Men’s basketball drops home conference opener to Harvard, 70-66 p. 4 01.27.20
Men’s hockey falls in heartbreaker to No. 1 Cornell, ties Colgate p. 5 From the Bleachers: Chiefs over the 49ers, 31-26 p. 6 The Dartmouth visits a bull riding tournament in Manchester p. 7 LONA GIRARDIN/THE DARTMOUTH
SW 2
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
The weekend Roundup
TENNIS
Compiled by Boyd BRAGG and ETHAN STRAUSS
m hockey T his weekend, the No. 20 Dartmouth men’s hockey team traveled to No. 1 Cornell University, losing 3-2 and Colgate University, tying 3-3. Against Cornell, Cam Strong ’20 scored the first goal of the game, but the Big Red soon tied it up with a goal of its own. A minute into the second period, Dartmouth’s Tanner Palocsik ’23 netted his first collegiate goal to put the Big Green back up 2-1. The Big Red responded with a goal near the end of the second and the game winner in the beginning of the third. Adrian Clark ’20 contained the No. 1 Big Red offense with 35 saves, but the effort was in vain. Dartmouth’s home win against Cornell in December remains the only loss of the year for the nation’s top team. Seeking revenge for the Big
Green’s only home loss of the season, Dartmouth traveled to Colgate on Saturday. Strong again scored first for the Big Green, his fourth of the season, off an assist from Brock Paul ’23. Colgate responded at the beginning of the second period, but Quin Foreman ’21 was able to regain the lead for the Big Green during a power play opportunity. However, it did not take long for Colgate to tie the game again. Drew O’Connor ’22 soon netted his 12th goal of the season, but the Raiders responded again with what would be the game’s final goal. Dartmouth now sits at fourth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference standings. The Big Green looks to improve its record next weekend with games at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College.
LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The women’s tennis team dominated against Binghamton University on Friday.
On Friday, the Dartmouth men’s tennis team won its away matchup against the University of Alabama 4-3. The match improved the Big Green’s record to 2-0 while handing the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season. Dartmouth started strong with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. Charlie Broom ’20 and David Horneffer ’20 won 6-3 while Peter Conklin ’21 and Casey Ross ’21 won 6-4. The Tide were able to pick up wins at the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions, but Dartmouth sealed the victory with Conklin’s three-set comeback victory by a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Next weekend, the Big Green will face Rice University,
Boston University and Bryant University back at home. Meanwhile, the women’s tennis team defeated Binghamton University 7-0 in Hanover on Friday. The Big Green was dominant across the board, starting the day off with three wins in doubles action. At the No. 1 spot, Abigail Chiu ’21 and Chidimma Okpara ’23 won their match 6-3. In singles, Okpara defeated Samara Eisenberg 6-1, 6-1, and No. 2 Jennifer Gadalov ’23 defeated Regina Furer 6-1, 6-2. The women’s team will head down to Virginia next weekend to face William and Mary University and Old Dominion University.
SQUASH Zachary ZacharyBenjamin Benjamin’19 ’19
Debora Hyemin Han ’20 Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief
Hanting Hanting Guo Guo ’19 ’19
Aidan Sheinberg ’20 Publisher Publisher Publisher
Ioana IoanaSolomon Solomon’19 ’19
01.27.20 Vol.CLXXV CLXXVI No. 4.30.18 4.23.18 Vol. Vol. CLXXV No. No. 27 21122
Amanda AmandaZhou Zhou ’19 Alex Fredman ’20 ’19 Executive Editors Executive Editors Executive Editor
Addison Dick ’22 Mark Cui ’19 Justin Kramer ’21 Justin Kramer ’21 Samantha Hussey Lili Stern ’22 ’20 Associate Sports Editor Sports Editors Sports Editors Divya Divya Kopalle Kopalle ’21 ’21 Naina Bhalla ’22 Michael Michael Lin Lin ’21 ’21 Lorraine Liu ’22 Photography Photography Editors Editors Photography Editors Jaclyn Jaclyn Eagle Eagle ’19 ’19 Grant Pinkston ’23 Templating Templating Editor Editor Templating Editor
The No. 9 men’s squash team played three matches over the weekend against No. 5 Drexel University, No. 6 University of Rochester and No. 25 St. Lawrence University. The men’s team started the three-match schedule with a win over Drexel. Lucan White ’23 had a stellar performance against Drexel, sweeping his opponent 11-5, 11-6, 11-2. Dartmouth’s Saturday matchup against Rochester resulted in a 7-2 defeat, snapping its two-match winning streak. Lucan White ’23 once again had a commanding performance against his opponent, as he recorded his second sweep in a row. Reg Anderson ’21 played in the No. 3 position for the Big Green and recorded the only other victory for Dartmouth. Anderson ended the fifth game of his matchup with a convincing 11-4 victory. Dartmouth finished the weekend on a high note, defeating St. Lawrence 5-4. Despite losing the No. 1 through No. 4 matches, Dartmouth did not drop a set in the No. 5 through No. 9 positions to earn a close victory. Sam Supattapone ’21
dropped just five total points in his match to get a decisive win for the Big Green. On the women’s side, No. 11 Dartmouth had an outstanding victory on Friday over No. 6 Drexel University. The team improved to 3-4 and recorded its best victory of the season. Claire Aube ’23, Emma MacTaggart ’22, Sandra Reiss ’21, Julia Potter ’20 and Jesse Brownell ’23 all won competitive matches to take the 5-4 win over Drexel. Notably, Aube, MacTaggart, and Reiss all made comebacks in their matches to seal off Dartmouth’s win. On Sunday, the Big Green continued its winning ways with a 9-0 victory over St. Lawrence University. Dartmouth did not drop a game in any match and was led by its top three players, Anne Blasberg ’20, Emma Supattapone ’23 and Brownell. Both the men’s and women’s teams start Ivy League play next weekend with a pair of matches at Cornell University and Columbia University.
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
M basketball The men’s basketball team lost its second consecutive game in Ivy League play to Harvard University in Hanover on Saturday. The Big Green appeared to be out of the game as the clock wound down in regulation; however, a spurt of scoring in the final minute gave them a chance to even the score. The team ultimately came up shy in a 70-66 loss at home, as the offense could not seem to find any rhythm. Overall, Dartmouth shot 38 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point range. Guard Taurus Samuels ’22 filled up the stat sheet as he put up 18 points, six rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes of play. Samuels drilled a 3-pointer late in the game to
put Dartmouth down by only four. With 6.4 seconds remaining, Dartmouth stole the ball from the inbound but could not score. Dartmouth’s late game heroics were not enough to top the Crimson at home, resulting in the Big Green’s fifth straight loss. The Big Green look to get back into the win column this Friday with a road game against the Princeton University Tigers. The Tigers have found success in Ivy League play, winning two straight against the University of Pennsylvania in a home and home series and taking each of their last four games. That matchup will be followed by another road tilt against Penn on Saturday.
w hockey The women’s hockey team lost two road games this weekend, falling to No. 7 Clarkson University as well as St. Lawrence University. The score of both games was 5-1. The one bright spot for the Big Green during Friday’s game at Clarkson was Georgia Kraus ’23’s first collegiate goal in the second period. On Saturday, the team traveled to St. Lawrence, falling short once again. Jennifer Costa ’21 scored the
Big Green’s lone goal, her third of the season, off an assist from Catherine Trevors ’23. Goaltender Kayla Wormsbecher ’21 recorded 30 saves, her season high. It was, however, the Saints’ defense that won the night, allowing a single goal on 25 Dartmouth attempts. The Big Green, now 5-13-3 on the season, fell to 10th in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference standings, but will look to rebound next weekend away at Harvard University.
swimming and diving Both the Dartmouth men’s and women’s swimming and diving team defeated the University of Massachusetts this weekend at the Tate Ramsden Invitational in Hanover, with the men winning 187.5-142.5 and the women winning by a score of 189-136. On Friday, Connor LaMastra ’21 won the 200 IM (1:48.21), setting a new pool record in the process. Dartmouth finished first and second in the 500 free with Joe Moll ’22 (4.33.92) winning the event and Ethan Banks ’23 (4:40.71) following close behind. To wrap up the day, the John Hall ’20 finished first in the 50 free in 21.28, and the Big Green took the 200 free relay in 1:24.15. For the women, the Big Green won the 500m freestyle, with Christina Ciancolo ’23 finishing first (5:05.48) and Mia Leko ’22 finishing second (5:06.63). Alie Hunter ’21 won the 200 yard IM (2:08.92) and Sophie Smith ’20 won the 50 yard free (24.12). To close out the first day of competition, Dartmouth took first and second in the 200 free relay. Then on Saturday, the highlight was Ciancolo’s
record-breaking performance in the 1650-yard free (17:03.00). The Big Green later took first through third in the 100 fly with Ashely Post ’22 taking first (57.34), Eleanor Zwart ’22 taking second (57.85) and Katherine Cane ’21 taking third. In the 200 free, the Big Green took the top five spots led by Leko’s 1:53.20 swim. In diving, Maggie Pionzio ’20 finished second on the 3-meter and 1-meter boards. For the men, LaMastra continued his superb weekend on Saturday, setting new records in the 200 free (1:38.09) and the 1650 free (15:20.72). The previous record in the 1650 had stood for 39 years. Matt Luciano ’21 finished first (50.16) in the 100 fly and Noah Hensley ’23 won the 100 back (51.75). The diving team took first through fourth places in the 1- and 3- meter platforms with Justin Sodokoff ’21 winning both. To close out the meet, Moll finished first in the 100 free (45.63), and the team set a new meet record winning the 400 free relay (3:04.64). The teams travel to Columbia University next weekend to close out Ivy League play.
SW 3
w basketball
Dartmouth women’s basketball suffered its first loss of Ivy League action at Harvard University on Saturday. Harvard dominated the game across the board. The Crimson shot considerably better from the field and 3-point line while out rebounding the Big Green by six. Dartmouth started off the game strong, with a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter. However, Dartmouth could not find any offensive flow in the second quarter, as the team scored only five points. The Big Green could not come back from its second-quarter
skid and trailed the Crimson until the final buzzer, losing by 15 points. Guard/forward Paula Lenart ’20 recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double performance. Guard Annie McKenna ’20 also had a strong performance, with eight points and six assists. The Big Green, now 1-1 in conference play, will meet the Princeton Tigers at home on Friday. The Tigers are 13-1 overall and are in and out of the AP Top 25 rankings on a weekly basis. This tough home matchup will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday in Leede Arena.
track and field The track and field teams competed in Boston University’s John Thomas Terrier Classic on Saturday at the BU Track and Tennis Center. For the men, three Dartmouth runners stood out at the non-scoring event. Sprinter MJ Farber ’21 took seventh place out of 127 competitors in the 400m race with a time of 48.66 seconds. Quinn Cooney ’20 took home eighth out of 94 in the 5000m race, and Max Frye ’21 placed ninth out of 61 in the 500m dash with a time of 1:04:03. For the women, three individuals
broke into the top 10 in their events. Distance runner Rachel Ludwikowski ’21 was the top performer for the Big Green. She ran for third overall in the 5000m race out of 71 competitors with a time of 16:36.24. Margaret Tuthill ’20 ran for ninth out of 95 in the 1000m run with a time of 2:51.55 and Lauren Sapone ’20 also placed ninth in the 3000m run out of 134 in 9:32.16. The Big Green will compete in the Scarlet and White Invitational hosted by Boston University this Saturday.
Skiing The Dartmouth ski teams took third place at the Vermont Carnival this weekend. The women’s team’s performance was highlighted by a pair of second place finishes from Katharine Ogden ’21, who finished with a time of 14.08.4 in the 5k freestyle, and Tricia Mangan ’19, who completed the slalom in 1:54.3. Following Ogden’s performance, the Big Green took the eighth, ninth and 10th spots at the podium, but Middlebury College, which claimed first, fifth and sixth, won the event. In the slalom, Stephanie Currie ’20 finished right behind Mangan, but the Dartmouth team only placed fifth in the event.
On the men’s side, the Big Green placed fifth in the 10k, with Adam Glueck ’21 taking seventh at 27:05.2, Cameron Wolfe ’23 taking ninth at 27:28.5 and Kamran Husain ’21 taking 19th at 28:12.0. The University of Vermont won the event behind first and third place finishes. In slalom, the Big Green finished second with Drew Duffy ’21 taking fourth at 1:49.4, Andrew Weisel ’21 taking sixth at 1:50.5 and Kipling Weisel ’20 taking seventh. Vermont’s second and third-place finishes were enough to win the event. The Big Green continues competition next weekend at the Colby College Carnival.
SW 4
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
Men’s basketball drops home conference opener to Harvard, 70-66 B y DEVAN FINK
The Dartmouth Staff
From the onset of Saturday’s game, 3-point shooting proved to be the differentiator between Dartmouth (7-10, 0-2 Ivy) and Harvard University (13-4, 2-0 Ivy) men’s basketball, with the Big Green falling just short, 70-66. The Crimson came out firing on all cylinders behind the arc, hitting on all of their first three possessions to start the game. They ultimately opened up an early seven-point lead behind two triples each from Justin Bassey and Noah Kirkwood. “It was a big boost for us coming out of the blocks knocking down open shots,” said Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker. “I thought those guys set the tone for us early.” Dartmouth tried to match, initially succeeding with James Foye ’20 and Ian Sistare ’20 each draining 3s of their own to keep pace. Foye’s first triple was the 100th of his college career. But then it got ugly. The Big Green could not buy a 3-pointer for over 26 minutes of game time, missing 15 consecutive shots beyond the arc in that stretch. Incredibly, however, the team hung around, at least for the duration of the first half, entering halftime down just one point, 34-33. “What you gotta do is, you have to look at those 3s, and you have to say, ‘Okay, how good of shots were they?’” said Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin. “‘Were the right guys shooting them? Were they the threes that they wanted us to take? Were they off inside-out plays? Were they off penetration? Were they off transition?’ If they’re good 3s, then you’re happy. And if they’re not great shots, then you let guys know.” M u ch o f t h e rea s o n why Dartmouth remained so close was due to the stellar first-half play from Taurus Samuels ’22, who scored 12 points in 19 minutes, shooting fourof-seven from the field. The Crimson kept the Big Green in the game with a plethora of fouls, and Samuels was the most common victim. In the first half alone, he attempted five free throws, which is tied for his third-
highest game total this season. “He had a very good night,” McLaughlin said. “He’s a really good player. He loves his craft. He loves getting better at his game. He’s growing as a leader, so tonight was a good night for him.” On the whole, Harvard played a clean game for the first portion of the contest, going without a team foul for the half ’s first nine minutes. They ended the period with nine fouls in the last 11, however, and the Big Green made them pay, making seven of its eight free throws in the first half and 12-of-16 overall. This success from the line was uncharacteristic for Dartmouth, as the team came in shooting just 65.1 percent from the stripe, ranking 312th out of the 353 Division I teams. “We’ll look at the film and try to chart silly fouls,” Amaker said. “The game is hard not to foul at all, but the silly ones are the ones we want to correct and stay away from. Most of the time, they’re silly because we lose concentration, we lose focus, or just [have] poor positioning.” In the second half, Dartmouth’s lack of success from long range ultimately came back to bite it. By the time Samuels ended the team’s 3-point drought, Harvard had already built a sizable lead. Kirkwood and Bassey continued to do damage — the former hit three more 3s in the second, leading all Harvard players with 17 points. His five 3s tied his college career-high. It appeared as if the Crimson would cruise to an easy victory after that. Harvard built its largest lead of the game, 13, with 1:16 left. Amazingly, yet again, late fouling from the Big Green proved to be quite successful. Harvard went two-of-six from the line in the game’s final 60 seconds, and thanks to some clutch 3s, a quick offensive pace and a stroke of good luck with a Crimson turnover, Dartmouth had the ball with just over five seconds left in the game, down four. That would be how the game wrapped up, however, with the Big Green unable to get the necessary quick shot off the inbound pass to give the team any chance to win.
LONA GIRARDIN/THE DARTMOUTH
Forward Chris Knight goes up for a dunk against Harvard on Saturday. The Big Green dropped a close match to the Crimson.
“It was kind of in a weird spot on the court,” Foye said. “We got it in, [Danilo] Djuricic was kinda taking away my 3, so I thought I could drive it quick. I just missed the layup. I think the real problem is when you start down 10 with a minute, everything has to go exactly correct, and going forward, we have to put ourselves in positions where we don’t need a miracle.” Samuels led all scorers in the game with 18 points on six-of-15 shooting in 38 minutes, adding six rebounds and two assists. One week after wreaking havoc on the score sheet against the Big Green in Cambridge, Harvard forward Chris Lewis had another efficient night, scoring 13 points and adding nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Aaryn Rai ’21 also had a solid evening, scoring 16 points with seven rebounds and two steals. With two consecutive losses to Harvard to begin conference play, Dartmouth now sits in the basement of the Ivy League. The schedule does not get much easier in the immediate
future, however, with four road games up on the docket in the next two weeks, as the Big Green travel to face Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Yale University. College basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy does not expect Dartmouth to come away victorious in any of these matchups, with the Big
Green’s highest individual game win probability being at Brown on Feb. 7, at just 39 percent. “You just have to get ready on Monday,” McLaughlin said regarding the Big Green’s upcoming schedule. “If you start thinking about that, it’s going to shade the way you’re starting to prep for the next game. You just gotta get ready for Friday.”
SW 5
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
Men’s hockey falls in heartbreaker to No. 1 Cornell, ties Colgate B y JUSTIN KRAMER
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
No. 20 Dartmouth men’s hockey held leads for five different stretches this weekend on a New York road trip, but ultimately fell to No. 1 Cor nell University 3-2 and tied Colgate University 3-3. The Big Green now sit in fourth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, settling for just one point in the standings despite playing from behind in only one period across the two games. Coming into Friday night’s matchup, Dartmouth already held the distinction of being the only team to defeat top-ranked Cornell this season, and the Big Green was hungry to complete the feat again. “We knew we had another good shot to beat them, but it would be pretty tough doing it at Cornell,” said forward Cam Strong ’20. “But we actually had a lot of confidence going into it. The mindset was to keep playing the way we were playing when we were successful, stick to our identity. We gave them a good fight.” Strong put the Big Green on the scoreboard first, as defenseman Tanner Palocsik ’23 slapped a shot wide right off the endboards toward Sam Hesler ’22, who kicked the puck to Strong in front of the goal. “I went to the netfront initially off of the faceoff, and I saw [Palocsik] pull the trigger,” Strong said. “It was going a bit wide, so what I tried to do is follow that and not go too far to the other side of the net, so I just ended up on the near side.” Cornell capitalized on a power play eight minutes later to tie the score, but Palocsik gathered a strong rebound off the boards on the left side and punched in his first-career goal to start the second period. The early assist and goal for Palocsik gave him 15 points on the season, the most among rookie defensemen and tied for third-most among all defensemen in the ECAC. Palocsik said he was happy to finally tally his first goal. “[It was a] pretty special moment, took a while,” Palocsik said. “Some of the guys were getting on me for
taking this long — but definitely one I’ll never forget, especially in front of that crowd at Cornell.” The Big Red came back again 14 minutes later though, and the second period wrapped up with both teams knotted 2-2. Adrian Clark ’20 earned praise from head coach Bob Gaudet ’81 and Palocsik for doing everything in his power to keep it that way. Cornell’s Noah Bauld nearly scored on a breakaway during a Big Red penalty kill three minutes into the third period, but Clark somehow deflected the puck off his right shin guard to preserve the tie. But despite Clark’s best efforts, Cornell scored a minute later and would not look back, holding on for the 3-2 win. The Big Red offense proved challenging to keep in check, getting off 38 shots compared to only 22 for the Big Green. “They play physical and they play fast, so they definitely come at you with a lot, and it’s tough,” Palocsik said. “If you’re not ready for that, it’s going to be a long night, so you’ve got to kind of prepare yourself and do the best you can.” Gaudet said he applauded the players for their efforts after they nearly toppled Cornell for the second time this season. “It was a great hockey game, up and down,” Gaudet said. “I know our guys were disappointed that we weren’t able to finish on top of them in this game, but I know it bodes well for us because we played a good hockey game.” After Cornell enacted its revenge upon Dartmouth Friday night, the Big Green tried to get revenge itself against Colgate on Saturday. Right after a three-week Thanksgiving break, the Raiders burned the Big Green 5-1 in Hanover back in December — Dartmouth’s only loss at home this season — in what Strong described as the team’s “worst game of the year.” “I think we just wanted to come at them with a little bit more speed and jam with our game,” Palocsik said. “Last time, we were definitely laid back and just let them take it to us, and we didn’t really have an answer.”
ELSA ERICKSEN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Despite holding a 2-1 lead over No. 1 Cornell in the second period Friday, the Big Green could not hold on.
For the second straight night, Strong kicked off the scoring, as he corralled a wide shot from defenseman Brock Paul ’23 and dumped it into the net. The assist was Paul’s first career point. “It’s definitely good to get out ahead, and it kind of keeps the energy up for the team,” Strong said. “Sometimes when you give up an early one it’s kind of deflating, so to get an early one is huge.” The scoring was even more of a roller coaster in the Colgate game than the previous night, as Dartmouth led 2-1 and 3-2 at times in the second period. Quin Foreman ’21 connected on a power play for his seventh goal of the year off assists from Will Graber ’20 and Drew O’Connor ’22. Colgate quickly tied it back up, but the Big Green scored its third and final goal as Brendan Demler ’21 hit a streaking Strong with a hard, low pass, allowing Strong to flip the puck into the air and off O’Connor’s stick for the goal. With that goal, O’Connor now stands in
a three-way tie for second in goals scored in the ECAC. The Raiders needed only three minutes to tie the game back up at 3-3, and the score remained even through the third period despite impressive play from the Big Green. “As the game progressed, we just got better and better,” Gaudet said. “I honestly thought we dominated in the third period.” The game nearly slipped away from the Big Green in overtime, as O’Connor was called for a penalty with 2:57 to play and was ejected for disputing the call. Colgate lost its best scoring chance on the power play when the referees blew the whistle with the puck loose inside the crease. Dartmouth nearly won the game coming out of the power play, as Foreman came up empty on two close shot attempts, and the Big Green could not convert on a deflection opportunity. Time ran out as Jeff Losurdo ’22 attempted a last-second shot, and the game ended 3-3.
“At the end of the day, we come out of there with a point, and it’s a good point that we need in the standings — but definitely a win would’ve been sweeter,” Palocsik said. “I think we outplayed them in that final period and definitely could have gotten another one there; we just couldn’t find the net.” Part of the challenge this past weekend, according to Gaudet, was resting enough to play two tough road games; Dartmouth’s record now sits at 3-5-2 on the road compared to 7-1-2 at home. Gaudet said he is grateful for the support the Big Green receives on home ice and looks forward to returning to Thompson Arena in two weekends against Harvard University. First though, the team must travel to New York again next weekend. “We’re growing and continue to grow as a team, so we’re looking for a good week of practice this week and to get after it in Troy and Schenectady this weekend versus RPI and Union — two really good battles,” Gaudet said.
SW 6
From the Bleachers with Baily Deeter ’22
From the Bleachers: Chiefs over the 49ers, 31-26 Maybe it’s just that the Patriots aren’t in the Super Bowl, but I find myself more excited for this year’s rendition of the greatest event in sports than I’ve been in a long time. It’s fitting that the Kansas City Chiefs, who represented the AFC in Super Bowl I, will play for their second Lombardi Trophy in the league’s storied 100th season. They find themselves facing the five-time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers, who can tie the Patriots and Steelers for both the most rings in NFL history and the most annoying fan base with a victory. What I’m most excited for is Patrick Mahomes on the big stage. A Dee Ford offsides penalty and an overtime coin toss robbed the Chiefs of a Super Bowl berth last year, and it looked like the Chiefs were going to meet a similar fate when they fell behind 24-0 to the Texans. But thankfully, the gunslinger carried his team to victory, saving America from a Texans-Titans AFC Championship that probably would have been flexed to Thursday Night Football. Mahomes put his team on his back in the AFC Championship Game, throwing for 294 yards and three touchdowns while running for 53 yards and another score. The Texas Tech product was much less of a storyline during the regular season than during last season’s MVP campaign, but he saved his magic for when it mattered most. His rushing touchdown before halftime, which included a nifty headfake and some stellar footwork down the sideline, will go down as one of the greatest plays in the team’s 60-year history.
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
While it took 35 pass attempts and eight rushes for Mahomes to will his team to victory, Jimmy Garoppolo only needed to throw the ball eight times for his 49ers to seal the NFC championship. Eight! Raheem Mostert ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns, while the rock-solid defense forced three turnovers en route to a blowout victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. So what’s next? Given how solid both teams looked in the playoffs, it’s hard to predict the outcome of the big game. Mahomes, in 35 career starts, has never lost a game by more than seven points. The 49ers haven’t lost a game by more than seven points this season. Both teams won their two playoff games by double digits, but it’s hard to see Super Bowl LIV ending in blowout fashion. There’s nothing that Andy Reid wants more than to win a Super Bowl, and there’s nothing Nick Bosa wants more than to visit Donald Trump in the White House. Neither side is going to back down. The main storyline is the Kansas City offense versus the San Francisco defense, but the 49ers offense actually finished second in points scored this season, one spot ahead of their Super Bowl counterparts. Their defense was mediocre near the end of the season but lights out in the NFC playoffs, largely thanks to the return of defensive stalwarts Kwon Alexander, Jaquiski Tartt and Dee Ford (yes, that same Dee Ford). Historically, great defenses have gotten the better of great offenses in the Super Bowl. In eight matchups between the top-ranked defense and top-ranked offense on Super Bowl Sunday, the defense has emerged victorious seven times. Star 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was on one of those defenses in Seattle, when his Seahawks demolished league MVP Peyton Manning and my Denver Broncos 43-8 on one of the most trying days of my young life. Mom, I’m still sorry for crying in front of our guests. And let’s not forget about a few other key factors that absolutely, definitely matter a lot in deciding the outcome of this game. The 49ers will be donning their white jerseys for the big game. Thirteen of the last 15 Super Bowls have been won by the team in white, and the 49ers are 2-0 with the combination of white jerseys and gold pants. Also, Bay Area sports teams have won six championships in the last 10 years. The last thing spoiled Bay Area folk like Mark Zuckerberg, James Franco and my
younger brother Logan need is another championship. However, if history is any indication, Silicon Valley may have another “chip” coming its way. In spite of all of those crucial points, my money is on Mahomes and company to get the job done on Sunday. For as good as San Francisco’s defense is, it has a glaring weakness at cornerback opposite Richard Sherman. Sherman doesn’t usually travel with the opponent’s top receiver, meaning that Tyreek Hill will find himself with a matchup advantage quite frequently. Michael Thomas, Davante Adams and Julio Jones all broke 130 receiving yards against the 49ers defense this season, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if Hill had a similar fate. Travis Kelce had three touchdowns in the Divisional Round, and he will certainly make his presence felt. Defensively, Kansas City is much improved from last year’s mediocre unit. The Chiefs were stellar against Derrick Henry in the AFC Championship Game, holding him to just 69 yards. That’s not to say that the 49ers won’t have success running the ball, but it’s going to take a much more balanced effort to topple Mahomes and company. That brings me to my next point: the 49ers’ handsome devil of a quarterback. Garoppolo has put up respectable stats this year and is no stranger to close games; he led the 49ers to 48 points in a shootout victory over the Saints and accumulated four game-winning drives over the course of the season. But he also threw 13 interceptions, many of which were inexcusable. Against Minnesota, it didn’t matter. Against the Chiefs, it absolutely would. In San Francisco’s last few games, Garoppolo has merely needed to protect a lead by throwing easy quick passes. But in what could end up being a track meet, Tom Brady Junior may need to take matters into his own hands in a way he hasn’t had to do before. I’m confident in Mahomes to make his share of big plays, but I can’t say the same about Garoppolo. I’ll take the Chiefs by a score of 3126, which will cause the states of Kansas and Missouri to throw the greatest, and maybe only, party the Midwest has ever seen. Meanwhile, Bay Area fans will forget all about the game on Monday morning when they throw on their polo shirt and khaki shorts to raise seed funding for their new compression algorithm before leaving work at 2 p.m. to go surfing.
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
SW 7
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
The Dartmouth visits a bull riding tournament in Manchester B y PETER CHARALAMBOUS AND JUSTIN KRAMER
introduction, the show began its 36ride slate — split across six sections. In between rides and sections, The Dartmouth Senior Staff PBR’s famous rodeo clown Flint MANCHESTER — For a state Rasmussen, a former high school engulfed with events dedicated teacher and seven-time Coors Man toward the upcoming primary, New of the Can winner, entertained the Hampshire hosting a professional bull spectators in the crowd. “We love how you talk — sort riding tournament at the Southern New Hampshire University Arena of,” Rasmussen joked to the New last weekend was a dramatic change England audience, which contained of pace. Despite a snow storm many first-time attendees. For New Hampshire fans new blanketing the local roads, dozens of bulls and riders — along with to the sport, the arena broadcast a thousands of spectators — took “PBR 101” on the Jumbotron above part in the two-day Manchester the bucking chute, detailing basic Invitational, the first Professional rules for bull riding. A rider must maintain a oneBull Riders, Inc. series in the city’s handed grip atop his bull for at history. Armed with press passes and a least eight seconds without placing positive attitude, The Dartmouth his free hand on the bull or his own visited the Jan. 18 event and was body in order to receive a score. The granted ground-level views of the ride starts when the bull rampages out of the chute festivities. and ends when W i d e l y the rider loses r e c o g n i z e d “This is the best thing grip of the bull as one of the that has ever come to ro p e, t o u ch e s most dangerous the ground or p r o f e s s i o n a l this place.” misplaces his sport leagues, hand. PBR has -EMMA DEE, NEW Ju d g e s embraced this score the rider r e p u t a t i o n , HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT on their “control, adopting the rhythm and mantra of “the how they match most dangerous movement with sport on dirt.” Beyond the challenge of dozens of the bull” while evaluating the bull riders trying to stay atop the bull on “how hard [he] bucks and how for eight seconds, the league also high he kicks: power, speed, spin and takes pride in its traditional values direction change,” according to the — commonly encapsulated in what video. The ride score is aggregated PBR calls the “cowboy values” of out of 100 available points, with kindness, hard work, integrity and an average score in the 80s and sacrifice. The league also takes exceptional scores reaching the 90s. While many of the attendees of pride in audience entertainment in the tournament were first-timers, between rides. These elements were on full PBR regular and bull owner Dave display at last Saturday’s show, Rice said that the sport is able to the third installment of this year’s thrive in cities and regions of the “Unleash the Beast” series, following United States outside of its main events at Madison Square Garden audience base. According to Rice, and in Chicago. After a pyrotechnics the “cowboy spirit” can grow in cities display — including the letters PBR as much as it does in the country, written with fire in the dirt of the and the energy of the sport often SNHU arena — and the riders’ captures audiences. “It’s a fast-paced, high energy introduction, the audience paused for a joint prayer and the singing show,” Rice said. “It’s the thrill of of the national anthem. After this the most dangerous sport in the
PETER CHARALAMBOUS/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
An intrepid professional bull rider attempts to stay atop his bull for the requisite eight seconds.
world.” The advertisement and endorsements in the area appeared to be tailored toward the audience’s interests. Advertisements for the Ford F-Series, Wrangler jeans, Cooper Tires and Yeti were plastered across the arena. One of the foremost sponsors of the event was the United States Border Patrol, which posted signs in the arena and had agents around the stadium dedicated to public relations and recruiting. The Border Patrol also played a major role in the event itself, with the “U.S. Border Protection Team” corralling the bulls back into their pens following each ride. About half (17 of 36) of the riders held on long enough to receive a score on Saturday night. When a rider held on past eight-seconds, the center stage cannon fired and the riders receiving enormous applause. For much of the night, veteran Brazilian riders Dener Barbosa, Kaique “Ice Man” Pacheco and Junio Quaresima led the pack, receiving scores of 87.5, 86.25 and
86.25 respectively. The 25-yearold Pacheco won the 2018 World Championship despite a torn MCL and PCL, and finished second in the world standings across all series in 2015 and 2016. In between rides, Rasmussen entertained audience members with comedy bits, advertisements and commentary about the rides. These bits ranged from reciting the Gettysburg Address for a Coors ad to shooting a T-shirt cannon for Wrangler Jeans, to walking — or at times stepping over — the lines of political correctness. “You know what happens when people get offended?” Rasmussen asked at one point. “Nothing.” As the night grew old, the younger competition showed up in full force. Twenty-two-year-old Colten Jesse — introduced by the host as “cool, calm, collected Colten” — etched his name into second on the leaderboard Saturday with 87.25 points, and ultimately claimed second overall in the invitational by producing upper 80s scores the next
day. Jesse was far from the youngest rider though, as the event featured several 19-year-old riders and other college-age athletes. A pair of young stars closed out the evening, as Jess Lockwood and Jose Vitor Leme looked to defend their respective first and second finishes in the world standings last year. Leme rode to the top score of the night with 89 points before he was thrown off into the railing. Lockwood, the reigning champion, put up 86.5 points in the round, and he built on Saturday night’s momentum the next day with scores of 90.5 and 92.25 to win the invitational. For many of the first-time audience members, the show matched or exceeded expectations, with responses var ying from excitement for the newfound sport to gladness that they witnessed the unique show. “This is the best thing that’s ever come to this place,” New Hampshire resident Emma Dee said once the show concluded.
PAGE 8
THE DARTMOUTH ADVERTISEMENT
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020