The Dartmouth Sports Weekly 05/14/18

5.14.18

The Weekend Roundup p. 2-3 Dartmouth’s Newest Recruits: A closer look at Dartmouth’s exciting additions from the Class of 2022 for three select teams p. 4-5 Honorable Mention: Big Bad Vlad p. 6 Golfer Jason Liu ’21 named Ivy League Rookie of the Year p. 7

Dartmouth men’s rugby team has had a seasoned history of success since it first started in 1951 p. 8

COURTESY OF DARTMOUTH MEN’S RUGBY TEAM

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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

The weekend Roundup

MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018

W TRACK & FIELD

COMPILED BY SABENA ALLEN, SABA NEJAD & ANDREW WRIGHT

M TRACK & FIELD MICHAEL LIN/THE DARMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The women’s track and field team clinched second place out of 39 schools at the weekend meet.

The Dartmouth women’s track & field team finished in second place after two days of competition in the 2018 New England Outdoor Championship at Memorial Field. The competition featured 39 total schools.

The Big Green scored 25.5 points on Friday, half a point less than the University of New Hampshire and half a point more than Northeastern University, the two-time defending champions. Julia Valenti ’20 secured 10 points after finishing first in the pole vault event, clearing 13-1.5/4.0m on her second try. Maria Garman ’19 took first in two events, the high jump

with 1.74m and the shot put with 10.86m.

The standings were similar on the second day. The Big Green finished the meet with 99.62 points while Northeastern won its third straight women’s title with 121 total points. Garman added yet another victory, this time in the 800m event. Nicole Deblasio ’19 added 18 points total and won the 200m with a time of 24.29s.

Lily Lockhart ’21 took first in the discus event, with her second throw of 45.33m surpassing the runner-up’s throw by over 10 centimeters. The team will find out

by Wednesday who will be attending the 2018 NCAA East Regionals, held in Tampa, Florida.

LW ROWING The Dartmouth men’s lightweight rowing team competed at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Eastern Sprints, with entries in the first, second and third varsity lightweight eights. All three Big Green boats finished in the petite final on Sunday, with both the first and second varsity MICHAEL LIN/THE DARMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The men’s track and field team took fifth at the meet over the weekend.

The Dartmouth men’s track and field team finished in fifth place at the New England Outdoor Championships this weekend, a drastic improvement from where they stood after the first day of competition in 12th place.

Souther n Connecticut State University took the top spot in the event, finishing with 113.50 points, more than 40 points ahead of the next competitor. Pat Gregory ’18 finished first in the 1500 meter run

with a time of 3:46.74, more than half a second ahead of William Ulrich of the University of New Hampshire who finished in second.

Miles Irish ’18 took third in the 1500 meter run with a time of 3:50.33, and Amos Cariati ’18 took third in the 400 meter dash with a personal record of 48.15. The Big Green will learn by Wednesday who will be going to the 2018 NCAA East Regionals, held later this month in Tampa, Florida.

Zachary ZacharyBenjamin Benjamin’19 ’19 Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief

Hanting Hanting Guo Guo ’19 ’19 Publisher Publisher

Ioana IoanaSolomon Solomon’19 ’19 Amanda Ioana Solomon Zhou ’19 Amanda Zhou’19 ’19 Executive Editor Executive Editors Editors

4.30.18 4.23.18 Vol. 5.14.18 Vol. CLXXV CLXXV No. No. 27 21 36

Mark Mark Cui Cui ’19 ’19 Samantha Samantha Hussey Hussey ’20 ’20 Sports Sports Editors Editors

Justin Justin Kramer Kramer ’21 ’21 Associate Associate Sports Sports Editor Editor Divya Divya Kopalle Kopalle ’21 ’21 Michael Michael Lin Lin ’21 ’21 Photography Photography Editors Editors Jaclyn Jaclyn Eagle Eagle ’19 ’19 Templating Templating Editor Editor

eights taking second in their respective races, and the third varsity taking third. The Dartmouth lightweights will look to finish off their season alongside the heavyweights at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Regatta in June in New Jersey.

MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

SOFTBALL The Dartmouth softball team fell to Harvard in both games on Saturday, May 12 in the Ivy League Championship Series, hosted in Hanover. The Big Green entered the weekend as conference champions but tied with the Crimson as cochampions of the Ivy League after losing the series. Harvard received the automatic NCAA Division I Championship bid with their win over the weekend. The Big Green lost 6-4 in the first game and 4-1 in the second, finishing the season with a 22-18 overall record and a 16-5 conference record. In the first game, the

Big Green took a 4-1 lead by the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Crimson scored five runs in the top of the seventh, all with two outs on the board, to clinch the victory. Harvard took the lead early on in the second game and Dartmouth had a difficult time overcoming the Crimson defense.

Dartmouth finally scored in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 4-1, but a pop up by the next batter ended the game. The Big Green was expected to come in fifth in the preseason poll as they did last year, but pulled off a stunning season by finishing first in the conference.

HW ROWING T h e D a r t m o u t h m e n ’s h e av y w e i g h t ro w i n g t e a m competed in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Easter n Sprints regatta on Sunday at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Big Green finished well across the board, with both the fourth varsity eight and first varsity eight finishing second in their

respective petite finals. The third varsity eight and second varsity eight both made it to the grand finals, also both finishing in sixth place, rounding out the weekend for the Big Green. The Dartmouth heavyweight men will end their season at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Regatta on June 1 at Mercer Lake in New Jersey.

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Baseball

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The men’s baseball team split its series 1-1 against Harvard University this past weekend.

The Big Green and Harvard University faced off in a double header on Sunday at Cambridge and will play a third game on Monday, May 14. Dartmouth is currently in second place and will need to remain in the top two in the Ivy League to earn a spot in the best-of-three championship series next weekend.

The Big Green and the Crimson have split the two games played, with Dartmouth winning the first 6-5 and Harvard taking the second 11-3. In the first game, with the score tied at 5-5, the Big Green tacked on one more run in the seventh inning to secure the win. Sean Sullivan ’19 scored two runs for the team.

In game two, Dartmouth took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, but Harvard exploded offensively in the second half of the game to clinch the win. The Crimson scored three runs in the fifth, sixth and eight

innings, along with two in the seventh, for a total of 11 runs.

While the one win officially eliminated Harvard from the race, the Big Green may still need to win the final match on Monday depending on how Columbia University does. Columbia split its two games over the weekend 1-1 with Cornell University, and if Columbia wins again on Monday, then the Big Green will also have to win on Monday.

Outfielder Dustin Shirley ’18, a co-captain for the baseball team, was named as one of 12 players to the Academic All-District I Team on May 10, the first Big Green selection since 2014. He has had a stellar season, leading the Ivy League with 13 doubles and recording a team-best .462 slugging percentage and 28 RBIs.

M TENNIS The No. 27 ranked Dartmouth men’s tennis team fell to No. 33 Oregon University 4-0 on Saturday, May 12 at Texas Christian University’s Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Ducks improved to 18-9 but fell to No. 8 TCU the following day. The Big Green had an amazing season with an overall record of 20-6, which began with a 12-match winning streak — a program record. The Big Green won its first Eastern College Athletic Conference

indoor title, made the national rankings and won its first Ivy League title since 1997.

The conference win earned Dartmouth an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Before the match against Oregon, Charlie Broom ’20 and David Horneffer ’20 were selected to the first team for both doubles and singles, while Dan Martin ’21 was selected for the second team for singles. Head coach Chris Drake was also named Coach of the Year.

w ROWING The Dartmouth women’s rowing team had a strong race, managing to advance all five of their boats to the Grand Final at the Ivy League Championship on Sunday, May 13. The championship was held in Camden, New Jersey on the Cooper River. The Big Green placed third in most of their varsities for heats. To finish off the weekend meet, the first varsity placed in sixth.

Princeton University beat out Yale University by two seconds to win the first varsity event and claim the Ivy League title. The second varsity placed in sixth, and the 4A was in fourth. The 4B placed in sixth. In the grand final, the third varsity placed third. At the end of the meet, Sabrina Bohrer ’18 was named to the All-Ivy First Team and Zoe Dinneen ’18 was put on the second team.

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MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018

Dartmouth’s N

A closer look at Dartmouth’s exciting additions

By EVAN GRIFFITH

The Dartm

PAULA KUTSCHERA/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

This year, Dartmouth volleyball has added six new players to the team’s roster. The incoming class of 2022 features players who have impressive resumes and excel both on and off the court.

Over the past few weeks, Dartmouth’s athletic teams have been busy finalizing their rosters for the upcoming season, including the addition of the new recruits from the Class of 2022. Recently, three teams have announced the additions to their incoming roster: women’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

This year, Dartmouth basketball has added five new players to the team’s roster.

The decorated Georgia Alexander, from Victoria, British Columbia, was a four-time Provincial All-Star, two-time Island MVP, and was selected to be part of the 201617 BC U17 Team as well as the Canada U19 Assessment Training Camp. Two New Jerseyans, Katie “Dougie” Douglas from Medham and Veronica Kelly from Chatham. The squad was completed with two new guards: Spain U18 Final Four Regional Champion Jimena Fuertes, from Gijon, Spain; and Asha Taylor, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Seven new players make up the incoming class for the Dartmouth women’s soccer team. The new members come from all over North America and beyond and feature power players in several positions on the pitch. Among them is Iceland U-17 National Team member Mist Grönvold, from Reykjavik, Iceland; and Kat Grgic, from Mississauga, Ontario, who helped her team win the Ontario Cup in 2017.

The team also features two four-time AllLeague Honorees: Maddie Mills, from Mills Milton, Massachusetts; and Tracey Mills, from Vienna, Virginia and. Rounding the team out are First Team All-State Izzy

Glennon, from Sea Cliff, New York; First Team All-Sunset League player Michael Guptill, from Huntington Beach, California; and First Team All-Inter AC 2016 and 2017 player Grace Rorke, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Class of 2022 also added six new players to the volleyball team’s roster. The incoming class of 2022 features players who have impressive resumes and excel both on and off the court. Nicole Liddle, from Los Gatos, California, was the 49ers Cal-Hi Sports CCS Volleyball Club Player of the Year in addition to being selected for the MaxPreps All-American second team and receiving an honorable mention for the UnderArmour All-American team. The incoming class also features two National Merit Commended Scholars in Emma Moffet from Los Angeles, California and Annemarie Horn from Scarsdale, New York. The volleyball roster is rounded out with Jael Campbell from Palos Verdes, California, Bella Hedley from Los Angeles and Francesca Meldrum from New York City.

Dartmouth women’s soccer head coach Ron Rainey noted that new recruits mark an exciting time for teams as they prepare for their respective seasons.

“I really think this group is going to be eager to fit in with the current team, push the team further and be great students and teammates making the experience better for each other,” Rainey said.

The recruiting process for finding potential athletes happens early for some teams. When asked about the timeline

of his recruitment process, Dartmouth volleyball head coach Gilad Doron notes that recruitment is an ongoing process of watching players and communicating with them and their coaches and counselors.

“We start usually around sophomore year in high school. We do an evaluation and if they have an interest we [talk over the] phone. With the new NCAA regulations they can’t come for a visit until junior year, but we can get to know them and they get to know us.”

Doron also highlighted club players as a prime target for recruits.

“We’re mostly looking at club players because players on a club will compete in higher level tournaments and also show their commitment to the sport beyond just the fall season,” Doron said.

Recruits have the opportunity to visit campus during their junior and senior year to begin connecting with the team. “[It] goes a long way giving them the chance to meet each other and put faces to names,” Rainey said.

Rainey emphasized the importance of chemistry between potential recruits and current players.

“A lot of times we have recruits sit down and have a meal, and go to class with [current players], so our players and recruits are able to just get a feel for each other,” Rainey said. “Our current players are going through the experience at Dartmouth, and it’s great because they get to ask questions and potential recruits get to ask questions.

For the most part there is a good synergy.”

Doron shared the same sentiment that

in order to ensure a team will be successful in the future, it is necessary to ensure that new recruits get along well with their new teammates and form a cohesive unit.

“Team building is always a challenge,” Doron said. “This is our second recruiting class as coaches here, so you still have players that came here before you and players that came here with you. This is going to be a class that we expect more of because we picked them to come and play for us. Every time you [bring in six new players], it’s a big challenge for us as coaches how we mix them and how they grow as a unit, so, it’s on us to make our team stronger. If the kids are here they ultimately want to get better every day and live in the visions that we set forth for them, that is to get better every day and to believe in the process of what it means to be a Dartmouth volleyball player, then the chemistry will follow.”

Despite limited interactions, many players find official visits give potential recruits an idea of what to expect and also provide a lot of excitement for current players.

“We’ve only met them on their official visit so far,” middle blocker Abby Kott ’20 said. “I know there’s a lot of talent in their class, which will bring some competition on the team, so we’re excited about that.

They’re super diverse position-wise, which we definitely need.”

Current tri-captain and right side hitter and defensive specialist Maddy Schoenberger ’20 echoed her thoughts.

“I would say that generally, the freshmen on our team right now have a little bit more access to the incoming recruits because they

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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018

Newest Recruits

s from the Class of 2022 for three select teams AND MAYA MOTEN

mouth Staff

LAUREN GRUFFI/THE DARTMOUTH

Seven new players make up the incoming class for the Dartmouth women’s soccer team. The new members come from all over North America and feature power players in several positions on the pitch. host them on their official [visits], so they get a little bit more interaction with the [recruits] as opposed to sophomores, juniors and seniors,” Schoenberger said. “[The new recruits] come up for their official visit during their senior fall when we’re in season, and they’ll usually come for a weekend when we have two home games to see what our daily routine is on a game day — eating together, warmups, postgame — so they can get a taste of what they’re going to be coming into.”

Coaches try to make a conscious effort to recruit individuals who fit the team not only in play on the court, but also in their personalities and how well they vibe with the current members.

“I think our coaches do a really good job of recruiting people that fit well into our system both culturally and on the court,” women’s basketball guard Cy Lippold ’19 added. “From meeting the five [new recruits], I think that they all have

great attitudes and are very invested with maintaining our system and our culture — staying positive all the time and having a growth mindset.”

When it comes to searching for potential new talent, there are often a variety of factors.

“One of the things we’re watching for is positions,” Rainey said. “Sometimes it’s just the impact when they’re playing. There are also the intangibles: how hard they work, how they react when things don’t go their way, how they play with the other team, how they treat their teammates and how they treat the other team.”

Doron also emphasized the importance of adding depth to the team’s roster during the recruitment process, and how that was particularly important with this incoming recruiting class. According to Doron, the team addressed the middle positions with Moffet and Meldrum as additional middles after Kott went down with injury. In addition,

for the outside pins, Horn added depth in the setting position.

Doron described the ideal recruit as someone who is not only a good fit for Dartmouth on and off the court, but someone who is willing to invest in their play and in the program.

“I think since we arrived here, our focus is to find someone that is a good fit for Dartmouth both academically and athletically,” Doron said. “For our team vision of trying to build a winning program here for the long haul is finding players who value their athletic experience here as meaningful and they want to invest in it.

Dartmouth offers tons of opportunities in so many ways, but what a regular student does versus what an athlete does is different, and so we’re looking for players who are passionate and committed and have the potential to be great teammates who want to do something special while they’re here in the capacity of academics and athletics

and on the social scene.”

Doron also highlighted the importance of finding players who can immediately step up in case of an injury.

“In the process, we want players that will help us get better but can also fit to make us a more balanced team in case of an injury,” he said. “The last couple years, when we lost a player to an injury we had little to nobody behind them, so hopefully when we build going into the future we can sustain a situation where players are able to come in.”

Doron added that he and his team look for players who will make an immediate impact in some way.

“If we want to be more competitive, we want to bring in players who are better than what we already have,” he said. “Obviously as we’re training the kids here they’re getting better. Now I think the depth that we bring will add competitiveness in practices which will eventually elevate everyone who plays.”

PAULA KUTSCHERA/DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The Class of 2022 also added five new players to the Dartmouth women’s basketball team, which finished 15-12 overall and 7-7 in conference play this past season.

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MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

leagues, and plenty of columnists and Jays fans have clamored for Vlad Jr. in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. Definitely worth seeing in the flesh. Can’t wait for the Class of 2028 to rock some Vlad Jr. jerseys during Green Key. The NBA playoffs are now down to four teams. That means it’s time for another set of incredibly accurate predictions.

Honorable Mention with Ray Lu ’18

Honorable Mention: Big Bad Vlad Last Tuesday, 20 of my buddies and I drove down to Manchester to watch the New Hampshire Fisher Cats take on the Portland Sea Dogs — partially to have a good time, partially because groups of 20 or more get free hats, mostly to see 19 year-old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. play baseball. For context, Vlad Jr. is the top-rated prospect in the minors right now who has yet to be called up to the major league this season. Through 31 games this season, he’s batting .397 with 36 RBIs and five homers, including one monstrous dinger off a nearby hotel the night before we went.

The Fisher Cats lost that game 5-3 and Vlad Jr. went one-for-four, but it was all worth it to see a future All-Starcaliber player in action. It’s just a matter of time before he gets called up to the big

Western Conference Finals: Houston Rockets (1) vs. Golden State Warriors (2) Previous predictions: HOU over UTA, 4-2 (actual: HOU over UTA, 4-1), GSW over NOP, 4-2 (actual: GSW over NOP, 4-1) To nobody’s surprise, the two top teams in the West made it to the conference finals. It’s the matchup we’ve all been waiting for: old superteam versus new superteam. The Rockets may be hurt by their relative playoff inexperience, but the truth of the matter is that James Harden and Chris Paul are legitimate superstars who can get the job done. Whether this team can best the Warriors has been a seasonlong question, and the answer is still probably no. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are two of this league’s best players and they’ve been here before.

For my own entertainment’s sake, I would love to see this series go to seven.

It’s just real tough to put any team over Golden State.

Prediction: GSW over HOU, 4-2 Eastern Conference Finals: Boston Celtics (2) vs. Cleveland

Cavaliers (4) Previous predictions: PHI over BOS, 4-1 (actual: BOS over PHI, 4-1), CLE over TOR, 4-3 (actual: CLE over TOR, 4-0) In the past two weeks, the narrative regarding the Cavaliers has swung every way imaginable. The underrated Indiana Pacers took LeBron and his pals to seven games, and every sports headline in America asked if the Cavaliers were just too weak this year.

And just as quickly as that narrative spread, “LeBronto ” came to town and the one-seed Toronto Raptors were dispatched in quick fashion while the Cavaliers regained their footing on the East. Then just as the tide seemed to turn, Cleveland received a 108-83 game one drubbing courtesy of over .500 shooting from the field for the Celtics and only 15 points from LeBron.

On the other hand, this Celtics team has surpassed all expectations and easily dispatched a young Philadelphia 76ers team. How far they can go remains to be seen, but it would be unsurprising to see their youth come back to bite them as they deepen their playoff run. Also, LeBron has willed this team through two rounds now; I wouldn’t be shocked to see him make it three. There’s a reason he’s been to seven straight NBA Finals.

All in all, it really is shaping up like whoever makes it out of the West will win the title, but these four teams have demonstrated incredible strength throughout the playoffs. I just want to keep watching some great basketball.

Prediction: CLE over BOS, 4-2

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Golfer Jason Liu ’21 named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, only third Dartmouth male golfer to hold title

By MAYA MOTEN

The Dartmouth Staff

During the end of April as the Ivy League was handing out their yearly distinctions, Jason Liu ’21 had the honor of being named Rookie of the Year in men’s golf. The prize came after his performance during the Ivy League tournament, where he finished tied for 13th after playing the lowest round of the tournament on day three.

“There was a lot of pressure and I kind of struggled throughout the first and second round, so by the third round I was feeling the pressure a little less,” Liu said.

“During the first four holes, I was four-under while the other guys had two or three-under and so it was really exhilarating to play. I actually got it down to six-under, but I came in three-under [67] while the rest of the team finished in the low 70s.”

Liu also noted that it was the best performance of the team this season.

Teammate and former Rookie of the Year John Lazor ’19 expressed his admiration for Liu’s performance.

“He was six-under throughout,

maybe 10 or 12 holes at two said. “You want to just contribute different points, and I guess from to the team and play as well as you past experiences playing with [Liu] can, but sometimes the summer on the same team or when I’ve before your freshman year you play played in tournaments with him, a lot of golf and you’re very excited knowing that somebody is doing for the season. Usually freshmen that well in the come in playing tournament just the very best “I was really quite really gives a golf, and once great feeling,” surprised, especially you start putting Lazor said. some great considering that I “He had the tournament lowest round was struggling a few rounds together of the entire times.” it translates tournament into the next that day and tournament and that really says -JASON LIU ’21, MEN’S the tournament something after, and you GOLFER AND 2018 IVY about his golf can really build game. Being a LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE momentum freshman and YEAR going into the doing it on the rest of the big gest stage season.” in Ivy League golf is pretty The achievement of Rookie of incredible.” the Year was surprising, however Liu’s Rookie of the Year honor well-deserved it was, after Liu faced makes this the third time Dartmouth a difficult start to the season with a has won the award since it was first shoulder injury which impeded his given out in 2009. Liu joins the golf swing. ranks of Peter Williamson ’12 and “I was really quite surprised, Lazor, who earned his in 2016. especially considering that I was “It’s a big honor, especially struggling a few times,” Liu said. because you don’t expect too much Liu also noted how much his coming in as a freshman,” Lazor game improved from the fall to the

spring. still shoot decently, he is able to save “I was not too happy with my himself with his putt,” Parker said. swing in the beginning of the year, “He’s a heck of a worker and he’s but during the off season I worked really dedicated. His focus is on with [Dartmouth men’s golf head school and golf and I’m honestly coach Rich Parker],” Liu said. not sure what’s more important. He “It was really great, and I saw is involved with everything. We’re a significant really lucky change and to have him, had a strong “[Liu] is the best putter and I think finish, so I in the Ivy League — even it’s gonna be was really a great four though he can still shoot happy.” years.”

A s i d e decently, he is able to Liu’s from training save himself with his putt. s u p e r i o r with Parker, putting ability L i u a l s o He’s a heck of a worker has been put in extra and he’s really dedicated. something hour s with that has His focus is on school t h e t e a m ’s marked him and golf and I’m honestly through his simulator. “ I n t h e not sure what’s more days in Junior w i n t e r, w e Golf. h a v e o u r important. He is involved “[Liu] i n d o o r with everything. We’re is one of the f a c i l i t y, ” best putters Lazor said. really lucky to have him, I’ve ever “ Obv ious ly and I think it’s gonna be a seen,” Lazor we can’t said. “I didn’t great four years.” practice quite notice outside, that during but he took -COACH RICH PARKER, Junior Golf, advantage as he was an DARTMOUTH MEN’S GOLF of that more overall solid than anybody HEAD COACH player, but in on the team,” the last few Lazor said. year s and “He stayed down there with especially at Dartmouth his putting Sam [Ohno ’21], who is another has just excelled, and that’s one of freshman on the team, until 11:00 the strong points of his game.” p.m. on some nights, just practicing This hard work mentality is on our new simulator that we got something Liu maintains even with this past year, and so his hard an Ivy League award under his belt, work really paid off especially this as he plans on devoting the summer winter.” to improving his golf game.

Parker shared this sentiment, “It was really motivating seeing specifically noting Liu’s work ethic how I can improve,” Liu said. and ability.

“I really plan on practicing and “[Liu] is the best putter in the working on my game, and hopefully Ivy League — even though he can next year I can win first.”

MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY

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SPORTS

TODAY’S LINEUP

BASEBALL AT HARVARD 1 P.M.

The Dartmouth men’s rugby team has had a seasoned history of success since it first started in 1951

BY CAITLYN MCGOVERN The Dartmouth Staff

Since 1877, rugby has been part of the College’s athletic landscape.

The Dartmouth Rugby Football Association was founded in 1880 and later transitioned into traditional American football in the 1890s, but returned to the roots of the sport with the establishment of Dartmouth Rugby Football Club in 1951.

In its history, the club has toured Argentina, Bermuda, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Spain and Uruguay. The team also used to travel to England annually, but no longer does so, as the College placed an international travel ban on teams. Nonetheless, the team has traveled to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

The team has had a seasoned history of success. The men have won the Ivy League Championship 21 times since 1969 and 11 times consecutively since 2007 All-American, as well as the national 7s championship in 2011 and 2012. This spring, the Big Green took home the D1AA All-American Spring Championship with a 66-20 victory over the University of Nevada, Reno.

The team is coached by James Willocks, who previously played Premier Level Rugby with the Alhambra Union Rugby Club and has coached with Dartmouth Football, the U.S.A. Rugby Men’s Collegiate All-American Team and Pennsylvania State University. The team’s captains are Benji Hannam ’18, Steven Hinshaw ’18 and Oliver Engelhart ’18, and the president is Andy Werchniak ’18.

Engelhart, a scrum half from Hong Kong, China, has been playing rugby since he was three years old. He originally came to Dartmouth as a member of the varsity sailing team and decided to also play rugby. However, at the end of his freshman year he chose to fully commit himself to the DRFC. As a captain, Engelhart believes that part of his role is to maintain an upbeat and positive atmosphere among the team both on and off the field.

“We don’t like it when there’s negatives, we don’t like when there’s comments made about mistakes,” he said. “We want to keep it positive, we want to keep guys really enjoying the game, and then because of that you play better if you’re actually enjoying it.”

As a whole, students play an integral role in running the club, taking lead in

COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH MEN’S RUGBY TEAM

This spring, the Big Green took home the D1AA All-American Spring Championship with a 66-20 victory over the University of Nevada, Reno. positions such as captain, president, treasurer, tour director and equipment managers. While the DRFC is a club sport organization, it is the largest one at Dartmouth and its members practice similarly to a varsity team, with four on-field practices a week in addition to lift sessions. The team’s intensity to each practice is unrivaled, having taken the field for practice even in four degree weather.

“In terms of hours in a year, we train more than any other team on campus in terms of how long we practice throughout the year,” Engelhart said.

“Because we go from preseason in the fall, so we start two and a half weeks before class, and then we go all the way until finals of spring season.”

There are four different types of practice for the team: insole, pace, intensity and captain’s run. Each of these styles focuses on a different aspect of training, from speed to learning new strategies to conditioning. The team also watches film in preparation for some of their matches.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it matters about how we play our game, and then once we’ve built that, then we look at the other team’s strategy and we say, ‘How can we adapt to best overcome them?’,” Engelhart said. “And that’s when we start looking at game film, but it’s not targeting players, it’s not about looking at exactly where we can

attack, it’s just how can we build our own strategy around the preferences of the other team.”

This year, out of the 15 starters and eight substitute players on the A-team, two of the players — Charlton McArdle ’21 and Jarett Lewis ’21 — hadn’t touched a ball before coming to Dartmouth, while two other ’21s had some experience in high school.

“As leaders on the team, not just captains but all the seniors and all the juniors, teaching younger players how to play the game, raising the rugby IQ, getting them involved and then just fixing the little things and everybody’s getting better as we do that,” Engelhart said. “I get better because of teaching other people as well.”

While the team takes pride in its history, it also wants to be innovative in its game play, deviating from the “old-school.”

“We want to be creating something new and by doing that we’re remembering, we’re paying tribute to the guys that came before us,” Engelhart said. “If we can work for something excellent, we are giving something back to the alumni.”

On May 5, the team traveled to Los Angeles to face off against the University of Mary Washington, the top-ranked D1AA team, in their first appearance at the Fifteens National Championship Match in 20 years and

second appearance in the history of the club. While the team fell short of winning their first ever 15s National Championship 38-30 after an exciting game that went down to the wire, Hannam walked away feeling proud of the team.

“It was an amazing game,” Hannam said. “I’m so proud of the guys, they showed a resilience and just a ‘never die’ attitude.”

The team will be in Philadelphia for the Collegiate Rugby Championship on June 2 and 3 to compete for the national title in sevens.

Next year, the team will be captained

by Struan Coleman ’19, who has several objectives for the club.

“Getting back to the D1AA final I

think is our goal, and then winning it as well,” Coleman said. “Win another Ivy League championship [and] go undefeated in the fall.”

After Dartmouth, Engelhart plans to play professionally, either in Hong Kong or the U.S. He hopes to try out for the Hong Kong national team this summer.

Hannam also plans to remain involved with the sport, either as a player, coach or referee.

“I definitely want to stay involved in rugby and I definitely want to try and stay involved in this club in some way as an alumni,” Hannam said. “I mean, this has been the biggest part of my Dartmouth experience, the best part of my Dartmouth experience, and I love this place.”

COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH MEN’S RUGBY TEAM

The men have won the Ivy League Championship 21 times since 1969 and 11 times consecutively since 2007.