The Dartmouth men's heavyweight crew team, ranked No. 15 nationally, battled No. 8 Syracuse University in a race for the Packard Cup early Sunday morning on the Connecticut River. Despite a few close races, Syracuse managed to sweep the Big Green, beating Dartmouth's first varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity four and freshman eight boats. Syracuse claimed its third consecutive Packard Cup with the victory in the first varsity eight race.
The day's marquee event went to Syracuse, as the Orange's first varsity eight boat defeated the Big Green, finishing in a time of 5:28.29 to Dartmouth's 5:30.90 over the two-kilometer course. The first race of the day, the third varsity four, saw Syracuse defeat the Big Green by three seconds, as the Orange's boat finished in a time of 6:27.33.
"Syracuse is a strong crew that had a great season and performed well at [the Eastern] Sprints," captain Joe Polwrek '12 said. "We knew we had to have our best race to beat them, and while we raced very well, we didn't quite have what it took."
Hunter Dray '12 said that both boats rowed on nerves for the first half of the race but that the Orange's strength won out in the end. "At the 1,000-meter mark, both crews had fully burnt off the adrenaline of the first few minutes, and it became a race more about toughness than fitness," Dray said. "The race stayed close down the track, but the Syracuse crew had a bit more to give in the end."
The day's closest race would come between the two schools' youngest rowers. The freshman eight race was decided by a mere 0.25 seconds, as Syracuse nipped Dartmouth, 5:41.15 to 5:41.40.
"I had extremely high expectations for our crew going into today's race," Richard Newsome-White '15 said. "We are a very capable crew, as we have proven throughout the season, and it's always very tough to lose by such a narrow margin."
Newsome-White said that Dartmouth did not have enough time to make a successful comeback.
"Syracuse made a big push at the 1,000-meter mark and were able to get out in front by half a [boat] length," Newsome-White said. "We managed to fight back, but unfortunately we ran out of course."
Following the excitement of the freshman race, the second varsity eight contest proved anticlimactic, with Syracuse pulling away for a 13-second victory in a time of 5:36.29.
For the Big Green's seniors, Sunday's races marked the last time they will race on the Connecticut River, and while the Packard Cup marked the team's final home race of the regular season, it also served as a final tune-up before the Big Green competes in the IRA National Championships May 31-June 2 in Camden, N.J.
"I've actually never rowed a home race whether in high school or in college that wasn't on the Connecticut River," Dray said. "After so many years on [the Connecticut], I wanted to put together the best possible piece to honor my time spent as a rower for the Big Green. [Rowing has] been the single most rewarding experience of my Dartmouth career."
Polwrek said that the team still has "a lot of speed left to gain before IRAs."
"We've already come so far, so I'm excited for the next few weeks of training," Polwrek said.
