Despite a solid performance against Northeastern University and Boston College, the women's squad fell to the two-time defending national champion Yale in the Class of 1985 Cup.
"We went into it trying to have a positive outlook," women's team captain Kate Harney '09 said. "We wanted to see how we would do. Everyone had a pretty impressive performance, and it's good to know that we can hang in there with the big guys."
Navigating through 11 mile-per-hour crosswinds, the Dartmouth women's varsity eight stuck with the Bulldog boat through the 1200-meter mark of the course, ending the race five seconds behind Yale and five seconds ahead of Boston University. Their results brought into perspective Dartmouth's potential for the rest of the season.
The Bulldogs' second varsity eight also led from the start in their race, besting the Big Green's second boat by a wide margin of 13 seconds.
Boston University edged past Dartmouth in the varsity four race, settling behind Yale's boat. The Big Green posted a time of 7:54.10, while the Bulldogs surged ahead to cross finish at 7:26.25.
The results gave the crew a boost of momentum for the upcoming regattas, Harney said.
"One of our goals for the season was to do really well in the dual races," she said. "We want to use them to prepare us for Eastern Sprints later in the season. The regatta on Saturday gave us a little more confidence for next weekend when we'll be racing Harvard and Syracuse."
In Cambridge, Mass., the nationally second-ranked Harvard varsity eight posted a 12.1-second win against the Dartmouth lightweights to clinch the Biglin Bowl.
The Big Green saw its second-place standing challenged during the second half of the race, as the boat from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pulled within a few seats during the last stretches of the race.
Dartmouth's second varsity eight also fell to the Crimson by a wide margin of 8.8 seconds. The Harvard eight mirrored the first varsity boat's performance, coming out strong to take an early lead. The Big Green finished the race with a time of 6:28.1.
Pulling away from MIT early on, the Big Green rookies kept up with the boat from Harvard, staying in second place throughout the race. The freshman boat clocked in with a time of 6:13.5, while Harvard cruised to a 6:08.8 win.
Dartmouth's only last-place finish came during the varsity four race, where a crab at the 1400 m mark derailed the Big Green's momentum. The boat finished behind Harvard and MIT with a time of 7:37.0.
The wet and chilly conditions yielded unsatisfactory results for Dartmouth's heavyweight team on Saturday. The boats from Yale swept Dartmouth's crews in all four of the races of the Olympic Axe.
Battling the swirling winds, the Big Green varsity eight could not manage to defeat Yale. Dartmouth's boat finished with a time of 5:41.9, two seconds behind the Bulldogs.
The second varsity boat clocked in at 5:57.4, about 11.6 seconds behind Yale. The Bulldogs had secured a boat-length lead by the halfway point of the course, and finished with a time of 5:45.8.
Yale's third varsity eight boat pulled away from Dartmouth at the start and cruised to the finish in 5:51.3. The Big Green posted a time of 6:14.8. The Big Green freshman boat launched a head-to-head competition against the Bulldogs. The rookies brought in the day's closest result with a second-place finish that clocked in at 5:43.6, behind Yale's 5:41.1.
Dartmouth's heavyweights will look to capitalize on home course advantage next weekend as they face Boston University and Rutgers University in the Bill Cup. The lightweights, meanwhile, continue their in-conference action on Saturday. The crew will travel to Derby, Conn., to contend for the Durand Cup against Yale.
The Big Green women's team will also be back on the road this weekend, as they head to Syracuse, N.Y., to confront Syracuse University and Harvard.
