Crew

Testifying to the arrival of spring have been the commands of coxswains echoing back and forth across the Connecticut River during the daily practice sessions of eight Dartmouth crews.

Immediately after the spring training trips, the docks were put into the water and practice got under way for the race season which is now in full swing. Unofficial races were entered by all the Big Green oarsmen while on vacation, and the results on the whole showed that the sweepstrokers are strong in potential but still need many more miles in the water to turn in winning performances. Guests of Rollins College, the varsity and jayvee heavyweights found the Florida sun at times too hot for long workouts. In racing the hosts the Dartmouth eights lost by two and one-half lengths in the varsity event and by only five feet in the jayvee contest. Rollins has lost only to Rutgers and boasts a four and one record. Both races were over a short course of only nine-tenths of a mile.

In the lightweight division, the 150's found the weather more to their liking during their two-week training period at Annapolis. Sleeping in the gym at St. John's College, the 150 varsity and jayvees used the boathouse of the Naval Academy where they received invaluable aid from Navy coach Rusty Callow. On the final Saturday of the spring recess the lightweights joined their freshmen, who had been training at St. Andrew's in Middletown, Del., at Princeton where all three boats met the Tiger 150's. With only two weeks of on-the-water experience the Indians were no match for the Princetonians who had been in shells for two months.

Most successful to date of all the crews has been the Pea Green heavyweights. Operating out of the Bachelor Boat Club in Philadelphia, the '56's defeated the La Salle jayvees by a length over the Henley distance of a mile and five-sixteenths. In a second race during the vacation the frosh lost a heart-breaker to Penn's frosh by a boat length. Behind after the start, the freshmen slowly caught the Quakers and went out in front only to lose when number three man suffered a broken seat and the shell had to finish with seven men rowing. Switching to a mile distance, the '56's lost by a very narrow margin to Lower Merion. Unused to the shorter course, the frosh saved themselves too much.

The only other race during the recess resulted in a victory for the '56 lightweights when they beat St. Andrew's in a half-mile sprint.

Dartmouth alumni proved to be most hospitable to the oarsmen on several occasions. The Dartmouth Club of Central Florida treated some of the sweepstrokers to a banquet, while the Philadelphia alumni group secured accommodations for the freshmen. In Middletown the '56 lightweights had their training table in St. Anne's Church whose minister is Reverend Joseph Koci '43. The Delaware Alumni Club treated the frosh to a concert by the College Glee Club in Wilmington.

Recent additions to the club include two new sets of oars, one heavy and one light, plus the granting by the Undergraduate Council of a seat on that body for the president of the Rowing Club. Green Key also now includes a representative of the crew.