Hammering winds swept down the course and reached nearly 28 miles per hour during the morning heats. The gusts placed pressure on coxswains as they attempted to align the boats.
For Dartmouth's lightweight crew, the freshmen eight notched the Big Green's only spot in the grand finals. Dartmouth finished with a time of 6:19.54, which put the team in sixth place.
The top-seeded Cornell boat crossed the finish line first with a time of 6:09.18 in the lightweight freshman eight grand final.
The men's lightweight second varsity boat walked away with second place in the petite final, crossing the finish line in 06:18.87, just over three seconds behind the boat from the Columbia.
Following a tough dual racing season, the first varsity eight boat failed to reach the grand finals, as it competed in the petite finals against Ivy League foes Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Lions sealed a first-place finish in the petite final with a time of 06:10.80. Dartmouth finished in third place, clocking in at 06:15.95.
Princeton won the lightweight varsity eight grand final with a time of 5:41.43.
For the heavyweights, the top-ranked University of Wisconsin entered the weekend undefeated, ready to defend its title. The Badgers, however, failed to meet expectations, as Brown topped the standings in the grand final.
"I don't think a lot of people were necessarily surprised," heavyweight captain Sandy Hull '09 said. "When we raced [Brown] before, they proved themselves to be a tough team to beat. They had a lot of success in the fall, and I think that they showed that again today."
The top nine crews in each event obtained official berths to the IRA championships in Rancho Cordova, Calif., on June 4. The format placed more stress on the petite finals, as the crews vied for the top three spots.
The pressure translated into nail-biting races throughout the regatta.
In the heavyweight first varsity petite final, all of the crews finished within six seconds of one another.
Following a strong morning result, the Big Green heavyweight varsity eight looked to maintain its momentum through the afternoon.
"We had a pretty good race this morning," Hull said of the varsity eight's performance in its heat. "We put a big move on [MIT] early on in the race. We gained a lot of confidence after the first heat, and we were pumped up for the afternoon race."
Dartmouth's first varsity boat rowed well through the entire course, hanging in with some of the more competitive boats on the field. After a back-and-forth affair with the boat from MIT, Dartmouth edged out the Engineers in the final moments of the race.
The Big Green notched a fifth-place finish in the petite final, crossing the finish line in 05:55.49.
The second varsity heavyweight boat posted a time of 06:19.93 for third place in the third final.
The weather put a damper on Dartmouth's success, and the freshmen paid the price, responding poorly to the racing conditions.
Bad cross-tail winds in the morning heats hindered Dartmouth's shot for a spot in the grand final, as the freshmen rowed an uncharacteristically slow race.
Although the Big Green stayed up on the field through the 1000-meter mark, the last half of the course proved to be crucial to the end results.
Unable to handle another strong crosswind, Dartmouth lost the lead after the halfway point, as the other crews managed the conditions. Syracuse charged forward and pulled out the win.
The freshmen will get a chance at redemption against Syracuse next weekend, as the team looks to end its season on a high note.
The freshman heavyweights completed the course in 06:01.20, enough for a sixth-place finish in the petite final, while the Orange topped the pack with a time of 05:56.26.
Dartmouth's spot in the petite final marked a step forward from last year, Hull said.
"It was fun to have a close competitive race, especially since we didn't have that many chances to be up there with other teams throughout the season," he said. "Competing in the petite final guaranteed that we would do better than last year, where we raced in the third final. Now we know that the only way we can go is up."
Although Dartmouth failed to obtain an automatic bid to the IRA regatta, Hull added that the Big Green could still be invited with an at-large bid.
"We placed eleventh, so we're not entirely sure if we qualified," he said. "We'll see how everything turns out, though, and if we end up qualifying for the IRAs."
The Dartmouth heavyweights will look to avenge their Sprints loss to Syracuse University as the crews contend for the Packard Cup on May 17 in Syracuse, N.Y.
The women's Eastern Sprints are also set for next Sunday on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.
