10.16.17 Rowers battle for top seat placements in varsity boats p. 8 Cross-country competes against top NCAA teams in national meet p. 7 Men’s soccer wins while women’s soccer falls short in overtime p. 7 Football team defeats Sacred Heart University p. 6 Rugby dominate National Intercollegiate Rugby Association p. 6 The Weekend Roundup p. 2–3
Women’s ice hockey to open season with interim head coach p. 4–5
CAROLYN SILVERSTEIN/THE DARTMOUTH
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
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The weekend Roundup
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
RUGBY
Compiled by JUSTIN KRAMER, CAIT MCGOVERN & MAYA MOTEN
VOLLEYBALL
TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The rugby team received an automatic win off a forfeit by Brown University this past Saturday.
No.1 Dartmouth won by forfeit against No. 9 Brown University on Saturday, leading to an automatic 28-0 victory for the Big Green as per NCAA rules. Brown opted not to show for the match, securing an
undefeated regular season for Dartmouth. In two weekends, Dartmouth will square off against its league rivals in the Ivy Championship tournament at Brophy Field.
NAOMI LIM/THE DARTMOUTH
FIELD HOCKEY
The volleyball team lost to Yale University but beat Brown University.
This weekend, the volleyball team lost a three-set match to Yale University but turned it around with a sweep over Brown University, moving its record to 7-9 overall and 3-4 in the Ivy League. On Friday, the Big Green traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to start off its weekend. The two teams tied five times during the first set before Yale was able to pull away with a 13-7 lead. Dartmouth had an impressive rally to bring the score to 13-11, but the Bulldogs bounced back to win 25-16. The second set of the night was even more contentious as Yale took an early lead (13-7) only for the Big Green to come back and tie the game. The two tied four more times until the score was locked at 20-20, but the Bulldogs were able to take a 25-21 victory. In the final set, Yale took an 11-3 advantage early on, and while Dartmouth worked hard to come back from behind, the team fell 25-14. Despite the outcome, Carly
Tower ’20 recorded six kills and Tori Dozier ’20 had an impressive 13 digs and 24 assists. The team returned to Hanover with a mission on Saturday against Brown. Kills by Mallen Bischoff ’21 and Morgan Dressel ’18 set the Big Green apart from the Bears during the first set, with Bischoff and Samantha Bozoian ’19 helping to close a 25-16 win. Dartmouth continued its success in the second set with a well-earned 25-14 victory. The final set of the day went back and forth and the two teams found themselves tied 18-18. With a Brown error and a kill by Elise Petit ’21, Dartmouth pulled away with a 25-19 win. Dozier recorded 26 assists and 10 digs, while Lauren Douglas ’21 led the team with 15 digs. Bozoian led the team with nine kills, and Bischoff followed closely with eight kills. This weekend, the team will take on Harvard University on Friday, Oct. 20 at Leede Arena.
Ray Lu ’18 Editor-in-Chief
10.16.17 Vol. CLXXIV No. 129
Philip Rasansky ’18 Publisher
Kourtney Kawano ’18 Executive Editor
Evan Morgan ’19 Chris Shim ’18 Sports Editors
Nathan Albrinck ’20
Associate Sports Editor Eliza McDonough ’18 Hollye Swinehart ’18 Tiffany Zhai ’18 Photography Editors
Field hockey lost its second straight tilt Saturday at Yale University, falling 5-2. Yale took the early lead with goals from Carol Middough only 7:26 into the game and Lily Smith at the 19:47 mark. Dartmouth answered late in the half, as Carmen Braceras ’20 cut the deficit in half in the 33rd minute on an assist by Katie Spanos ’20. The Bulldogs grabbed back a two-goal lead with another tally from Middough less than a minute into the second half. Katie Persin ’20 gave the Big Green another boost with her second goal of the year at 46:44, but Yale struck back 25 seconds later. This goal came on a penalty corner despite an initial save by goalie Emily Wechsler ’18, one of five saves for her on the day. Middough put the game further out of reach by completing a hat trick with under five
minutes left. In the second game, Dartmouth hosted nonconference Providence College in what was Wechsler’s first career game. Despite five total saves from Wechsler, Dartmouth could not generate enough offense to snag the victory. The first goal wasn’t scored until the 29th minute, when the Friars’ Izzy Mendez sunk her first of two goals on the day. Following goals from Mary O’Reilly and Mendez, Dartmouth was down 3-0 with only 11 minutes left. Evie Bird ’19 capitalized on an assist from Spanos, her seventh helper of the year, in the final five minutes to give Dartmouth’s its first goal, but by then it was too late for a Big Green comeback. Dartmouth looks to get back on track with a home match against the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday.
CROSS COUNTRY
This weekend at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky, the Dartmouth men’s cross country team finished 38th of 41 with 910 points against a nationally-competitive field of teams, including Brigham Young University, the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon. Sander Kushen ’19 led the Big Green runners, completing the 8-kilometer course in 24:46.9 to place 137th. Miles Irish ’18 and Patrick O’Brien ’21 finished within three seconds of each other with times of 25:06.4 and 25:09.4, good for 179th and 181st place, respectively. The next scorer for the Big Green came from Ben Matejka ’21, 214th in 25:25.0. Sean Laverty ’19 completed the scoring quintet finishing 5.2 seconds behind Matejka in 25:30.2. The men’s cross-country team will continue its preparation for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships in two weeks. They will also send a team to New Britain, Connecticut, to compete in the Central Connecticut State University Short Course next weekend. The women’s cross-country team faced off against a tough field of competitors this weekend at the Pennsylvania State University Nationals at State
College, Pennsylvania. Despite the challenging field that included Villanova University, Dartmouth took third with a score of 122, only three points ahead of Ivy League rival Princeton University. Host school Penn State University led the way with a strong performance of 44 points. Leading the Big Green on the 6-kilometer course was Olivia Lantz ’19 who finished in 13th-place with a time of 20:44. Leigh Moffett ’18 was just one second behind her in 16th with a time of 20:45. Julia Stevenson ’20, who was in 20th as late as at the 2-mile mark, finished in 26th with a time of 21:06. Rounding out Big Green scorers were Ella Ketchum ’21 (21:10) in 29th and Glendora Murphy ’21 (21:19) in 38th. Murphy, who was in 49th place at the 2-mile mark, picked off 11 over the remainder of the race. Lillian Anderson ’19 and Abby Livingston ’18 finished as the Big Green’s sixth and seventh runners. Anderson finished 42nd with a time of 21:22, while Livingston finished 56th in 21:37. As with the men, the women will send a team to compete in the CCSU Short Course next week, while the rest of the team prepares for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships in two weeks.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
MEN’S TENNIS
SOCCER Men’s soccer (8-2-1, 2-0-1 Ivy) traveled to Philadelphia this Saturday and got an easy 4-0 win over the University of Pennsylvania. Despite a tough defensive game from the Quakers, who allowed four Big Green shots, the men made each opportunity count. The Big Green drew an early lead just against the Quakers when Eduvie Ikoba ’19 scored off a pass by Dawson McCartney ’21, making the only goal of the first half. Dartmouth picked up its momentum in the second half with co-captain Tyler Dowse ’18 beginning the scoring for the Green and White. Dowse received a long ball from Henry Baldwin ’20 and beat the Penn keeper off the line. McCartney got the next goal, beating a defender to hammer home a shot to the far post in the 81st minute. Ikoba finished off the Quakers just after the 83rd minute when he headed in a Justin Donawa ’19 corner. The Quakers had no hope of catching up as keeper Christopher Palacios ’21 saved each of Penn’s three shots on goal. Heading into
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH
The men’s tennis team had a successful weekend at the Dartmouth Invite, winning most of its doubles and singles matches.
Men’s tennis hosted the Dartmouth Invite this weekend, which featured Binghamton University, Boston University, Brown University, the United States Military Academy and Yale University. Dartmouth opened tournament play on Friday with 10 singles matches, of which the men won eight. Max Fliegner ’18, Eddie Grabill ’19 and Casey Ross ’21 did not give up more than two points a set. Peter Conklin ’21 had the closest victory of the day battling with Kushaan Nath of Binghamton, taking the final set 7-5 after an even first two sets 7-6, 3-6. Ciro Riccardi ’18 had a tight match himself, pulling off a 7-6, 6-4 win against Valentin Bouchet of Binghamton. The Big Green continued its successful weekend Saturday, recording a 16-1 record on the day. Each doubles pair won both their matches on the day, leading a complete sweep
on the doubles end. Of note was the dynamic duo of Roko Glasnovic ’19 and Dan Martin ’21 who cruised to an 8-0 victory against Brown. Rookies Conklin and John Speicher ’21 eked out an 8-7 win in a hard-fought match against the duo of Andrew Heller and Nathan Brown from Yale. Later in the day, the Big Green put in a commanding 8-1 performance in singles competition. Speicher had a 6-1, 6-1 victory, while Grabill, Fliegner and Martin all turned in three-set victories. Against Andrew Hiller, Fliegner lost the first set badly 1-6 but managed to string together two strong sets, 6-3 and an especially close 7-5 set, to seal the win. The Big Green wrapped up play on Sunday, winning three doubles matches and seven singles matches. The team will travel to Yale this week for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Championship.
WOMEN’S ROWING The women’s rowing team successfully opened its 2017-2018 season by winning every event it entered at the inaugural Hadley Chase hosted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst on the Connecticut River. Dartmouth started its day by sweeping the 2- race, in which two rowers compete without a coxswain. The A boat finished at 19:53.8, the C boat finished at 20:40.3 and the B boat at 21:05.5. The D boat finished fourth at 21:26.4, a full 16 seconds before Marist College’s A boat crossed the finish line. In the varsity 4+, which consists of a four-person boat and a coxswain, the A boat was victorious once again, finishing first at 19:26.6, while the B boat pulled in fourth at 19:44.7 and the C boat came in eighth at
20:44.4. The A boat’s winning streak continued into the varsity 8+, as they came in first at 17:39.3. The C team followed in fourth at 18:27.6, and the D boat fifth at 18:39.5 while the B boat finished in seventh at 18:53.0. The A boat also won the varsity 8+ 500-meter dash with a time of 1:38.6. Fordham University came close in second at 1:41.7, while Dartmouth’s C boat pulled into third place at 1:45.0. The novice team made its collegiate debut in the 8+ by placing first at 17:56.1, an impressive two minutes ahead of second place Tufts University. The team will race again this Saturday and Sunday at the Head of the Charles in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
a Tuesday showdown with the University of New Hampshire, the Big Green has not lost a game since Sept. 4. The women’s soccer team played a tough defensive match keeping Penn scoreless through 97 minutes of play. The Big Green sought a second consecutive victory after a 3-2 win against the College of the Holy Cross on Tuesday. With a fierce offensive strike led by co-captain Bianca Ribi ’18 with three shots and two shots on goal, the Big Green fired 15 shots at Penn’s sophomore keeper Kitty Qu. But Qu’s six saves kept the Quakers in the game, and the score was tied 0-0 by the end of the regulated 90 minutes. The game-winning point came just after the 97-minute mark when Quaker senior Erica Higa volleyed the ball over the head of Mariel Gordon ’21. Despite the tough loss, Gordon made three saves to keep the Big Green in the game. The defeat moves the Big Green to (6-8, 0-4 Ivy) as the team prepares to face Columbia University this Saturday.
FOOTBALL Another game, another late comeback from Big Green football. After two late key interceptions, Dartmouth defeated Sacred Heart University 29-26 at Fairfield, Connecticut. This marks the team’s fourth straight game with a victory margin of three points or fewer. The game started just as the previous game had been won, as quarterback Jack Heneghan ’18 connected with Drew Hunnicutt ’19 for a 78-yard touchdown completion on the first play of the game. Hunnicutt had a banner day, with three catches for a career-high 126-yards. Over the rest of the first quarter and into the second, the two teams traded touchdowns. The Pioneers’ quarterback, Kevin Duke, found fellow senior Byron Barney with a 16-yard touchdown less than four minutes after the Big Green scored. Dartmouth answered by the end of the quarter with a five-yard touchdown catch from running back Ryder Stone ’18, but firstyear Sacred Heart wide receiver Ezekiel Ennis secured a 31-yard touchdown of his own to even the score at 14-all early in the second quarter. Sacred Heart rode the momentum through the second half, capitalizing on a 20-yd touchdown pass from Jordan Meachum and two field goals from kicker Josh Freiria. Isiah Swann ’20 made things interesting by blocking Freiria’s extra point attempt after Meachum’s touchdown, but Dartmouth could not make it back to the opposite endzone.
With 5:30 left in the third quarter, Dartmouth was down 26-14. From there, Heneghan and Emory Thompson ’18 led the offensive surge. After a punt return from Dylan Mellor ’19, the Big Green were stopped at third and goal at the two-yard line. Head Coach Buddy Teevens ’79 decided to go for the touchdown, and it paid off as Heneghan found Thompson in the end zone, closing the gap to five points. On Dartmouth’s first possession of the fourth, Heneghan hit Thompson again on the first and last plays of the drive, culminating in a five-yard touchdown grab to give the Big Green the lead with just over 12 minutes to go. The touchdown pass from Heneghan led to a 14-of-21 record for the day and 247 passing yards. Hunnicutt reeled in a two-point conversion to bring the lead to 29-26. The Pioneers made a strong push, getting the ball to Dartmouth’s eightyard line with 3:37 to play. On the next play, safety Kyran McKinney-Crudden ’18 was in the right place at the right time, with a timely pick at the two-yard line to halt the threat. A holding penalty and a sack followed by a game-winning interception by Jack Traynor ’19 during Sacred Heart’s next possession sealed the win for the Big Green. The win continues Dartmouth’s resilient 5-0 start, the second time in the past three years. Next weekend, Dartmouth takes on Columbia University, the only other undefeated Ivy League program, at home. Kickoff is Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
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Interim women’s ice hockey coach Joe Marsh
B y ASHLEY
The Dartm
CAROLYN SILVERSTEIN/THE DARTMOUTH
Shannon Ropp ’19 is one of three goaltenders on Dartmouth’s roster who will look to replace second team All-Ivy netminder Robyn Chemago ’17.
In June, athletic director Harry Sheehy announced that Joe Marsh will serve as the interim women’s ice hockey head coach for the 2017-18 season. The announcement came in the wake of head coach Laura Schuler’s appointment as head coach of the 2018 Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team. Schuler’s selection as the head coach for Canada makes her the first former national team player to serve as the team’s head coach at the Olympics. Named Dartmouth’s head coach in 2016, Schuler took over the program from long-time head coach Mark Hudak for the 2016-17 season before temporarily stepping down to lead Canada. Although Marsh will be the team’s third head coach over the last three years, the team remains optimistic about the season and continuing to rebuild and improve after finishing 7-21 overall last season. “In terms of the transition … it’s been nice to watch this program develop and maintain some consistency,” assistant coach Morgan Illikainen ’15 said. “Having three coaches in three years can definitely be hard at times; however, I think everyone’s done a great job of just maintaining that work ethic, maintaining that tradition of excellence that Dartmouth women’s hockey is proud about,
Dartmouth notched a 3-2 preseason win over he College o
and I think that they’re doing a great job tournament championships. Marsh was also and have a positive attitude about it.” named National Coach of the Year twice in Senior captain Hailey Noronha ’18 echoed 1989 and 2000 and received the Tim Taylor similar praise of the players and coaching Award for ECAC hockey’s top coach four staff amidst the times in 1989, 1992, 2000 and transition. “I’m coming in just trying 2001 — the most in league “Every coach history. is going to have to fit into [the program], Schuler welcomed Marsh’s their own systems, and I’m not looking to appointment as a positive step like the way they for the team, noting that both make any changes. I’m want us to play on she and Marsh have talked the ice,” Noronha only here for a year, so extensively on the team’s said. “But then I don’t have any agenda vision. Both coaches believe there’s still the transition will be smooth. cultural identity or ego in this. I want to “[Marsh] has a pretty that we need to follow their model and good understanding of what uphold so that’s our team is like and how we follow their lead.” kind of what the do things here,” Noronha u p p e rc l a s s m e n said. “He hasn’t stepped into a have been doing.” -JOE MARSH, INTERIM complete head coach role, but Marsh brings he respects how we do things a w e a l t h o f WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY COACH here, so he knows when to step experience to in and when to step out.” Hanover. Before coming to Dartmouth, For Marsh, the positive response has been Marsh served as head coach for St. Lawrence mutual. University’s men’s hockey team for 27 years. “They’re great kids,” Marsh said. “I don’t He led the team to a program-record 482 even feel like I’m coming to work. I love it wins, two regular season Eastern College here. I see a lot of smiling faces, and that Athletic Conference hockey titles and five is really refreshing. It’s really been a lot of
fun so far.” Marsh will join a coaching staff that includes assistant coaches Illikainen and [Chris Cobb]. Illikainen is a new member to the Big Green coaching staff but brings a sense of “We’ve got continuity to the team as a former Dartmouth player to do, and I and alternate captain. realize that. Cobb has been with the we’re going Big Green since the 201617 campaign and will have be a real ha an increased presence team, but I in the operation of the prog ram in Schuler’s have an und absence in order to assist that to be a in a smoother change. team you ca “I think one of the things that will sort of help process.” [the players] is that Cobb has done an outstanding job [in facilitating the -JOE MARSH, I transition],” Marsh said. WOMEN’S ICE “He’s really ke pt the organization basically what it was with [Schuler]. They’ve got a good thing in place in terms of their overall model of how they want to operate.”
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
h inherits rebuilding team from Laura Schuler
Y DUPUIS
mouth Staff
CAROLYN SILVERSTEIN/THE DARTMOUTH
of the Holy Cross, scoring in the opening minute of overtime.
Marsh noted that he doesn’t want to change too much of the program. “I’m coming in just trying to fit into [the program], and I’m not looking to make any changes,” a lot of work Mar sh said. “I’m only here for a year, I think the kids so I don’t have any agenda or ego in this. . We know I want to follow their g to have to model and follow ard-working their lead.” think the girls While Schuler tries to coach derstanding Canada to a gold medal, the women’s a top-tier o c k ey t e a m w i l l an’t cheat the hcarry on in Hanover, continuing to strive for excellence on the ice. In conversations INTERIM with both coaches E HOCKEY COACH and players, it is clear they all hope to make the season one of progress of which Schuler will be able to build off of when she returns for the 2018-19 season. “We’re in a rebuilding stage from last
CAROLYN SILVERSTEIN/THE DARTMOUTH
The women’s ice hockey team looks to rebound from a 7-21 campaign which was one of its worst seasons in recent memory.
year, so I think our main goals are in terms of improvement,” Noronha said. “Just as long as we improve each year that’s definitely a goal of ours, like we want to become a winning program, and I think that we’re working towards that and have a good start this year.” The Big Green kicked off the season with two preseason games this past weekend. On Friday, Oct. 13, Dartmouth faced the College of the Holy Cross for the first time in program history, winning 3-2 in overtime. Two days later, the team took the ice again in its annual exhibition match against McGill University. Dartmouth fell 7-2, a fall from last year’s 2-2 tie against the Martlets. The Big Green will officially open the season on Friday, Oct. 20, at Harvard University. Looking forward, Marsh is hopeful. He was quick to highlight that the process in becoming a winning team does not happen overnight. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, and I think the kids realize that,” Marsh said. “We know we’re going to have to be a real hardworking team, but I think the girls have an understanding that to be a top-tier team you can’t cheat the process. You’ve got to take it one rung at a time.”
482
3
wins Joe Marsh racked up in 27 years behind the bench at St. Lawrence University
Olympic gold medals won by the Canadian women’s hockey team in the last four Olympics
-35
7
the Big Green’s final goal differential last season
seasons since Dartmouth’s last appearance in the NCAA tournament
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
No. 1 in the country, rugby looks toward national championship By BECKY BROWNELL The Dartmouth
Steamrolling ahead, the rugby team is ranked No. 1 in the second National Intercollegiate Rugby Association poll of the season and is the favorite to take home a national championship. Starting off with a front-heavy fall schedule packed with their toughest competition, Dartmouth opened with a 22-17 win over twotime defending national champion Quinnipiac University before crushing Harvard University 3910 and the United States Military Academy 45-7. This past weekend, the women blanked No. 10 Brown University 28-0, who forfeited the game, giving the Big Green an automatic win. “We came out incredibly strong in the Quinnipiac game, which was huge,” flyhalf Camille Johnson ’19 said. “Once we beat Quinnipiac and then Army pretty easily, who had crushed us last year, suddenly everyone was on the same page about believing we could actually win a national championship.” Standout center Lilly Durbin ’21
has helped power Dartmouth with seven tries this season, including five against Army. “I get the chills thinking about what a national championship would mean for Dartmouth, for the Ivy League, for rugby and for women’s sports as a whole,” she said. Co-captain Frankie Sands ’18 emphasized the strength of their team on and off the field. “We have an incredibly strong team connection that starts with laying the foundation of the season back in the spring,” Sands said. “Our team goal has been to win a national championship, and we are definitely excited to have this opportunity.” Dartmouth is in a unique position at the forefront of an emerging collegiate sport. As leaders of a pack of developing teams, Big Green players have a deep desire to improve the Ivy League’s competition and elevate club teams to the varsity level. “As a team, we learn so much more from closer competition, which is why these other club programs need to go varsity,” Kat Ramage ’19 said. “As great as it is crushing these teams, we also want
to keep improving our program by playing the strongest teams that we can.” Sands and co-captain Morgan McGonagle ’18 hope that women’s rugby will soon become an official NCAA sport. It is currently considered an emerging sport along with equestrian and triathlon. Seventeen teams play in the NIRA, nearly half of the 40 teams necessary to become an official NCAA sport. “Since we became varsity two years ago, our team has grown at an incredibly high rate,” McGonagle said. “But we also want to bring in other teams and share that growth for women’s rugby as a whole.” Forward Milla Anderson ’19 said that if club teams like Princeton University or Yale University transition to varsity status, the Ivy League could become the first varsity women’s rugby league in the country. “The resources, coaches and recruits involved with going varsity will improve the game so much, which we are all pushing for in other schools,” she said. W h i l e t h e B i g G re e n i s concentrated on elevating women’s
TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The No.1 rugby team will host the Ivy League Championship on Oct. 28.
rugby at the collegiate level as a whole, its short-term focus is now the national championship. “We plan on going into Ivies and nationals using our own game plan and making sure we don’t get too comfortable with a lead,” Anderson said. “We pride ourselves on playing strong defense and keeping that high work rate up, so we’re focused on
trusting our own skills to win the championship.” Currently, the team looks unshakable in its quest to be the best women’s rugby team in the country. Dartmouth will host the Ivy League Championship at Brophy Field on Oct. 28 and will begin the national championship tournament on Nov. 11.
Football improves to 5-0, defeating Sacred Heart University 29-26 By JAKE PHILHOWER The Dartmouth
It was a day of nail-biting action at Campus Field in Fairfield, Connecticut as the Big Green took down out-of-league foe Scared Heart University 29-26. The game featured an abundance of twists and turns as Sacred Heart really seemed to control the pace of the game well at times. But in the end Jack Heneghan ’18 connected with Emory Thompson ’18 twice in the second half to complete yet another sizable comeback. Coming off a historic win during Homecoming against Yale University, the Big Green seemed to have the hot hand and hoped its second-half success at Memorial Field would carry over into its last outof-league matchup. This appeared true early on as Heneghan connected on a go-route to Drew Hunnicutt ’19 for a 78-yard touchdown pass on the first play. The Big Green were on the board within 16 seconds of the opening kickoff and seemed to be firing on all cylinders. But as the game wore on, it became increasingly clear that the first play would not be indicative of the direction of this game. Sacred Heart responded with a touchdown of its own on the next drive and really began to control the time of possession. By the half, the Pioneers had scored 16 unanswered points
and took a 23-10 lead into the half. “We have to make sure we execute as well in the first half as we do in the second half,” Kyran McKinneyCrudden ’18 said. “We are there to make the plays. We just need to make them.” Coming out of halftime, the Big Green knew it had to produce and take control of the game if it expected to mount yet another comeback. The team had difficulty doing so at first after the Pioneers kicked another field goal before halftime to expand upon the lead, but the defense showed promise during this drive and the tide seemed to shift a bit as the third quarter wore on. After five consecutive drives without putting any more points on the board, Heneghan connected with Thompson for a two-yard score following Dylan Mellor ’19’s 57-yard punt return to the four-yard line. By this point in the game, the Pioneers were faltering, allowing Dartmouth to capitalize and win. When called upon, the defense delivered in the second half of Saturday’s game. After giving up a field goal on the first drive of the third quarter, the defense played shutout football for the rest of the game. At one of the pivotal moments in the second half, McKinney-Crudden picked off Sacred Heart quarterback Kevin Duke on the Dartmouth twoyard line, halting a drive that could have ended in a game-tying field
goal. make the defender miss and score,” “Although the interception was Thompson said. “At the time, I was a great moment, we all understood excited but knew the game wasn’t that the game wasn’t over yet,” over until the clock hit zero.” McKinney-Crudden said. “We Heneghan has used an abundance knew we were going to have to make of weapons on offense this year and another great stop at the end of has looked very sharp in the past few the game because there were still a games. He has also clearly taken on couple minutes left on the clock. So a significant leadership role on the the focus shifted team and has pretty quickly to embraced his “Our team showed preparing for the role as a leader. a lot of heart and last series.” Heneghan is By holding composure. That known as one the Pioneers of the hardest to 26 points, is something our workers on the t h e s e c o n d coaching staff harps team by coaches, touchdown and it is clear on during practice, connection that much of the b e t w e e n and it was nice to see team follows his T h o m p s o n that reflect itself in our work ethic. and Heneghan “Our team in the fourth ability to execute near showed a lot q u a r t e r p u t the end of the game.” of heart and the Big Green composure,” over the top Heneghan and eventually -JACK HENEGHAN ’18 said. “That is resulted in a something our three-point win coaching staff for the Big Green. harps on during practice, and it Thompson had arguably his was nice to see that reflect itself in best day of the season, hauling our ability to execute near the end in two different key touchdown of the game.” passes which helped the Big Green This past week, Heneghan was overcome Sacred Heart’s lead. awarded the Gold Helmet award “ O n t h e g a m e w i n n i n g by the New England Football touchdown, I knew I had a one-on- Writers’ Association for his play one match up in the slot, was able in the Homecoming game last to secure the pass from [Heneghan], weekend. This award is given
out to the best Division I player of the week in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision in New England each week. Heneghan also won the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week and earned honorable mention for the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week. Heneghan, referred to by his teammates as “Quarterback Jack,” is seen as a calm and collective figure in the locker room by coaches and players alike. He has proven that he has both the skills and the leadership ability to take the Big Green into the heart of the Ivy League schedule and a huge matchup next weekend against also-undefeated Columbia University. This past week, the Lions pulled off a stunning overtime victory against the University of Pennsylvania while having to overcome a deficit of their own at halftime. “This will be a big one,” Heneghan said. “Columbia is a very strong team. On top of that, games within the Ivy League always have a heightened intensity and sense of excitement around them.” The game-at-a-time approach continues to work for the Big Green, but one can’t help but recognize the magnitude of next week’s matchup and the consequences it will bear for the rest of the league. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Memorial Field.
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Cross-country teams race at nationally competitive meets By LAUREN BROWN The Dartmouth
Given how taxing each race can be, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams will compete in three or four important races each season. This past weekend, the men’s and women’s teams raced their first important meets of the season, getting a feel for how they stack up against other teams in the Ivy League, the northeast region and the nation. The women’s team went to the smallest of three major meets this weekend, Pennsylvania State University’s Penn State National Open hosted at State College, Pennsylvania. The team placed third with 122 points, beating every Ivy League team and a few teams that are ranked in the top 30 in the nation. Meanwhile, the men’s team competed at the Pre-National Invitational at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky against a field of almost 300 runners, and placed 38th out of 41 teams with 910 points. In cross country, the first five runners score. The teams that perform well, such as Brigham Young University, which won the Pre-National Invitational by placing all five in the top-15, will have at least five comparable runners have a solid showing at a race. Coaches typically enter at least seven runners, with the
order of the top seven being relatively consistent from meet to meet. But the women’s team has a strong pack of girls at the top, so it took nine runners. “We don’t have a set lineup,” cocaptain Olivia Lantz ’19 said. “There is no set girl who always comes in first. Everything is jostled, and everyone knows that they have a responsibility to run as fast as they can.” Lantz was the first finisher in Friday’s 6-kilometer race, finishing 13th in 20:44. Leigh Moffett ’18 finished a mere second behind in 20:45. There was just a 21-second gap before the third finisher, Julia Stevenson ’20, crossed the line, with two first-years, Ella Ketchum ’21 and Glendora Murphy ’21, in hot pursuit to round out the scoring field. Even the ninth finisher was only about a minute behind the first. “That top group has been really close during the workouts,” women’s head coach Courtney Jaworski said. “It helps them to build confidence in what they’re doing in a race and gives them context clues, knowing what your teammate is doing and being able to assess what you’re doing off of their performance.” Not only does this dynamic field make for some exciting races, but it provides stability to the team when someone has a rough day. Co-captain Bridget O’Neill ’18 said she was disappointed in her finish on Friday,
but the other girls had her back. to racing them, so it’s a very personal “They stepped up and did what race.” they needed to do,” O’Neill said. With the diversity of performances Both teams are looking ahead coming out of the Ivy League on the to the Ivy League Heptagonal men’s side in the past few weeks, the Championships, widely known as Heps will come down to which teams Heps. While other get everything races feature up to “We’ll focus on together on race 40 teams, Heps is groups, staying day. the smallest race of “This year’s together and trusting Heps is probably the season. “There’s eight their strength. the most wideschools,” men’s open it’s been in head coach Barry They’ve been doing several years,” H a r w i c k s a i d . really well, and if they Harwick said. “You’re allowed to continue doing what “There’s certain run 12 [runners], things you can so there’s less than they’re doing, we’ll simulate in 100 people on the have some awesome practice that can starting line ... In get you ready for this particular race, results.” a competition, you’ll know exactly but at the end where you can be, of the day, you -COURTNEY JAWORSKI, and I think that’ll have to get on work well in our WOMEN’S CROSS the starting advantage.” line.” COUNTRY HEAD COACH Because Heps Pre-Nationals include just the Ivy may not have League teams, it’s a gone as planned, high-competition race with a familiar but the men have another race under feel not present in high-volume races their belts. The experience of a highsuch as the Penn State National Open pressure race can help them prepare and Pre-National Invitational. mentally for the competition. “It’s the best time of the year,” “My job as a coach is to boost the O’Neill said. “You know all the guys’ mental confidence as much as competitors when you get on the line, possible going into the race,” Harwick you know the girls’ names, you’re used said. “Physically they’ve demonstrated
to me in practices that they’re in very good shape, they just haven’t done it on race day yet.” On the women’s side, the outcome of the race is similarly up in the air, but with strong performances throughout this season they’re hopeful for a great showing against the other Ivy League schools despite the tough competition. “Our league is one of the best distance leagues in the country, so I expect to see pretty close scores,” Jaworski said. In terms of strategy on the women’s side, consistency is key for maintaining steady improvement through Heps and beyond. “We’ll focus on groups, staying together and trusting their strength,” Jaworski said. “They’ve been doing really well, and if they continue doing what they’re doing, we’ll have some awesome results.” After Heps, the teams will need to refocus and prepare for the NCAA Regional meet. The top two finishing teams will automatically qualify for Nationals. The women placed ahead of Oklahoma State University and West Virginia University this weekend, two teams ranked in the top 30 in the nation. But the team is just staying focused and taking it one race at a time. “Nationals would be a bonus,” Lantz said. “But that’s not what our eyes are set on right now.”
Soccer teams play University of Pennsylvania this past weekend soccer coach Chad Riley said. “We were unlucky not to finish on a few crosses that almost turned into shots.” The men’s soccer team continued The game felt similar to last week’s its run of good form this season with 2-2 contest at Yale University, which a 4-0 win over the University of started with the men going ahead but Pennsylvania. The women’s team ended with the Big Green unable to completed a challenging out-of- capitalize on early success. conference schedule with a midweek “At halftime, we regrouped win against the and realized we College of the “It wasn’t our best needed to put Holy Cross a little bit more before falling in performance of intensity and overtime to Penn the year, but it was focus into our 1-0 on Saturday. Riley said. complete, professional play,” Edurie Ikoba “We came out, ’19 opened up and I thought our and the team the game with an captains did a great did a great job early goal off an to start out the assist by Dawson job leading us through second half and M c C a r t n e y a challenging road we controlled ’21, but the the play.” match.” remainder of The 4-0 the first half was scoreline scoreless after -CHAD RILEY, MEN’S indicates an the fifth minute. impressive “I think that SOCCER HEAD COACH performance for t h e n ex t 1 0 Dartmouth and minutes after the a disappointing goal, we dropped off a bit, which led result for Penn, but it does not tell to Penn picking up some second balls the full story of the game, which was and getting some good control of more contested than the four-goal the game, but after that period we margin would suggest. were really able to dig down,” men’s “It wasn’t our best performance
By MICHAEL CLEARY The Dartmouth
of the year, but it was complete, professional and I thought our captains did a great job leading us through a challenging road match,” Riley said. The Big Green took just four shots on goal, but all four found the back of the net. “Every Ivy League game, especially playing on the road, is going to be a challenge,” cocaptain Wyatt Omsberg ’18 said. “Offensively, we were clinical and finished all our chances.” On top of his strong leadership on the field as an experienced senior and co-captain, Omsberg has been recognized as a finalist for the NCAA’s Senior CLASS award for excellence on and off the field. “He would be a wonderful recipient of it,” Riley said. “He has all of it together in the classroom and on the field, and he’s a really great teammate.” Dartmouth’s win against Penn extends its conference record to 2-0-1, establishing itself as a strong Ivy competitor with a chance to qualify for its fourth-straight NCAA tournament. “Our goal is to remain consistent,” Riley said. “You always want to put yourself in a position to have
meaningful games at the end of the only a matter of time before results year. Now the challenge ... is the improve. cliché of one day at a time.” “I think that we just have to keep The next game the men have to plugging away,” women’s soccer head look forward coach Ron Rainey to is against said. “When we the University “We’ll start tomorrow get our chances of N e w preparing for Tuesday. during the run of Hampshire play, or if we’re in on Tuesday, Columbia is over the overtime, we have followed by weekend, so it’s a big to raise our level to a Saturday on one of week for us, and we’re convert matchup those.” a g a i n s t looking forward to it.” The women hope Columbia to reset this week U n i v e r s i t y, in practice and Dartmouth’s -WYATT OMSBERG ’18 continue making first home improvements Ivy League and adjustments. matchup in “I think our team weeks. was putting work “We’ll start tomorrow preparing in, and now we just have to have a for Tuesday,” Omsberg said. short memory about some of the “Columbia is over the weekend, losses we’ve taken and just be ready so it’s a big week for us, and we’re for the next opportunity,” Rainey looking forward to it.” said. “Now we want to ask for more For the women’s team, the trip to so we can get one of these results Philadelphia was not as rewarding. and kick start the Ivy League season The result was Dartmouth’s third a little bit.” overtime loss in its first four Ivy For the time being, Dartmouth League games. bookends the Ivy League soccer Although the women are winless standings with the men tied for first in the conference, there is still a sense place at 2-0-1 and the women alone in the Dartmouth camp that it is in last at 0-4.
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
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Rowers battle for top seat placement before fall races By SABA NEJAD The Dartmouth
While many fall sports are entering the final stretch of their regular seasons, the men’s heavyweight and lightweight rowers are putting in hours on the Connecticut River in preparation for their first races of the year. Seat selection has been ongoing ahead of the two big regattas of the fall: the Head of the Charles and the Princeton Chase. Seat selection is a series of tests to see which athletes will represent the team in the first varsity boat. A soccer team has its starting 11, the combination of athletes which — in the eyes of the coaches — work together to create the best results. Rowing works the same way. The testing occurs over the span of about 10 days and includes a fitness test on the ergometer and multiple seat races wherein rowers compete directly for spots. In a seat race, the coach races a boat, switches a pair of athletes and races
it again. Like most starting lineups, nothing is set in stone. L i g h t we i g h t rowe r Wyat t Genasci Smith ’19 knows this firsthand. He suffered a stress fracture in one of his ribs during the spring season. “If someone in one of the higher boats gets injured, everyone gets bumped up from the boat behind them, so it’s perfectly possible for the combinations to change,” he said. A team’s approach to seat selection depends largely on the philosophy of its coaches. T h e h e av y w e i g h t t e a m ’s coaching staff emphasizes power. Head coach Wyatt Allen ultimately wants to have the eight fastest rowers on the erg be his eight fastest rowers on the water. “[Allen] will try to develop the stronger guys into boat movers, because ultimately you can’t win races in our league by just rowing well,” said former team member Scott Ortlip ’17, who rowed in
SABA NEJAD/THE DARTMOUTH
The men’s lightweight rowing team practices on indoor rowing machines.
the three seat of the varsity eight during the 2016-17 season. T h e l i g h t we i g h t t e a m ’s process is less about strength. “T he fitness test won’t necessarily determine who will be in the Varsity,” Genasci Smith said. “A big part of the sport is technique and being able to move in the water.” The selection process begins early in the season. Coaches put the fittest rowers and the best technical rowers into different combinations to see if any combination rows particularly well together. From there, the coaches make preliminary lineups and start seat racing. “It’s not a perfect science,” men’s lightweight assistant coach Trevor Michelson said. “People get tired, people aren’t consistent but it’s really good to race each other all the time with something on the line. So when we go out there to race for real, it’s not the first time we’re racing.” Ortlip says that seat racing gives the athletes the opportunity to earn their place in a higher boat. However, it is up to the coach to decide who has earned the opportunity to seat race another athlete. According to Ortlip, a rower can set themselves apart through erg testing or by consistently demonstrating superior technique. The stakes of seat racing can be high. On the heavyweight team, some athletes get just one opportunity all season to prove themselves in a seat race. “This system is rough and imperfect, but in a 10-week spring season, time settling into consistent lineups is at a premium, so sometimes the coach has to make judgment calls from everything he has observed all season and often as little as one seat race,” Ortlip said. But even on the heavyweight team, each year is a fresh start for each athlete. A rower who was in the varsity eight last year has no advantage over a rower who was not. On the lightweight team, the racing lineup can change from race to race. “We’re a really close-knit group in terms of speed, so it’s been difficult from a coaching perspective to pick a top eight,”
SABA NEJAD/THE DARTMOUTH
The rowers compete within the team to determine seat positions.
Michelson said. “That probably means that it definitely can change a lot with the winter training coming up.” Genasci Smith and Ortlip said the upward pressure of testing drives the performance of the heavyweight and lightweight teams. “The guy in the boat below you wants your seat, and you want the seat of the guy in the boat above you,” Ortlip said. “Therefore, everyone is always trying to outwork the guys above and below them so they can rise to a higher boat, or keep from getting picked off by someone who used to be slower than you. This drives everyone to be better, all the way from stroke seat of the [first varsity] down to three seat of the [fourth varsity].” Allen and associate head coach for men’s heavyweight Al Monte emphasized the importance of every athlete in the program, according to Ortlip.
“While the guys in the [fourth varsity] aren’t racing for the cup in the dual races or championships, they put the pressure on everyone above them and thus the whole team becomes better,” Ortlip said. “It’s a really healthy dynamic that fosters a huge amount of development and speed.” Seat racing can be fiercely competitive, but in the experience of Ortlip and Genasci Smith, hard feelings don’t last past the dock — and often don’t form in the first place. Genasci Smith said seat selection builds a deeper and stronger program. The team remains close regardless of the result of any individual race. Genasci Smith experienced a recent seat loss. “[My opponent is] still one of my best friends,” Genasci Smith said. “This means that I need to work harder. We have a very healthy dynamic on the team that fosters growth, development and improvement.”