mix of crazy chops, white caps and some pretty intense headwinds."
The second varsity eight covered the course with a time of 7:59.9, crossing the line ahead of Northeastern's number two boat, which came out with 8:06.8.
Dartmouth continued to rack up first place finishes.
The women's varsity four boat won its race by a margin of 15 seconds, finishing ahead of URI.
The novice crew cruised to the finish with the largest margin of victory, finishing in a time of 8:56.0, a resounding 40 seconds ahead of URI's 9:36.0.
The freshmen managed the tough racing circumstances, Harney said, and came out strong in their first collegiate performance.
"I'm really excited to see how the freshmen are doing," she said. "A lot of them, both recruits and walk-ons, have really stepped it up, and they're going to be a big asset to the freshman team, and potentially the varsity boats as well."
Although all of the crews performed well, Harney said that the lineups are still not set for the boats.
"We're always trying new combinations," she said. "These aren't necessarily the perfect set lines. We'll continue changing them to make the boats faster."
Harney that the squad will compete against tougher opponents in the upcoming regattas, including NCAA champion Yale.
"This weekend has given us confidence," Harney said. "But we're not going to go into next weekend's regatta with a cocky attitude. We know it'll be a bigger challenge."
The regattas will act as good indicators of chances for the rest of the season, and of Dartmouth's chances of getting a bid to the national championships.
"Overall our goals for this spring are to make it to the NCAAs, and in order to do that, we'll need to accomplish a lot of smaller goals every week," Harney said. "We want to continue working on the depth of the team and ensure that the first varsity eight, second varsity eight and fours all do well in all of our races in order to get us the team bid."
The women's team continues its season against Yale and Boston University next Saturday on the Charles River in Boston.
The Big Green men's lightweight squad faced strong crosswinds on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
The first varsity eight held on to a slim lead against Delaware, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:26.7. The Big Green just barely managed to get its bow ahead of the Blue Hens' boat by two-tenths of a second.
The second varsity eight logged a time of 6:39.4, just five seconds behind Delaware's second varsity boat.
The first novice crew fared well in its first spring showing, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:37.1. The second novice boat navigated the course with a time 7:36.8, finishing behind Delaware's boat.
The lightweights will contend for the Biglin Cup next Saturday in Boston, facing Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dartmouth's heavyweight crew also traveled to Worchester on Sunday, where the team's boats overwhelmed Holy Cross.
Handling cross tail winds and choppy waters, the first varsity eight held on to a two-second lead, finishing in 6:01.7. The boat from Holy Cross crossed the finish line moments later with a time of 6:03.6.
The second varsity eight beat out the boat from Holy Cross by a more substantial margin of nearly 9 seconds.
The rookies extended Dartmouth's string of victories as both the first and second novice crews crossed the finish line ahead of Holy Cross.
The heavyweight squad will get a taste of conference action next weekend as Dartmouth competes against Yale for the Olympic Axe in New Haven, Conn.
