The Class of 2010 raced its way to a win in the second annual Gardner Cup an intra-squad race in which different classes compete against one another at the Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse on Saturday. The class was rewarded with a prize of belt buckles and a trophy.
The seniors made up for their last-place performance in last year's cup with a time of 23:01, beating the Class of 2011 by 49 seconds in the four-mile race on the Connecticut River.
Heavyweight captain Evan Greulich '10 credited the improvement to the experience that the '10s gained over the years. Juniors traditionally have a tough time in the race because many members of the team are off campus, according to freshman coach Brian Conley.
"We got last a year ago, so we were gunning for the belt buckle this year," women's captain Sarah Alexander '10 said.
In the petite final, the Class of 2011 beat the Class of 2013 by about thirty seconds.
Teams for each class were chosen on Wednesday. On Friday, timed races were held to see who would be in the finals and the petite finals.
The intra-squad race was started in the 1870s, but was discontinued for a time until the crew coaches found an article about the race and decided it would be a good idea to bring back the tradition, according to heavyweight coach Topher Bordeau. The Cup has now become an alumni-sponsored event, he said.
"The race is fun for all teams, and a good way to kick off the year," he said. "It also creates bragging rights within the Boathouse."
The namesake of the tournament, former Big Green crew coach Pete Gardner, who was in attendance on Saturday, said things have not changed much since he started at the College in 1957.
"The trees are a little bit taller, but the river is beautiful and athletes are still that spirited group," he said.
That "spirited group" must now look ahead to its upcoming season. Bordeau said he is very optimistic about the prospects for the heavyweight team, which will return several starters from last year.
Women's coach Wendy Levash said the women's team looks good, despite team members' young age.
"They came in very strong, and now are just in need of technical coaching," she said.
The lightweight team hopes to improve on last year with its new head coach Dan Roock. Roock has coached three national title teams at Princeton, and was named the EAWRC coach of the year twice.
