Sports Weekly 04/18/2016

04.18.16

Breaking down Paul Cormier’s departure from Dartmouth men’s basketball

THE NUMBERS GAME: VIKRAM BODAS ’18 p.7

FENCING COMPETES AT NATIONALS p.8

JUST A BIT OUTSIDE: SAM STOCKTON ’19 p.6 SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

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The Roundup Compiled by James Handal and Evan Morgan

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

Moriah Morton ’17 and Bridget Douglas ’18 were the top two performers in the javelin throw and Melissa Dunham ’17 won the discus. Allison Frantz ’18 won the long jump, Molly Shapiro ’16 prevailed in the triple jump and Stephanie Brown ’16 was runner-up in the pole vault.

On the track, Dartmouth won all but three events, placing second in the 5000-meter, third in the 1500 and not competing in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Victories came in sprints, middle distance, hurdles and relays. Kaitlin Whitehorn ’16 won the 100 dash and Jennifer Meech ’16 took the crown in the 400. Hurdlers Abby Feeney ’17 and Marissa Evans ’18 won the 100-meter and 400 events, respectively.

Dartmouth’s Aliyah Gallup ’17, Abby Livingston ’18 and Meghan Grela ’17 finished 1-2-3 in the 800. The 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads each enjoyed victories on Saturday. Finally, Sara Kikut ’16 won the 200, in which Dartmouth runners took eight of the top ten spots.

Men’s Rugby

SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Both men’s and women’s track and field took first place this weekend.

Men’s Track and Field Men’s track and field racked up 211.5 points on Saturday, good for first place, prevailing at home in the Dartmouth Outdoor Classic. In the event’s first rendition in three years, the men beat the University of Hartford, the University of Vermont, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Boston University.

Dartmouth throwers, consistently strong this season, set the tone early in the meet. Lucas Ribeiro ’19, Colin Minor ’18 and Ben Colello ’18 finished 1-2-3 in the discus, and Ribeiro followed up with another victory in the shot put. Minor out-threw the field in the hammer throw, while Jacob Shippee ’16 took second in the javelin. Big Green jumpers also had good days Saturday, with Justin Donawa ’19 winning the triple jump and Corey Muggler ’17 prevailing in the long jump. Big Green athletes also finished 2-3-4 in the pole vault and 2-4 in the high jump.

On the track, Dartmouth secured four second-place finishes and a trio of wins. The 4x100 relay team won as the only squad competing, while the 4x400 team took second. Other second-place finishers were Reed Horton ’19 in the 800-meters, Victor Williams ’16 in the 100 dash and Zachary Plante ’18 in the 400. Dartmouth also went 1-23-4 in both hurdle events, with Parker Johnson ’19 winning the 110-meter hurdles and Alec Eschholz ’19 taking first in the 400.

Women’s Track and Field Women’s track and field scored 224 points to win Saturday’s home meet handily, beating the University of Hartford, the University of Vermont, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Boston University.

The Big Green opened the meet strong on the field. Dartmouth throwers finished 1-2-3-4 in the hammer throw with Amelia Ali ’19 in first place.

Rebecca Asoulin ’17 Editor-in-Chief

04.18.16 VOL. CLXXIII No. 62

Rachel DeChiara ’17 Publisher

Annie Ma ’17 Executive Editor

Gayne Kalustian ’17 Ray Lu ’18 Sports Editors

Annie Duncan ’17 Kate Herrington ’17 Photography Editors

After last week’s surprise win against Pennsylvania State University, the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club played host this weekend to Brigham Young University, the No. 1 team in the nation. As expected, the Big Green was walloped, and the Cougars’ 75-15 victory knocked Dartmouth out of the Varsity Cup. BYU opened the match with 34 unanswered points. Dartmouth managed a try of its own before the half on an interception by Will Konstant ’16, and Curtis Oberg ’16 added the conversion to bring the score to 34-7 at halftime. Oberg opened the second half with another conversion, this one a 22-meter kick that brought the deficit to 34-10. The game was all Cougars from that point on, as BYU racked up tries and conversions, building their unassailable lead to 75-10. John Abraham ’16 pounced on his own kick for a late try, but BYU prevailed by a 60-point margin at Brophy Field.

Women’s Rugby Women’s rugby traveled to West Chester, Pennsylvania on Saturday to play in West Chester University’s Varsity Sevens tournament. For the Big Green, this tournament was a prelude to the Ivy Sevens Championship, which will be held next Saturday at Princeton University.

Dartmouth opened tournament play against American International College. Tries by captain Yejadai Dunn ’16 put the women up 14-12 at the half, but AIC came back in the second half to win 24-19. The Big Green opened strong against the next opponent, Kutztown University.

Dunn and Camille Johnson ’19 had two tries apiece in the first half, and Dartmouth added tries from Ashley Zepeda ’18, Morgan McGonagle ’18 and Kat Ramage ’19 for a 41-12 drubbing. The Big Green then fell to

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Princeton 22-10. In the plate semifinal, tries from Dunn, Ramage, Zepeda, Alex Stendahl ’19 and Tatjana Toeldte ’16 lifted Dartmouth over Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania 30-7. The day concluded with the plate final, which saw Dartmouth prevail again over Kutztown 22-7 to win the plate.

Men’s Tennis After dropping its first conference match of the season, the No. 36 men’s tennis team is now 5-1 in Ivy play with Friday’s 6-1 victory against unranked Brown University and Sunday’s 4-1 win against Yale University. The match against Brown was Dartmouth’s last home appearance of the spring season.

The duos of and Max Schmidt ’17 and Roko Glasnovic ’19 and No. 70 George Wall ’17 and Brendan Tannenbaum ’16 won the doubles point convincingly, with 6-0 and 6-1 victories over their Brown opponents.

Dovydas Sakinis ’16 and Max Fliegner ’18 won their match to give Dartmouth the doubles sweep. Ciro Riccardi ’18 notched a win in straight sets at the No. 2 position, which was followed by a Brown defeat of Schmidt at No. 5. With the score at 1-1, the Dartmouth men poured it on, earning four consecutive singles wins including the clincher from Eddie Grabill ’19 at No. 6.

On Sunday afternoon, the team wrapped up against Yale with a win.

The team will travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts next Saturday to take on Harvard University. The matchup will be the last regular season competition for the Big Green.

Women’s Tennis No. 54 Women’s tennis improved its Ivy mark to 3-3 and 12-6 overall with a 5-2 triumph on the road against No. 72 Brown University before defeating No. 69 Yale University at home 4-3.

Katherine Yau ’16 and Julia Schroeder ’18 and Jacqueline Crawford ’17 and Lexxi Kiven ’18 earned victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots to give

the doubles point to Dartmouth. Yau opened singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 2 position, which was followed by a three-set win from Crawford at No. 4. Taylor Ng ’17 clinched the match with a three-set triumph of her own. Brown got on the board with wins at No. 5 and No. 6, but it was too little too late as Dartmouth took the 5-2 victory.

Against Yale, the Big Green dropped the doubles point but lost just two singles matches to secure the close victory.

Next Saturday, Dartmouth will take on Harvard University at home for its last regular season match.

Sailing Big Green sailing placed highly in three regattas the weekend of April 9 to 10, cracking the top five in all three and earning a spot in the 2016 Team Race National Championship A cadre of Dartmouth women — Sophie Kerr ’17, Sarah Williams ’16, Peggy Kilvert ’18, Mary Amis ’19 and Sophia Diserio ’18 — took fifth in Connecticut College’s Emily Wick Regatta.

Kerr and Williams, sailing in the A division, started off strong for the Big Green by taking first and third in their first two races. The women dipped in the standing during the middle stretch of the regatta, but Kilvert and Amis, the College’s B division sailors, closed out the day with two second place finishes.

Brown University won the trophy, with Dartmouth finishing fifth of 18 teams.

The sailing team also sent members to the Mystic Lake Team Race, hosted

by Tufts University and raced in wacky conditions on Tufts’ fleet of Larks. Skippers Hunter Johnstone ’16, Nathaniel Johansson ’18 and Erik Weis ’18 paired with Lisa Genthner ’19, Madeleine Walker ’18 and Alyssa Berger ’19 at crew. Dartmouth went 7-3 in the first round robin, including victories over Ivy foes Brown and Harvard University. The Big Green then beat Roger Williams University and Tufts’ second team in a sail-off to finish third overall.

Skippers Robert Floyd ’17, Charles

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MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Lalumiere ’17 and Christopher Williford ’19 were joined by crews Madeleine Cooney ’17, Rebecca McElvain ’19 and Abigail Rohman ’16 to compete in the New England Team Race Championship. The Big Green, the only team to knock off eventual champion Yale University, went 7-4 to finish fourth in the two-day round robin regatta. Dartmouth will join Yale, Boston College and Brown in representing New England at the Team Race National Championship, the College’s first appearance since 2007.

This past weekend, the sailing team competed in the Navy Spring Regatta and the Mosbacher, Owen, Knapp Trophies. The Big Green took eighth in the first event and took seventh and eighth, with two boats, in the twoconference Regatta.

Golf Men’s golf took to the links in New Haven this weekend, finishing the Yale Spring Invitational in third place. The men shot 298 both days for a total of 596 (+36), trailing winner Yale University by just two shots. Dartmouth placed ahead of 10 other teams, including Ivy League rivals Cornell University and Brown University.

John Lazor ’19 topped the individual leaderboard with a Round 1 score of 73 (+3) which improved to an even-par 70 in Round 2. One other Dartmouth golfer, Charles Cai ’16, also cracked the top 10, landing in ninth place with a two-day score of 149 (+9). As for the rest of the Big Green lineup, Scott Jaster ’17 and Sean Fahey ’17 both shot 152 to tie for 22nd, while Ian Kelsey ’18 finished in 35th with a 155. Jeff Lang ’17 shot 159 to finish tied for 47th.

Women’s golf finished last in the Brown Bear Match Play Tournament this past weekend, losing to three other Ivy League schools. Princeton University won the overall event. The Big Green will kick-off the Ivy League Championships on Friday in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Men’s Lacrosse The Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team fell against Princeton 7-3 at Sherrer Field. Dartmouth falls to 1-10 and 0-4 in Ivy League play while the Tigers improve to 4-7 and 1-3 in Ivy League play.

Dartmouth had a strong first and second periods to be leading at halftime 3-0. Richie Loftus ’18, Jack Korzelius ’18 and KC Beard ’16 all scored, accounting for all of Dartmouth’s points.

Strong defense by Dartmouth held Princeton scoreless in the first half, while the Big Green outshot the Tigers 16-13 in the time frame.

The second period was utter domination by the Tigers, who scored seven goals to win 7-3. Cornell outshot the Big Green 20-12 in the second half. The Tigers defense held the Big Green scoreless in the second half with

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Princeton’s offense lighting up the Big Green’s defense. Joe Balaban ’19 had nine saves in the loss, and Princeton outshot the Big Green 33-28 overall.

The Big Green play away at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Tuesday in its final non-conference game.

Women’s Lacrosse Big Green women’s lacrosse defeated Yale University on Saturday in its fifth Ivy League game 10-5 at Scully-Fahey field. The Big Green improve to 6-6 overall and 2-3 in Ivy League play while the Bulldogs go to 5-8 and 2-3 in the Ancient Eight.

Dartmouth started out the first period much stronger than the Bulldogs.

Dartmouth outshot the Bulldogs 12-8 and led 5-2 after the first period. Jaclyn Leto ’16 scored three first period goals with Elizabeth Mastrio ’19 adding two more tallies.

The second period was dominated

by Big Green to seal the win 10-5. For the game, the Big Green outshot the Bulldogs 18-16.

Leto led Dartmouth with four goals and one assist with along with Mastrio adding three more. Courtney Weisse ’17 led the Big Green with two assists.

Overall, Leto leads the Ivy League with 42 goals.

Freshman netminder Charlotte Wahle ’19 recorded 10 saves in the loss.

The women’s lacrosse team plays again today at home versus the University of Albany at 3 p.m. in its final nonconference game.

Baseball The Dartmouth men’s baseball team traveled to Brown University to face the Bears in Saturday and Sunday double headers with the Big Green winning two of the four games. On Saturday, the Big Green split the games with Brown losing the first 4-2 and winning the second 4-3 and on Sunday, the Big Green won 15-0 and lost 2-0. The Big Green finish up the weekend 11-20 and 5-5 in Ivy play, while the Bears improve to 11-18 and 5-7 in Ivy League play.

The first game was a tough loss.

Duncan Robinson ’16 allowed just two earned runs for the loss. Michael Ketchmark ’17 had two RBIs to account for all of the Big Green’s runs.

Brown outhit Dartmouth 8-7 in the game.

In the second game, the Big Green grabbed the win 4-3. Dartmouth won a close game with runs by Thomas Roulis ’16, Ketchmark and Dustin Shirley ’18.

The Big Green scored three runs in the sixth, and strong pitching held Brown down to get the close win.

On Sunday, the first game was dominated by Dartmouth winning 15-0. Beau Sulser ’16 threw seven shutout innings to keep the Bears at bay. On the offense side, Ketchmark continued his dominance at the plate with three RBIs. Rob Emery ’19 and Nate Ostmo ’19 also contributed with three and two RBIs respectively in the

SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Softball continued to devastate the Ivy League, improving to 12-0 in conference play.

win. Dartmouth outhit the Bears 14-4.

The second game was a pitching duel won by the Bears. After the offensive display in the first game, the Big Green bats went quiet as the team totaled just four hits. Brown was able to score two runs to win 2-0.

Dartmouth’s plays at Cornell University this Wednesday, after its Tuesday game against Boston College was cancelled.

Softball The women’s softball team continued its Ivy League dominance this weekend in Saturday and Sunday double headers against Brown University. Dartmouth beat Brown 7-2 and 4-1 on Saturday and won 2-1 and 4-2 on Sunday. The Big Green improved to 24-10 and 12-0 in Ivy League play.

In the Big Green’s first game Saturday, Morgan McCalmon ’16 pitched a complete game only allowing two runs in the 7-2 victory. An overall strong game by the Big Green offense led to seven runs being scored. Kelsey Miller ’16 had two RBIs with Katie McEachern ’16, Maddie Damore ’17 and Kathy Dzienkowski ’16 each having a single RBIs to help the Big Green.

The Big Green outhit the Bears 11-9.

The second game versus Brown was very similar with dominant pitching

by Breanna Ethridge ’18 allowing one run on five hits, notching her eighth win. The Big Green offense was able to score four runs to aid Ethridge and secure the win.

Both games on Sunday were much tighter than Saturday. The Big Green managed with strong pitching to win 2-1 and 4-2 versus the Brown Bears.

The Big Green are undefeated in Ivy League play as the team looks to repeat as three time reigning champs.

Dartmouth is scheduled to play four games this weekend against Yale University.

Women’s Rowing The women’s rowing team traveled to the Charles River to row versus Northeastern University, Boston University and University of Massachusetts on Sunday.

The Big Green won two races over the weekend in the varsity four and the second varsity four.

In the varsity eight, the Big Green placed second finishing in 6:36.9. The second and third varsity eight teams

both placed third.

Men’s Rowing The No. 10 men’s heavyweight and No. 9 lightweight rowing teams participated in the Bill Cup and the Biglin Bowl respectively.

The men’s heavyweight rowed against No. 7 Boston University and Rutgers University on the Connecticut River and placed second in all four races. The Terriers won each race and captured the Bill Cup. Dartmouth trailed by no more than seven seconds in any race, losing the fourth varsity eight race by 0.3 seconds.

The men’s lightweight rowing team, the Big Green competed in the Biglin Bowl Saturday against No. 5 Harvard Crimson and against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Big Green finished in 5 minutes 40 seconds placing behind Harvard by just under two seconds. Dartmouth also placed second in the second varsity eight race.

The lightweight team continued to compete on Sunday versus Mercyhurst University. The Big Green won in the first varsity eight race, but fell to the Lakers in the second varsity eight and the varsity four.

KATE HERRINGTON/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The Big Green placed behind No. 5 Harvard University by just two seconds.

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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

The Case o Breaking down the relea

BY THE NUMBERS

13 Years for Cormier as head coach at Dartmouth

2 Separate stints at the helm of the Big Green

142-211 Cormier’s career record in Hanover

7 Players under Cormier earning All-Ivy honors (13 awards)

1 Berth into a postseason tournament, the first berth for the Big Green in the last 56 years

In March of 2015, the Dartmouth basket-

ball team — under the tutelage of then-head coach Paul Cormier — reached new heights as it worked to rebuild, playing in its first postseason tournament in 56 years. A downward turn from this apex ensued, however, and led to plans to reshuffle the struggling program once again.

On March 21, nearly one year to the day after that College Insider Postseason Tournament berth, Dartmouth athletics director Harry Sheehy announced that Cormier would not return as head coach for the 2016-2017 season.

“I don’t think our recruiting was operating at a level that was necessary for us to move up in the League, and I also thought our player development was spotty,” Sheehy said in explaining his decision. “Paul did a wonderful job of dragging us out of the mud, but my feeling was that we needed new leadership to scale the mountain.”

Coming less than three weeks after the conclusion of the 2015-2016 season, the decision in all likelihood marked Cormier’s permanent departure from Hanover. In two separate tenures, he coached in three different decades at the school, collecting a 141-211 overall record in the process.

“I was surprised that they wanted to go in a different direction, but it’s part of the business,” Cormier said about the situation. “Although I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, the program is in better shape than when I came.

I wish I could be here for another year, but I understand the business, I wish them nothing but the best. I really appreciate everything Dartmouth has done for myself and my family.

[I’ll] certainly look back with fond memories of the people that I met and the school itself.”

In the first stint that lasted seven years from 1984 to 1991, Cormier led the team to a 87-95 record, good for a .478 winning percentage, and a span that included two of the three winningest seasons in the last 50 seasons at Dartmouth. During the 1987-1988 season, Cormier came closest to an elusive conference championship, when a one-point loss in the final game prevented the team from grabbing a share of the Ivy League title. Much like his second tenure at Dartmouth decades later, Cormier’s declining success at both the overall and Ivy League level led to his departure.

After moving to a coaching job at Fairfield University, during which he clinched a conference championship and NCAA tournament berth in the 1990s, Cormier later returned to Dartmouth in 2010 after having scouted and coached at the NBA level for 12 years. During his second tenure at the helm, Cormier started with a much poorer preceding foundation.

In accumulating a 0.322 winning percentage with a 55-116 record in six years, he failed to replicate the same level of success of his first time around.

Cormier will leave Dartmouth following an abrupt reversal in his program’s trajectory during this past year. Before the 2015-2016 season and during his second stint, the Big Green had not experienced a year-to-year decline in overall or conference win percentage.

Instead, the team almost always improved on

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By Alexander

the previous season. Yet during this past campaign, the program experienced a sizable decline from its upwardlytrending winning ways.

While that came in large part due to the graduation of two key seniors from the prior year, it was also driven by the early and unexpected departure of one of the team’s best players, Alex Mitola ’16. Mitola graduated his junior year and joined the George Washington University basketball program as a graduate transfer.

Nevertheless, Cormier had the reigning and future Ivy League Rookies of the Year in Miles Wright ’18 and Evan Boudreaux ’19, respectively; a senior leader and strong post presence in Connor Boehm ’16; and an adequate surrounding cast at his disposal. At the same time, going by several metrics, the team’s dominance in games often

went unreflected in win-loss totals, an outcome ascribed to some degree to poor luck.

Perhaps if it was not for Mitola’s early departure, the program’s best player at the time, the Big Green would not have taken a step back in 2016.

When looking back at his decision to graduate early and leave, Mitola points to the slow development of the program as one of his chief motivating concerns.

“That was definitely a major reason in my decision,” Mitola said. “Coming from high school, I knew the situation I was getting into in that I was joining a team that had five wins, but I don’t think I was aware of how difficult and long it could be to turn a program like that around. It was approaching my senior year, and I didn’t really see the progress I envisioned when I came in

freshmen year.”

Though he chose not to comment on Cormier specifically, forward Brandon McDonnell ’16 said he enjoyed his four years as part of the basketball program.

“I definitely had a positive experience in the last four years,” McDonnell said. “We went through a lot of ups and downs, but formed great relationships, and that’s definitely been the best part for me. That even if we weren’t winning games, we always had a great group of people that kept us together.”

McDonnell also noted the stability that the latest senior class — of which he was a part — brought to the program.

“There was a lot people in my class, we had seven people coming in,” he said. “[Only one person left], which in the past has been very rare. All the classes before, only half the kids would

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

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of Paul Cormier: ase of men’s basketball’s head coach

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make it. I think it says a lot that six [of seven] kids who came in finished together.”

Wright described an overall positive experience playing under Cormier, praising him for the strides the program has made since arriving for his second stint.

“It was a good experience, I’m thankful for the opportunity he gave me to come here and play,” he said. “I think he did a good job of [bringing the program out of the dumps]. But like Mr. Sheehy told us, we needed someone new to bring us to the top.”

Wright also lauded his former coach’s recruiting ability and generally style of managing the team.

“I think Cormier did a good job of bringing in players, he was a very good recruiter,” the sophomore said. “He brought a lot of different talent to the program that might not have been there in the past. He had a good basketball mind, he had good core values, I think he promoted a positive culture.”

However, at least one other former player coached by Cormier revealed a decidedly negative experience under the former coach. The player, who requested not to be identified so he could speak freely without fear of backlash, expanded at length about a disconnect between players and the coach, as well as a poor approach from Cormier during his time at Dartmouth.

“I would say 95 to 97 percent of the players that have been here the last four years [would say] they had the same negative experience with [Cormier],” the player said. “He’s a poor communicator, he didn’t encourage, he didn’t promote confidence, he didn’t make the game fun. It was a hassle going to practice every day. Having to deal with him every day, it kind of overshadowed the game of basketball.”

When asked to respond to this comment, Cormier disputed the notion of these communication issues.

“My door was always open,” Cormier said regarding communication with his players. “Anyone who wanted to come in and talk with me could. If I made a mistake, I certainly didn’t do it for personal reasons. If I didn’t like an individual, that person would not have been on my roster.”

The player also felt Cormier couldn’t connect with current players, speaking to a generational issue.

“He just didn’t know how to handle personalities, he wasn’t really in touch with this generation of young men,” the player said. “He didn’t understand how to reach players.”

Another criticism raised regarding Cormier was his propensity to too quickly pigeonhole players into certain

roles and identities on the team — little, it seemed, could change after the coach’s initial assessment of a player. “[The environment] wasn’t strict more than it was restrictive,” the former player said. “Each player couldn’t express who they wanted to be. [Players] have to express themselves to a point within the team.”

The player also said that he and his teammates took issue with Cormier’s approach during team speeches, recognizing attempts at motivational messages but saying they had the opposite, adverse effects.

“He would go through a whole story during a scouting report, why he couldn’t get a [future opposing player] into [Dartmouth], and that this kid would be a starter had he been here,” he said. “And we’re about to play against this kid tomorrow. I guess he was trying to be motivational, but it [wasn’t].

He would tell us, ‘We’re not that good as individuals. One by one you’re not better than these guys, but as team you can beat them.’ He was trying to build a team camaraderie, but all it did was pull the team further away from him.”

Cormier said fostering a team identity and his style of bluntness was what drove this.

“I probably did tell them what I thought was the truth,” Cormier said.

“I felt that there were teams that maybe

were better individually. The reason I mentioned that is because one, it was true in my opinion, and the best way for us to beat them was collectively by teamwork. I said, ‘We may not have the best individuals on our team, but we can still be the best team.’ And I said that many times, and I believed that whole-heartedly. I always tell my players, ‘I’m going to tell you the truth, I’m going to be real.’ If we go play as individuals we’re not good enough to beat this team. But if we go as a team, we can beat anyone on our schedule.”

Tactical aspects of Cormier’s approach also made for a rift.

“There would be a new offensive system every week,” the former player said. “That’s one reason why we would always start the season off badly. [In the early parts of the season,] as soon as we lost a game, he’s switching the whole system up. From there on out, it’s a week-by-week thing.”

It should be noted that such sentiments directly reflect the experience of just one former Dartmouth basketball player. However, few others — outside of Wright — offered overt support: multiple players could not be reached, did not respond to or declined requests for comment on their experiences with Cormier as coach.

Whatever the case may be, and whatever discord within Dartmouth

SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Despite welcoming Evan Boudreaux ’19, the team went 4-10 in Ivy play.

SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Paul Cormier saw a drop in winning percentage during the 2015-16 season.

basketball the last six years remains uncovered, the program marches on and sets its sights on a new era. Brimming with young talent — the best freshmen in the conference the last two years — one can’t help but view the near future as unquestionably bright.

Looking forward, the athletic department will have to decide who is best to pull everything together and resume a revival process for the basketball program.

For Sheehy, the same facets of program management that persuaded him to let go of Cormier will now guide him in this new search: program development within the team and player recruiting outside of it.

“There’s tons of way to win basketball games, so I’m not so much wed to any particular system,” Sheehy said.

“But what I am wed to is a very strong development program. They should look pretty different after four years.”

Luring high school talent up to Hanover represents a difficult but essential task, and accordingly Sheehy emphasizes it when discussing how to build up the basketball program.

“I used to have a sign on my desk [that said], ‘Recruit daily or perish,’” Sheehy mentioned in reference to his time as a basketball coach. “Recruiting’s a full-time gig, I think you have to have a strategy, and it can’t be done randomly. Particularly at Dartmouth it’s really important, because we’re a little unique in the Ivy League.”

At the same time, Cormier had at least two significant recruiting prizes in

Wright and Boudreaux, both of whom garnered Ivy League Rookie honors the last two seasons.

In other words, Cormier was not necessarily at a loss for attracting talent to Hanover.

Additionally, Sheehy points to gauging the evolving coach-player relationship properly in selecting a new person to helm the program.

“Coaching the athlete in 2016, it’s a different skillset that was needed 20 or 30 years ago for a coach,” he said. “It’s become much more about connecting with players and helping them develop as people and players. The landscape is different, but I would say that [the] kids are the same. But they’re coming from different environments. The Amateur Athletic Union environment is a huge piece of the puzzle now.

Many of today’s players haven’t been told, ‘That’s not good enough.’ So the new coach for this new era needs to find ways to say, ‘That’s not good enough’ in a way these athletes will understand.”

When talking to former members of the program, one consideration comes up again and again: the need for an infusion of enthusiasm.

“I think one of the main things to look for is a coach who is excited and enthusiastic and really wants to change the culture here,” McDonnell said. “I think the athletic department is starting to realize that some things needed to change. We have a bunch of talented players, good pieces.

We have everything here to make a successful team, but it’s just a matter of putting it together in the right way.”

McDonnell said that non-graduating players on the team who participated in interviewing prospective new coaches also emphasized the importance of enthusiasm in a coach.

When asked what the program should look for in the search process for a new coach, the aforementioned anonymous player stressed a similar point: finding a coach who was positive.

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Dave Roberts, Ross Stripling and the No-Hitter That Almost Was After a record-setting opening series in San Diego in which they outscored the San Diego Padres 25-0, the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped the first game of their second series in San Francisco against their arch-rival the San Francisco Giants. In game two of the series, Dave Roberts, managing in just his fifth game as the Dodgers’ manager, handed the ball to rookie right-hander Ross Stripling for his first career start. Stripling, a 2012 fifth-round draft pick, recovered from Tommy John surgery before earning the fifth spot in the Los Angeles rotation this spring.

Stripling went seven innings and a third, striking out four, walking four and surrendering just one earned run.

Most notably, Stripling did not give up a single hit. However, his no-hit bid was stopped when Roberts pulled Stripling when his fourth walk of the night brought him to 100 pitches on the game. This choice prompted uproar throughout the baseball community with many fans and players expressing shock that Roberts would prevent his young starter from becoming the first pitcher in the modern era to turn in a no-hitter in his debut outing. While it is easy to critique Roberts’ choice for obvious reasons, a deeper dive into the issue reveals that Roberts in fact did his young right-hander a favor.

It is not hard to find examples of young over-worked pitchers eventually retiring prematurely due to the stress on their pitching arms. If you don’t believe me see Prior, Mark. Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg may be the next name added to that list, though he still has plenty of time to emerge as a consistent big league starter. It is not as if Stripling is a veteran accustomed going deep into games. He is a rookie, two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

Prior to his debut, he had never thrown 100 pitches in a professional game.

It could be said that a no-hitter is a once in a lifetime opportunity — Stripling may never come that close to a no-hitter again even if he pitches for 15 seasons. However, the young pitcher actually had a no-hitter to his name before he ever threw a professional pitch. On the day he was scheduled to graduate from Texas A&M University, Stripling no hit San Diego State University for the seventh-ranked Ag-

gies. A single walk was the only thing separating him from a perfect game.

It is true that this was Stripling’s only shot at a no-hitter in his professional debut, but he already has one no-no on his résumé and, thanks to Roberts’ choice, he will have plenty of chances to get another one at the big league level.

It is not as if Roberts cost Stripling the opportunity to author a magical Major League debut. The pitcher had more than made his mark by the time he was pulled. After the game, Stripling stated that he felt Roberts made the right choice and that he was “trending downward” due to the fatigue from his high pitch count.

Let’s imagine for a moment that Roberts did leave Stripling in the game.

It is possible that Stripling could have found a way to record five more outs without a hit — but at what cost?

That kind of strain on an arm not farremoved from Tommy John surgery could have been enough to derail an entire career and prevent Stripling from a lengthy career in pro baseball. It could be argued that a no-hitter would be worth that sacrifice. After all, not every start will be as impressive as his first one.

But let’s imagine Stripling was not able to get the no-hitter. And let’s be honest, that was the most likely outcome. As Stripling himself said, he was showing signs of fatigue. In addition, this was not a match-up with some perennial bottom feeder — it was the Giants, the 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series Champions with a line-up featuring Denard Span, Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt with Buster Posey, who was given the night off, waiting on the bench as a potential hitter. Let’s say Stripling gets out of the eighth inning unscathed and carries his no-hitter into the ninth. He gets the first two outs, then with one out standing between him and history, Stripling surrenders a bloop single into the outfield.

The most obvious consequence is that the no-hitter would be blown.

As it happened, Stripling may not be able to say he threw a complete game no-hitter, but he did not allow a single hit in his first big league start. In the alternative world where Stripling stays in the game, just giving up a hit is the best case scenario. Stripling is also just 26-years-old. To deal with potentially coming that close to a no hitter and losing it may have done psychological damage to the young pitcher that could last the rest of his career — not to mention the physical damage of throwing that many pitches. Stripling may have become the latest chapter in the cautionary tale titled “Too Much Too Soon: the Pitcher’s Demise.”

Roberts, despite his minimal experience in such a role, made the right call in pulling young Ross Stripling, even if he was working on a no-hitter. By pulling the pitcher after his 100th pitch, Roberts made the smartest decision for Stripling’s future, while simultaneously allowing him a magnificent debut performance.

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Each week The Numbers Game will break-down one Dartmouth sport’s statistic.

This week’s #: 17.7 — Evan Boudreaux ’19’s scoring average last season If you watched any Dartmouth men’s basketball game last season, it was obvious that Evan Boudreaux ’19 was the Big Green’s best player on the floor. The 6 foot 8 inch, 225-pound power forward was the third-leading rebounder in the Ivy League, pulling down 9.4 boards per game on the year.

The freshman recorded 10 doubledoubles — the most a Dartmouth player has had in 23 years. Most impressively, the Illinois native finished the season as the Ivy League’s second leading scorer by averaging a flashy 17.7 points per game. Boudreaux was deservingly awarded with the Ivy

League Rookie of the Year honor at the end of the season, along with winning the A.D. “Dolly” Stark Award as the Big Green’s most valuable player.

Most weeks, this column has delved into stats that are a little less mainstream, so I usually spend a few sentences explaining how the stat is calculated and why it is a useful means of comparison. However, when I was doing my research for the week, I felt that Boudreaux’s year was so impressive that it necessitated a write-up to fully put his season in perspective.

His most impressive number from the season was his points per game average — a stat that even the most casual of sports fans are familiar with. The simplicity of this statistic, however, should not take away from how impressive this scoring average is for a freshman.

Out of the top five points per game scorers in the Ivy League, only two were freshmen — Matt Morgan of Cornell University and the Big Green’s Boudreaux. Junior Robert Hatter of Cornell, senior Maodi Lo of Columbia University and sophomore Makai Mason of Yale University rounded out the top five. The presence of only two freshmen among these ranks indicates how rare it is to see a new player like Boudreaux dominating at such an early stage in his career. The most common career path for NCAA Division I players is to use their freshmen and sophomore years to both adjust to the uptick in competition and develop their bodies in terms of strength and

conditioning. Boudreaux is the rare breed of player who is capable of contributing in a major way from the get-go.

In terms of all Division I players, Boudreaux ranked as the 101st leading scorer on the season. Although to some this may not seem that impressive, consider the fact that there are 347 Division I college basketball programs and about 4,511 players total. This means that the freshmen Boudreaux ranked in the top two percent of all Division I men’s basketball players as far as points per game is concerned.

Ben Simmons of Louisiana State University, the likely number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, is another one of these players that was able to dominate on the hardwood the moment he stepped foot on campus. Both Simmons and Boudreaux were the only two first year players in Division I basketball to average at least 17 points and nine rebounds a game. Boudreaux’s numbers stack up well even when comparing him to the most talented freshmen in the country, further illustrating how dominant he was last year.

With the announcement that long time head coach Paul Cormier will not return next season, the Big Green basketball program is in a bit of a transition period as we look forward to next year. Whoever takes the reins next season will rely on Boudreaux to not only replicate his sensational freshmen campaign, but also to take the next step in developing his game.

SW 7

SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Evan Boudreaux ’19 was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year last season.

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

SW 8

SPORTS

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

TUESDAY MONDAY LINEUP LINEUP

MEN’S LACROSSE Women’s AT VERMONT lacrosse 3 p.m.

3 PM

Fencing team dominates at USACFC Nationals early in April

COURTESY OF CECILIA LU

The women’s fencing team took first place at the USACFC National Championships earlier in April.

By MARK CUI The Dartmouth Staff

From April 2 to April 3, the Dartmouth Fencing Team joined 37 other participating teams to compete in the 2016 USACFC, the largest collegiate fencing event, at Brown University’s Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. The entire team performed extraordinarily across the board, notching a second place finish.

In the overall team score for the six-weapon, Dartmouth finished with totals of 960 for women’s and 500 for men’s to win silver, falling only to the University of Michigan. The outstanding 960 for women’s, divided between 300 for saber, 330 for epee and 330 for foil, was more than enough to win the overall women’s gold. Breaking it down by squad results, the impressive scores in the women’s epee and foil were enough to win gold for both, while the 300 for saber placed the team with bronze. The men’s total score of 500 placed the overall men’s team in a solid 11th place.

“It was really awesome to have the results that we ended up getting during the weekend,” captain Cecilia Lu ’16 said. “I think everyone on the team has been working really hard, coming to every practice, working out on their own throughout the winter and staying after to fence long after practice sometimes. You really saw all of that pay off. Everyone seemed to be on their A-game.”

While women’s saber finished in third place and slightly behind the team’s epee and foil results, the bronze finish marked a dramatic turnaround

from two years ago.

“Two years ago, women’s saber squad was the weakest squad on the entire team,” women’s saber squad leader Kaleigh Mentzer ’18 said. “To turn that around into a national medal was pretty exciting. To see my teammates really show up and fence their best when it counted, it was just very satisfying.”

Mentzer also added that Lu played incredible throughout the weekend, placing third in the women’s epee.

One of the key matches for the women’s epee team was against the University of New Hampshire. UNH had knocked out the team last year in the round of eight, but this time the Big Green was able to avenge their loss in the round of four. “[One highlight was] when our women’s epee squad was fencing UNH,” Lu said. “We have a really great relationship with UNH. They know how we fence, and we know how they fence.”

In the first bout, the Big Green’s C-strip fencer, Acacia Hoisington ’18, won against UNH’s B-strip fencer. Lu added that Hoisington’s win really set a good tone for the rest of the bout, boosting the team’s confidence.

The team also had great success in its individual results. Six out of nine of the competing Dartmouth women made individuals, including the entire women’s epee squad, consisting of Annie Yang ’17, Lu, Hoisington and Mentzer, as well as Phoebe Liang ’17 and Lily Ma ’17. On the men’s side, three out of nine made individuals, including Carter Bartram ’18, James Wen ’19 and Josh Utterback ’17.

Out of the nine Dartmouth fencers who made individuals, five won medals.

Bartram finished in fifth place men’s foil, Utterback in third place men’s saber, Lu in third place women’s epee, Liang in second place women’s foil and Mentzer in first place women’s saber.

Mentzer faced the same opponent as in the finals this year as last year, and she was able to prevail again in the close match. Naomi Ngalle from the United States Naval Academy finished in second place in the women’s saber.

“I was fencing the same girl in the finals as last year,” Mentzer said.

“That was a fun moment. She is a great competitor.

Mentzer went up 14-8 and ended up winning 15-12, adding that the match was pretty dramatic and stressful, and it was nice to close that out. One of the main reasons the team was able to perform so well was their calm composure throughout the tournament.

“People have called fencing physical chess,” Lu said. “There’s a huge mental component to it, [such as] being able to stay calm in stressful situations, think quickly on your feet and react.”

Lu added that a main reason everyone was able to do so well this past weekend was because they were able to keep that calm mindset in the face of different pressures. As the team competed more, they got used to that pressure and learned different ways to deal with it.

“Some people listen to music, others will hang out and talk to people,” Lu said. “Learning how to manage that stress and channeling it towards fencing is very important.”

The team dynamic was another

reason for its success. Though fencers compete as individuals, Lu said that there was a strong team dynamic on the collegiate level.

“You’re cheering your teammates on, winning against schools together, and losing against school together,” she said. “We’re really supportive of each other, not only just the squad and individual weapon but the whole team.”

Lu added that a fencer finishes his or her event, he or she goes on to cheer for the rest of the team.

“It’s funny because people always try to bring and do homework, but it just never gets done because you’re all off running and cheering for everyone else,” Lu said.

Mentzer echoed a similar sentiment about the weekend.

“The team was so supportive of each other,” Mentzer said. “Every touch was just so much cheering. There was so much energy and momentum.

It was a great atmosphere.”

Since this was the largest collegiate fencing tournament that featured some of the best fencers, many on the team took this opportunity as a learning experience.

“It was a great learning experience, getting to see experienced fencers from all over and their different techniques,” Daniel Bonitto ’19 said. “You can learn

a lot from watching others fence.”

The tournament was also the finale of the season. The fencing team has been a crucial community for both underclassmen and upperclassmen.

For many underclassmen, the fencing team has played a crucial role in helping them adjust to Dartmouth life.

“The team felt a lot more like a family that I thought it would,” Bonitto said. “I’m used to hearing clubs say that they’re family, but DCFC (the Dartmouth College Fencing Club) really lives up to it. Whether we’re in the middle of exercises or at social events, we always feel like a group of good friends hanging out and sharing laughs.”

For the seniors, the fencing team community and the bonds formed as a result will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

“I realized after the weekend just how much my four years here have been defined by Dartmouth fencing,” Lu said. “Everyone during their time here will find different communities and click with different ones. I’m just very thankful and grateful that I was able to find mine in Dartmouth College Fencing Club. It’s a very strong and tight-knit community full of supportive people, and the bonds that are formed last long after people graduate or stop fencing.”

COURTESY OF CECILIA LU

With the men taking 11th, the team took second place overall.