The men's lightweight and heavyweight rowing teams finished 11th and 12th, respectively, in the Princeton Three-Mile Chase race this past Saturday. Despite not being as significant a meet as those that the Big Green will compete in during its regular Spring season, the regatta featured some of the best teams in the college crew circuit, including Syracuse University, Cornell University and the Navy.
"It's always fun to see how we stack up against some of the best competition," heavyweight captain Alex Pujol '11 said.
The lightweight varsity eight finished with a time of 13:52.191, barely edging out the University of Pennsylvania's top team. Princeton University took the top prize with a time of 13:17.687, while Harvard University earned second place in 13:20.918.
Lightweight head coach Dan Roock said this is his favorite regatta of the fall because it gives the team a chance to gauge where it is compared to some of the League's toughest competition.
"Just about every crew is out there at the same time," he said. "So that gets you fired up to go racing."
Lightweight captain Phil Henson '11, however, said that although the team performed "up to its ability," at the moment, it is still behind a lot of other crews. He attributed this to the D-Plan, as Dartmouth's sports seasons start later than most other schools.
The regatta represented the last race for the varsity eight before the spring season begins.
"It's indicator of the amount of ground we have to make up between now and racing in the spring, when it really matters," Roock said.
For future meets, Henson said that the lightweight team needs to improve its overall mentality toward training.
"The only way we can win in the spring is to train more effectively every day than any other school in the League, and I think that's something we can do," he said.
The three-mile chase also featured a freshman division for both heavy and lightweight crews. Dartmouth's lightweight freshman boat finished in the top half of the division with a time of 14:15.155 to earn 12th place. The 13th place finisher, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's freshman eight, finished almost a full 20 seconds later, in 14:34.757.
"The first time out together is always interesting," Roock said. "[The freshmen] got an idea of what college rowing is about, and they're getting to keep working to make themselves that good."
The lightweight team also has a new freshman coach, Emerson Curry '08, who everyone is excited to see develop the new athletes, Henson said.
In the heavyweight division, the Big Green's varsity eight rowed the three-mile course in 13:36.869, taking 11th place. Princeton came out on top, earning a time of 13:06.187, with Syracuse University and Cornell University following close behind to take second and third place, respectively. Dartmouth narrowly lost to two crews of the top Ivy League teams, the University of Pennsylvania's varsity eight, who completed the race in 13:35.080 for ninth place. Princeton's second boat also barely defeated Dartmouth, taking 10th place with a time of 13:35.080.
Pujol said that after last weekend's regatta, the Head of the Charles, the team wanted to maintain the same level of aggression and consistency going into the Princeton Chase. Looking back on the race, though, he said the team fell below his expectations.
"We're definitely not where we want to be at this point in the year," he said.
The lightweight and heavyweight teams have two regattas left this fall that are both freshmen-only events. The first is the Green Monster, hosted by Dartmouth, and the second is the Foot of the Charles, which will take place in Boston, Mass.
Pujol said this season has been a good chance to "develop the younger guys," as those races are longer and more based on honing certain techniques.
"The big races are in the spring, but these [in the fall] definitely do matter," he said.
Overall, Roock said he is looking forward to the team earning some victories in the spring, hopefully topping the Ivy League and winning the Eastern Sprints.
"We are just going to take it slow and get things right so we're ready in the spring," he said.
