The Dartmouth Sports Weekly 4/17/17

04.17.17

Senior Spring: men’s swimmer Joby Bernstein ’17 p. 8 Just a Bit Outside with Sam Stockton ’19 p. 6 One-on-one with women’s lacrosse player Courtney Weisse ’17 p. 7

On the Mound and In the Circle

A look at the impact pitching has made for the softball and baseball teams p. 4-5

By Sabena Allen and Hollye Swinehart

The Weekend Roundup p. 2-3 ISHAAN JAJODIA/THE DARTMOUTH

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

SW 2

The weekend Roundup

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

Track & Field

SOFTball

Compiled by NATHAN ALBRINCK, MARK CUI, JONATHAN KATZMAN, EVAN MORGAN AND CHRIS SHIM

GOLF

HOLLYE SWINEHART/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Both track and field teams won their meets this past weekend, each scoring over 200 points.

ISHAAN JAJODIA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

The Big Green softball team racked up four wins this weekend.

The softball team played four games against Brown University over the weekend, sweeping all four.

On Saturday, the softball team won 5-1 in the first game and 4-3 in the second game.

In the first game, Breanna Ethridge ’18 pitched a complete game, giving up just one run on three hits through seven innings and recording eight strikeouts.

The Big Green broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth with four runs. In game two, Maddie Damore ’17 hit a walk-off two-run blast for her

team-leading fifth homer of the season. The Bears had led 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh.

On Sunday, the Big Green won 13-5 in five innings, highlighted by a six-run second inning and a five-run fourth inning. Ethridge again pitched a complete game, giving up five runs on five hits, while Morgan Martinelli ’19 contributed four RBIs. Martinelli was again the star in the second game, hitting two home runs and driving in six to lead Dartmouth to a 7-5 victory.

Ray Lu ’18 Editor-in-Chief

Philip Rasansky ’18 Publisher

Kourtney Kawano ’18 Executive Editor

On Friday, the men’s track and field team hosted the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, the University of Vermont and Hartford University at Memorial Field, claiming first overall with 205 points. In the hammer throw, Colin Minor ’18 and Timothy Brennan ’17 finished in first and second with scores of 19901 feet/60.68 meters and 193-04 ft/58.92m, respectively. The meet featured several other first-place finishes from Big Green athletes.

Corey Muggler ’17 took first in the long jump with a finish of 23-04.50 ft/7.12m. Lucas Ribeiro ’19 secured the win in the discus with a throw of 169-10 ft/51.78m, Max Cosculluela ’17 won the pole vault with a leap of 15-09.00 ft/4.80m, Hendric Tronsson ’20 took first in the triple jump on his third attempt of 45-08.00 ft/13.92m and Ethan Ruh ’20 led the other competitors in the shot put with an impressive 50-09.25 ft/15.47m throw. Dartmouth also benefitted from one-two finishes from Parker

Johnson ’19 (14.62s) and Alex Frye ’17 (14.78s) in the 110-meter hurdles, Amos Cariati ’18 (48.98s) and Phil Gomez ’17 (49.14s) in the 400-meter dash and Michael Thurston ’20 (1:53.28) and Reed Horton ’19 (1:54.83) in the 800-meter run.

The women’s team hosted the same three visiting teams on Friday, taking first overall with 223.5 points. In total, 11 individual members won events to secure the dominating total number of points. Julia Stevenson ’20 won the 3000-meter steeplechase, Amelia Ali ’19 the hammer throw, Meg Tuthill ’20 the 1500-meter run, Abby Feeney ’17 the 100-meter hurdles, Cha’Mia Rothwell ’20 the 100-meter dash, Aliyah Gallup ’17 in the 800-meter run, Nicole Deblasio ’19 in the 200-meter dash, Maria Garman ’19 in the high jump, Katy Sprout ’17 in the 400-meter hurdles, Bridget Douglas ’18 in the javelin and Angela Ortlieb ’19 in the 5000-meter run.

WOMEN’S RUGBY Last week Sunday, the women’s rugby team traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to compete in a 7’s tournament hosted by Brown University. At the tournament, Danielle Ramsay ’19, Frankie Sands ’20, Kat Ramage ’19 and Morgan McGonagle ’18 received National Intercollegiate Rugby Association honors, with Ramsay, Sands and Ramage being named to the All-American team and

McGonagle receiving honorable mention.

This past Saturday, the team traveled to Brunswick, Maine for a development match against Bowdoin College, losing 39-5. The Polar Bears opened the game with possession and scored the first try and conversion kick.

The team will host and compete in the Ivy 7’s Championship this upcoming Sunday at Brophy Field.

04.17.17 Vol. CLXXIV No. 61

Sports Editors

Nathan Albrinck ’20

Associate Sports Editor Eliza McDonough ’18 Hollye Swinehart ’18 Tiffany Zhai ’18 Photography Editors Jaclyn Eagle ’19 Templating Editor

The Big Green sent a contingent to compete at the Owen/Mosbacher/Knapp Trophies at Yale University, where the 18 competing teams struggled with a lack of wind on the first day of competition, managing only four races apiece in the A and B divisions. Dartmouth was tied for tenth when Saturday’s racing concluded.

The regatta picked up speed on Sunday with 18 additional races. Propelled by eight top-five finishes on the final day, the Big

Green finished the regatta in eighth, behind Harvard University, Brown University and two Yale teams.

Dartmouth also took 13th in the Thompson Trophy, hosted by Connecticut College. The 18-team field sailed 39 races in a steady west-southwest breeze.

Dartmouth notched nine top-five finishes across the A, B and C divisions but finished in the bottom five in 15 races. Yale won the trophy.

Sailing

Evan Morgan ’19 Chris Shim ’18

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

BASEball

HOLLYE SWINEHART/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The baseball team won three of its four games this weekend, losing the final game in extra innings.

The baseball team played two days of doubleheaders against Brown University, taking three of the four games.

On Saturday, the team dominated both games against Brown with final scores of 5-1 and 7-1. In game one, Matt Feinstein ’19 led the team to drive in three runs, and Michael Danielak ’16 pitched a complete game that featured four strikeouts. The Big Green scored four runs in the second inning and played solid defense to secure the victory. In the second game, the Big Green faced an early scare after the Bears loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batsman in the first. However, the team managed to escape the first inning having only given up one run. From there, the Big Green

rallied to score five by the end of the third inning and never looked back.

On Sunday, the team won the first game 3-1 off of a two-run home run from Michael Ketchmark ’17 in the top of the fourth. Beau Sulser ’16 pitched a complete game, conceding one run off of five hits with eight strikeouts. The Big Green lost the second game of the doubleheader, 9-8, in extra innings. Brown got off to a strong start with a four-run first inning, but Dartmouth evened the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth. After both teams traded three runs in the ninth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run from Mike Brown ’19, Brown’s Josh Huntley hit an RBI single up the middle to give the Bears the go-ahead run.

Rowing The No. 8 men’s heavyweight rowing team defeated No. 6 Boston University for the first time in 13 years for the Bill Cup on the Charles River on Saturday morning. The Big Green’s first varsity boat edged the Terriers’ by half a second, crossing the line with a time of 5:57.2 to BU’s 5:57.7, with Rutgers University finishing third in 6:28.4. Dartmouth was second in the second, third and fourth varsity races, finishing less than five seconds behind BU in all three races.

The No. 10 men’s lightweight rowing also raced on the Charles on Saturday for the Biglin Bowl against No. 3 Harvard University and the No. 12 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In the first varsity race, the Big Green finished second in 6:39.9 to Harvard’s 6:29.9, while MIT finished third in 6:45.2. In the second varsity race, Dartmouth edged MIT for second place,

6:50.5 to 6:50.7. Harvard’s second varsity boat posted the fastest time of the day with 6:27.3.

Dartmouth also finished second in 6:39.7 in the third varsity race and third in the fourth varsity race in 6:56.9.

Women’s rowing raced No. 15 Radcliffe, Harvard’s women’s rowing team, and No. 17 Syracuse University at the O’Leary Cup in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Big Green finished third in the first varsity eights race in 6:41.7, with Syracuse winning in 6:23.9 and Harvard-Radcliffe in second in 6:28.9.

Dartmouth also raced in the second and third varsity eight races, finishing third in both. In the varsity fours, Dartmouth finished in 7:46.2 behind the Orange (7:32.7) and HarvardRadcliffe (7:34.5). The Big Green was also third in the second and third varsity fours.

SW 3

Lacrosse The men’s lacrosse team allowed a 5-3 halftime lead over No. 13 Princeton University slip away as the visiting Tigers used a strong second half to come away with a 16-6 victory.

The Big Green, coming off just its second win of the season over the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, played perhaps its best half of the season but fell to 2-9 overall and 0-4 in Ivy League play.

Jack Forrest ’20 scored his first collegiate goal at the 8:34 mark of the first quarter to open the scoring for Dartmouth. Tallies from Richie Loftus ’18, Ben Martin ’20 and a pair from Jack Korzelius ’18 gave Dartmouth a 5-3 lead heading into the half, but the Big Green could only put one more past Princeton goalie Tyler Blaisdell in the second half. Blaisdell made eight saves in the contest before Jon Levine was given the final 3:42 of the fourth quarter. Griffin Miller ’19 got the start in net for Dartmouth and made two saves before being lifted for George Christopher ’20, who had 13 saves in 48 minutes of action. Head coach Brendan Callahan turned to Miller again for the final six minutes of play, in which the sophomore registered two more saves.

The Big Green will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to take on the University of Pennsylvania next

Saturday at 1 p.m.

The women’s lacrosse team proved unable to capitalize on a record-setting performance by Kathryn Giroux ’19, succumbing to No. 8 Cornell University 14-12 on Saturday at Scully-Fahey Field. Giroux set the Dartmouth record for draw controls in a single game with 13, eclipsing her previous record of 12 set in the Big Green’s victory at Siena College earlier this season. However, Giroux’s performance could not prevent the Big Red offense from mounting a big second half run to drop the Big Green to 5-7 overall and 0-5 in Ivy League play.

Courtney Weisse ’17 led Dartmouth’s offensive attack, matching her career high of five goals in a game. Kellen D’Alleva ’19, Cara DePippo ’18, Elizabeth Mastrio ’19, Katie Bourque ’20 and Ellie Carson ’20 all joined Weisse on the scoresheet in an effort that came up just short.

In net, Kiera Vrindten ’20 continued her stellar play, stopping 14 shots. The Big Green also led the Big Red in ground balls 18-15 but was outshot 37-26.

Dartmouth will host the State University of New York, Albany for a midweek tilt before heading to Yale University to take on the Bulldogs on Saturday.

Tennis

ISHAAN JAJODIA/THE DARTMOUTH

The men’s tennis team lost to Cornell University but defeated Hoftstra University.

On Saturday, the men’s tennis team fell to No. 25 Cornell University at home 4-2. Dartmouth secured the doubles point with riveting 7-6 victories in both the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles’ positions, but was unable to match the same level of play in singles. Only Charlie Broom ’20 emerged with a victory, defeating Cornell’s Sinclair 6-3, 6-4. The team had a pair of games on Sunday, facing No. 25 Columbia University at 1 p.m. and Hofstra University at 5 p.m. Against the Lions, George Wall ’17 and David Horneffer ’20 lost the deciding doubles match after pushing their Columbia opponents.

Despite a victory from Wall at No. 4 singles, losses from Broom, Fliegner and Horneffer gave the match to the Lions.

Dartmouth rebounded by dismantling Hofstra a few hours later. After taking the doubles point, victories from Roko Glasnovic ’19, Paul Midgley ’18 and

Ciro Riccardi ’18 clinched the win for Dartmouth 4-0.

On Friday, the women’s tennis team pulled out a 4-3 victory over Cornell at the Reis Tennis Center. Facing a 3-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point and the No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches, the Big Green rallied for a dramatic comeback. Taylor Ng ’17, Jacqueline Crawford ’17 and Kristina Mathis ’18 won their matches to tie it up at 3-3. In the deciding match, Allison McCann ’20, unfazed by the immense pressure, defeated Cornell’s Madison Stevens despite dropping the first set.

On Saturday, the team defeated Columbia 5-2 at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center in its final road match of the regular season. Dartmouth lost the doubles point, but Racquel Lyn ’20, Crawford, Mathis, McCann and Ng all won their singles matches to give the Big Green the victory.

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

SW 4

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

On the Mound a

A look at how the pitching squads on the softball a

year’s regular-

By Sabena Allen an

Softball

IVY OVERALL

9-3 10-21-1

ISHAAN JAJODIA/THE DARTMOUTH

This season, Breanna Ethridge ’18 has been the softball team’s main pitching force, appearing in 24 games and 120.2 innings, the most in the Ivy League.

In some sports, roster size matters. The men’s heavyweight rowing team has a roster of 45. The football team numbers more than 100 players. In softball, however, Dartmouth has been playing — and winning — with a stable of just three pitchers. Breanna Ethridge ’18, the only returning pitcher on the squad, is joined in the circle by two freshmen, Morgan Ebow ’20 and Tessa Grossman ’20.

Small rotations are the norm in softball.

Dartmouth had four pitchers on its roster in 2015, a number that dipped to three last season. With just a trio of pitchers again this season, Dartmouth has the smallest staff in the Ancient Eight.

But with a weapon like Ethridge, size doesn’t matter. Ethridge has appeared in 24 games and pitched 120.2 innings this season, the most in the conference and 12 more frames than second-place, Columbia University’s Madison Canby. The righthander ranks seventh in the Ivy League in ERA and is tied for second in opposing batting average.

Ebow has been the team’s other reliable

option in the circle, starting 11 of the 12 power pitching staff, but rather it is to throw games Ethridge has not started and appearing strikes and keep the ball inside the park to let in four more. Her first college appearance our defense work behind us,” Ethridge said. came in the second game of the season “One idea [softball head coach Shannon Doepking] preaches to the against the then-No. is that one good 16 University of “As pitchers, our job pitchers pitch can get you out of Louisiana, Lafayette, one of two nationally this year isn’t to be a anything. Work one pitch ranked teams the Big power pitching staff, at a time, and that one pitch can be the one to get you Green has faced this but rather it is to throw out of an inning or intense season.

“It was a little strikes and keep the situation.”

Because the underhand stressful,” Ebow ball inside the park to style of softball pitching has said. “There were definitely nerves let our defense work a lower impact on the arm than an overhand motion, coming in, especially behind us.” the pitching staff is able to pitching my first game throw almost every day against a top 20 team. of the week — anywhere But the team and the -BREANNA ETHRIDGE ’18 coaches have helped from 100 to 300 pitches, according to Ethridge. me settle down a lot.”

Given that there are so few According to Ethridge, a small pitching staff doesn’t pitchers, the staff works to stay healthy and fit. Ethridge, Ebow and Grossman do daily change the team’s approach to the game.

“As pitchers, our job this year isn’t to be a band work and throw long toss to keep their

arms loose.

“Even though our arms have a lot more leeway, [they] still feel the stress of pitching as much as we do,” Ethridge said.

With two primary pitchers in tow, Dartmouth could turn to Ethridge or Ebow in any given game, so both stay warm and ready to pitch even when not in the circle.

“It’s really encouraged us to save our arms and be efficient with our pitch counts,” Ebow said. “Keeping the pressure off our arms and getting quick outs is definitely huge this year.”

The team came out of spring break with a 1-18-1 record but has come out strong in Ivy play. With more than half the Ivy League season in the books, the Big Green is 9-3.

“We started off a little slow, but it provided us many opportunities to learn,” Ethridge said. “Without some of the mistakes we made early in the season, it wouldn’t have prepared us for the moments to come when the games are more important. Ivy League play is much more important than any preseason game, and each day is a grind preparing for the games to come.

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

SW 5

nd In the Circle

and baseball teams have made a difference in this

-season games.

nd Hollye Swinehart

Baseball

IVY OVERALL

8-4 18-12

HOLLYE SWINEHART/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Michael Danielak ’16 is one of the starting pitchers on the baseball team and currently boasts a 2.28 earned run average through seven starts this season.

Finishing just short of the Ivy League Championship game last season, the baseball team is hungry for redemption.

So far, the Big Green is only two games behind current Red Rolfe Division leader, Yale University, making a return to the Ivy League Championship series a possibility.

The root of this optimism is a seasoned pitching staff. Unlike the softball team, the baseball team has a large arsenal of pitchers from which to choose in various game situations. This cohort of starters, relievers and closers has exhibited both confidence and control on the mound throughout the season. Starter Michael Danielak ’16 credits this to a simple approach.

“One pitch at a time, every time,” Danielak said.

Boasting a 2.28 earned run average through seven starts, Danielak has been one of the team’s workhorse starting pitchers.

However, he has focused on each at-bat in the 47.1 innings he has pitched this season. “[My] pitching philosophy is mostly

just attack with the fastball, getting ahead in counts,” Danielak said. “When you’re ahead in counts, the numbers statistically are just enormously in favor of the pitcher.”

The starters, however, are only one part of the equation. Marc Bachman ’18 is one of three left-handed pitchers on the roster and has been pitching primarily out of the bullpen. However, starting and relief pitching require different mindsets.

“In high school, I was always a starting pitcher,” Bachman said. “[Relief pitching is about] coming in usually with runners on base, tight situations.”

Bachman has appeared in 16 of the team’s 30 games, the most appearances by any Dartmouth pitcher. However, he has only pitched 11.2 innings on the season, largely in part because he comes in during strategic situations to face left-handed batters.

“Having multiple left-handed guys can force the other team to a strategy where they might have to hit a right handed hitter,” Bachman said.

As a reliever, the approach of focusing on each pitch individually becomes more important.

“Being able to get guys out from the first pitch, better command of the fastball and developing breaking pitches better” are essential for a relief pitcher, Bachman said.

With four regular starting pitchers on Dartmouth’s roster, each starter has ample time to recover and make plays.

But unlike starting pitchers, relievers are not pitching on a set rotation. They pitch in more games and must be prepared to pitch at any point during the game, which makes recovery more challenging. “[On] days you’re not playing, it is usually pure recovery or getting ready to go for the next day,” Bachman said.

Pitching alone, however, cannot win championships. Currently, Beau Sulser ’16 leads the Ivy League in ERA, and Danielak is third in strikeouts, but no one from Dartmouth is in the top five of the conference for batting average, runs batted

in and home runs.

“This year is definitely a different year different team,” said Chris Burkholder ’17, who leads the team with seven saves this season. “Run support this year has been unlike any other in my four years.”

Dartmouth has already exceeded six runs in 15 games this season, more than it did in the any of the last three seasons.

“We have had solid starts from our guys all year and from the bullpen,” Bachman said. “It’s allowed us in situations to be successful. It’s pretty easy with the defense we have behind us.”

There is no question Dartmouth’s bullpen is keeping games competitive and holding opponents at bay. And with continued run support and reliable defense, finishing this season with the Ivy League Championship may be a real possibility.

After hosting Boston College this Tuesday, the team will play a four-game series against Yale, who finished this past weekend 3-1 against Harvard University, on Saturday and Sunday.

SW 6

Just a Bit Outside with Sam Stockton ’19 On Bryce Harper, Baseball’s Most Polarizing Superstar By now, the baseball and sporting worlds are both familiar with Br yce Har per. He was introduced to the world as a 16-year-old high school student anointed by Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci as “baseball’s LeBron.” He debuted in the majors in 2012 at just 19 years old. The chosen one had arrived. Now 24, Harper has piled up the accolades: National League Rookie of the Year, an NL MVP award, a Silver Slugger and four trips to the All-Star Game. In 2015, Harper became what he’d always been advertised as, a true superstar.

That was his MVP season, but it came during an underachieving 83-79 season for his Washington Nationals.

In the offseason, the Nats picked up second baseman Daniel Murphy from their division rival, the New York Mets, and the two sluggers appeared poised to make up the heart of a formidable Nationals lineup. Harper showed his characteristic confidence and swagger when he addressed the media on Opening Day, wearing a hat that read “Make Baseball Fun Again.” The Nats won 95 games in 2016, but after a hot start, Harper could not keep up his MVP form. His .243 batting average, .373 on-base percentage and .441 slugging percentage were significant regressions from his MVP campaign. His home run total fell from 42 to 24.

It has become impossible not to talk about Harper’s impending free agency following the 2018 season. Speculation is rampant that Harper will leave Washington and sign with his boyhood team.

What team did a kid from Las Vegas, Nevada grow up rooting for, you ask? The New York Yankees. Even with his drop in numbers last season, Har per will more than likely command the largest contract in baseball’s history, and the Yankees would be an obvious choice to give it to him. At this point, Harper to the Bronx Bombers may be the most “called” event in sports history. If we do end up seeing him donning

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

Yankee pinstripes at a winter press perhaps that is why he struggled conference in New York, everyone to get back on track once he began from ESPN talking heads to the slumping in 2016. Harper’s at-bats guy at the end of the bar will be are must-watch events regardless quick to point out that he saw it of where the ball goes. Seeing the coming. torque he generates swinging a bat In a way, all of this adds up to is remarkable. the perfect storm for us to loathe Like Ted Williams, he has a slight H a r p e r. H i s uppercut, and while biography seems the ball may not be to have every “While [Bryce] necessary for his ingredient that Harper throws swing to entertain, stokes hatred in it sure doesn’t hurt.

Joe Sports Fan. righty, he hits Between his raw First, there’s the left-handed, and strength, violent LeBron James swing and that c o m p a r i s o n . his stroke cuts uppercut, Harper A ny k i n d o f through the strike can put any pitch he connection to sees into the upper James does not zone as fiercely deck. play well with as any in the In addition to American sports the swing, the way league. The swing Harper plays the audiences, and Harper’s is no is the perfect game is special. exception. He He is the closest combination has always been t h i n g t o Pe t e one to speak his of violent and Rose we’ve seen mind, and the in baseball since compact — “make baseball the controversial f u n a g a i n ” short to the ball hit king retired campaign was i n 1 9 8 6 . Ro s e but immensely just one example is known to the of his ability to powerful.” latest generation attract attention of baseball fans beyond the for the controversy d i a m o n d . s u r ro u n d i n g h i s Naturally, these potential induction incidents have to the Hall of encouraged Fam e . To thos e national Harper who watched Rose hatred. Many though, his legacy is baseball fans as “Charlie Hustle,” admire mild-mannered Mike a player who played the game hard Trout, who to them is an old-school no matter what. Fans who watched ballplayer who worked his way to the 1970 All-Star Game will never greatness. To those fans, Harper forget Rose running over Ray Fosse is just a flashy underachiever. The to score the game’s winning run. prospect of abandoning his team Harper plays with that same through free agency and signing fire. He flies around the bases with baseball’s ultimate bad guys — if there’s an extra base to be has done little to quell the hate taken, Harper will take it. He runs storm directed at the one-time hard. He never shows fear on the prodigy, who I remind you is just diamond despite frequently being 24 years old. the least senior player on it. No I say all this not to demonize matter the team they root for, Major Har per but to League Baseball point out the fans have to love p r e v a i l i n g “While I don’t this relentless n a r r a t i v e s pretend to know intensity on the surrounding the diamond. young outfielder. if [Bryce] Harper While I don’t These narratives, will be able to pretend to know however, miss the if Harper will be two aspects that play 162 games of able to play 162 s h o u l d e n d e a r great baseball this games of great Harper to all baseball this season, he is off to season, he is off baseball fans.

T h e f i r s t i s a strong start.” to a strong start. his swing. While Harper is an easy Har per throws player to hate, but r i g h t y, h e h i t s he brings plenty to left-handed, and the table baseball his stroke cuts fans should love. through the strike I urge you, for zone as fiercely as any in the every time you criticize him for league. The swing is the perfect his arrogance, praise him for his combination of violent and hustle. When he strikes out at a compact — short to the ball but big moment, admire the powerful immensely powerful. That swing stroke he used to try to make has many moving parts, and something happen.

IVY LEAGUE LEADERS BASEBALL: EARNED RUN AVERAGE Name (School)

ERA

1. Beau Sulser (Dartmouth)

1.45

2. Ben Gross (Princeton)

1.46

3. Jake Cousins (Penn)

2.01

4. Michael Danielak (Dartmouth)

2.28

5. Paul Balestrieri (Cornell)

2.29

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

ONE ON ONE

with Courtney Weisse ’17

By SAMANTHA HUSSEY The Dartmouth Staff

Courtney Weisse ’17, an attacker on the women’s lacrosse team, leads the Big Green with 34 goals and 38 points this season. Weisse has scored at least one goal in every game this season and has scored five goals on three occasions, most recently on Saturday versus Cornell University.

WhydidyouchooseDartmouth?

CW: When I was doing the recruiting circuit for lacrosse, I went to a lot of different schools. I wasn’t really thinking necessarily about Dartmouth originally, but [former head coach] Amy Patton recruited me here. I came up for camp, the fall Columbus Day camp, my junior year of high school, and I fell in love with the school. I fell in love with the team specifically — it had such a different feel. It’s funny I was driving home, and I said to my parents, “This is it, this is the school for me.” It really just felt right. I think it had a lot to do with [Dartmouth’s] traditions and the sense of community that drew me in.

What was the transition to

collegiate lacrosse like, and how is it different from your high school experience?

CW: The game was so much faster. The transition game, the speed of the play, the passing — everything was faster, but I felt pretty good strength-wise. I lifted in high school so I thought coming in that was something that really helped.

There were people who were a lot faster and a lot stronger, but I felt like I was definitely comparable with strength.

Also, the time commitment, but that was kind of a given. I think it really was just the speed of the game, everything was faster. Your decision making had to be very quick and calculated so I would say the speed was the biggest change.

What can you tell us about your pre-game rituals?

CW: When I started the recruiting circuit, I don’t know why, but I started eating Chinese food the night before games. It sounds really weird, but it just became a superstitious kind of thing. Coming in, I kept it my freshman year, but it was kind of hard for weight checks so my dad would bring me like a dumpling or something silly like that. I have actually broken that ritual and developed new rituals. That

SW 7

was something that worked in high school. It’s just too hard to do here, so I developed other rituals — like putting on my shoes in a certain order or the night before doing a full body roll-out stretch.

What has it been like filling the shoes of Jaclyn Leto ’16, who led Dartmouth in scoring last year, as team leader? Has that affected your performance in anyway?

CW: We miss Jaclyn so much because she was such an amazing player, but I’ve taken on a bit of a different role this year. I’ve been playing on the inside of the offense, so I’ve been taking on this role of specifically being a cutter and a finisher in that sense. I’m not necessarily a dodger but more on the inside, and that’s more of a different role that I’ve taken on, whereas in previous years I played more behind the cage and [did] a lot of assisting so definitely a different role that I’ve been put into, but head coach Danielle Spencer saw something in me to put me on the inside, and I really like it. It allows me to maneuver my body really well and work based on what the defense gives me. It has been exciting; I think it is so good to not think about it as that big of a change, just a positional change.

Tell us about your experience playing under Spencer. How is it different from previous years?

CW: I think Danielle is an amazing

COURTESY OF COURTNEY WEISSE

Courtney Weisse ’17 is leading the Big Green in goals and points this season.

coach, and she’s done a really great job in her first year here. It’s not necessarily different from years past — it’s just as intense and demanding as any year. I think that it’s been a different experience, and we’re just going with it and taking advantage of every opportunity we are given to play this sport.

How has Spencer’s coaching style and philosophy affected you and your playing?

CW: She definitely loves to play fast and really attack the defense and not really wait to create offense for each other. It’s been really fun to play under her philosophy where we push the boundaries and see what we are capable of doing. She really likes to see what people’s strengths are, sometimes in ways we never thought of before. She likes to see where she can best fit people. It’s like a giant puzzle so she is trying to see what pieces she can play to these people’s strengths.

What has your experience been like balancing lacrosse, school and personal lives, especially when you’re traveling so much?

CW: I think at this point, I feel like I have it down. It’s definitely hard missing school, but we are always on top of it with our professors. It requires a lot of time management and work outside of the classroom to make sure we aren’t slacking in that because obviously it is our first priority. In my personal life, I always plan dinners because that is usually a time I can meet up with friends. The team has definitely been playing a ton so taking care of our bodies, putting our school and athletics first in that sense — making sure we are sleeping enough or eating well and recovering — that’s been the hardest part.

What can you say about the team’s recent performance?

What can we expect going

forward?

CW: I think we learned, especially from this past Wednesday, that we can really play with anyone, and it gave us a little bit of confidence going into it. I think we are very well prepared. It just comes down to having confidence and really attacking it. We are the underdogs right now, but I think we will take a lot of people by surprise because we are a very talented team. We just need to put all of the pieces together and play the full 60 minutes.

Coming to the end of your senior year and collegiate l a c ro s s e c a re e r, w h a t achievement from time here at Dartmouth are you particularly proud of ?

CW: I am really so proud of being on this lacrosse team and learning so many different skills and having so many different experiences. When you’re on a team with 30 girls, you learn how to manage things very well, and it pushes you very far.

It definitely hasn’t been an easy year, in the sense of switching up coaching staff, but that has taught me so much.

Do you have any last words or advice to give from your experience on the lacrosse team?

CW: I think it’s always remembering why you were recruited or why you are at Dartmouth. Yes, we are here for academics first and foremost, but most of us were recruited so going back to that and remembering how amazing of an opportunity this is and to take advantage of everything you can on the field, in the classroom, and within the community at Dartmouth — there really is so much. Time flies by so don’t get too consumed by a term.

Really enjoy it because before you know it, it’s gone.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

PAGE 8

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

SPORTS

Senior Spring: Joby Bernstein ’17 rises from David to Goliath

By JONATHAN KATZMAN

said. “We always spend so much time together, whether it is at 5 a.m. for lift or morning swim, trying to Everybody loves an underdog. stay awake in class together before Whether it’s Rudy Ruettiger or the heading back to the pool and even Hickory Huskers, there’s nothing other Dartmouth activities. Having like watching an athlete or a team a team there for me during my rise above expectations to achieve entire career was a great part of something great. We can add the my experience.”

So how did Bernstein go from Dartmouth men’s swimming team’s co-captain Joby Bernstein ’17 to the an unknown walk-on with a selflist — quite an accomplishment for professed fear of drowning to a a kid who was afraid to enter water standout in the pool? Go back to the for two years after his mother tried beginning of Bernstein’s swimming to jump-start his swimming career. career — his first swim meet at age He didn’t come to Dartmouth eight — and you’ll understand just to swim. Bernstein came for the how far he had to go.

“The first time I dived in, my academics. In high school, he prioritized studying over swimming goggles fell off, and I began to and wasn’t fast enough to get looks swallow water as I clung to the lane from Division I schools. It wasn’t barrier,” Bernstein said. “Before until his final high school meet that my second race, I had to change Bernstein decided he would try to suits because I was wearing a suit swim at Dartmouth, where he had with the wrong team’s logo. The already been accepted, as a walk- only alternate suit available were on — unknown to the coaching normal swim trunks. They fell straight off right after I jumped staff.

“I came to Dartmouth for in.”

Ber nstein has g rown into academic reasons and because I loved Hanover and wanted to be swimming during his four years in the outdoors,” Bernstein said. “I at Dartmouth. While he did continued to swim in the offseason not consider himself a distance and showed up at Dartmouth swimmer before college, Bernstein has embraced the unaware that I pain and grind was supposed “When you swim, of long distance to email the races that have coaches to tell everything is up to guided his them I wanted you to do your best, transfor mation to walk on. in the pool At the fir st and you know it is and perhaps p r a c t i c e , going to be painful... his success in the women’s If you do decide to the classroom. swimming Bernstein credits team’s captain keep going and keep Dartmouth’s came up to pushing, you teach training regimen me and told with helping him me it was not yourself more about cut 25 seconds off time for club your own character of his 500-yard swim.” freestyle time in I t w a s a and personality than his first collegiate ro u g h s t a r t anything else can.” meet at Princeton to Bernstein’s University. collegiate “The idea of s w i m m i n g -JOBY BERNSTEIN ’17 distance events is c a r e e r. B u t something that I after a month of rigorous preseason workouts, hold true to myself,” said Bernstein, during which Bernstein did not who swam the 500-yard freestyle, even know where the varsity 1000-yard freestyle and 1650-yard swimming locker room was located freestyle at this year’s Ivy League and remained secluded from team Championships.

His patience and endurance have activities outside the pool, he persevered and earned a spot on paid off, earning him Academic Allthe team — a team that has meant Ivy honors and the Dartmouth’s John C. Glover Swimming Trophy, the world to him.

“Despite the awkward start, I fell awarded to the team’s most in love with the team,” Bernstein inspirational member, for his efforts The Dartmouth Staff

COURTESY OF JOBY BERNSTEIN

After walking onto the men’s swimming team, Joby Bernstein ’17 became co-captain and an Academic All-Ivy selection this year.

On the team Team co-captain Lutkus Award (2016 and 2017) John C. Glover Swimming Trophy

On campus Economics major and public policy/environmental studies double minor Editor-in-chief of Dartmouth Business Journal

In the pool 10th in program history in 500-yd free Swam 500-yd free, 1000-yd free, and 1650-yd free at 2017 Ivy League Championships

Co-president of Dartmouth Investment and Philanthropy Project

this past season. Bernstein was also bestowed the Lutkus Award for the second consecutive year as the Dartmouth swimmer or diver who has been an outstanding and consistent performer during the season while maintaining a high academic standing.

Spending time and effort in the pool has not kept Bernstein from being a leader inside and outside the classroom. An economics major with a double minor in public policy and environmental studies, Bernstein maintains a 3.94 GPA,

serves as editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth Business Journal, leads the Dartmouth Investment and Philanthropy Club and is actively involved in the Dartmouth Outing Club. A glimpse of Bernstein’s activities and accomplishments makes you wonder how he had enough time for four years of distance swimming.

But this is the same studentathlete who once despised water, then underwent the trials of distance swimming and emerged a college swimmer who could hold

his own. Bernstein believes if he can handle the pain of distance swimming, he can conquer exams and job interviews with ease.

“When you swim, everything is up to you to do your best, and you know it is going to be painful,” he said. “You are often in pain during races, you can’t breathe and you question if you can keep going. If you do decide to keep going and keep pushing, you teach yourself more about your own character and personality than anything else can.”