Around the Ivies Season Review: Dartmouth

With the spring semester already having begun at Dartmouth but around the corner for the rest of the Ancient Eight, The Crimson takes a look at the fall semester for each athletic program and the season that was in each major sport. Next Up, the Dartmouth Big Green.

Football:

Picked to finish sixth in the preseason, the Dartmouth football team tied Brown and Princeton for third in the league and outscored its opponents by 41 points per game. The Big Green won six games and lost close decisions to Penn (28-21) and Brown (28-24) that could have taken it higher up in the standings. The Big Green was a perplexing 1-4 at home—the product of taking on the class of the conference (Brown, Harvard and Penn) in Hanover—but an unblemished 5-0 on the road. For the season, running back Dominick Pierre was the team’s best offensive player, posting nine touchdowns and 92 rushing yards per game.

Women’s Volleyball:

A 2-22 season for the Big Green volleyball team ended in sour fashion, as the team dropped fourteen straight decisions to end the year. The team defeated Harvard in a hard-fought five set victory in its first Ivy League decision before dropping the rest of its Ancient Eight contests, winning only five sets the remainder of the year and none in its last six matches. Junior Elisa Scudder represented a bright spot on the squad, taking home Academic All-Ivy honors in addition to ranking 10th in the conference in hitting percentage (.283) and blocks per set (0.74) during conference play.

Men’s Golf:

After finishing first last year in the Ancient Eight, Dartmouth’s men golf team has struggled to begin the season. Currently fifth in the Ivy League after its third tournament, Dartmouth has an average score seven strokes higher in 2012 than last season and has not yet notched a win after three in nine tournaments last season. However, two Dartmouth golfers rank in the top 10 and sophomore Charlie Edler has improved fourteen places and ranks fifth in the Ivy League.

Women’s Golf:

Although the team has fallen one spot in the Ivy League rankings, Dartmouth’s golf team has seen marked improvement this season. The team’s average score has fallen nearly eight strokes while its score versus par has decreased by five strokes. The team graduated top-30 Ivy League golfer Marietta Smith in 2012 but returned seventh-ranked Abram Lee, whose rank has dropped—much like the team’s as a whole—despite improving by one stroke to par and two strokes overall.

Women’s Soccer:

Dartmouth had a historic season in 2012, winning 13 games to mark the most victories the team has had since the turn of the century. The team lost just one Ivy League game and ended the season with seven straight victories, culminating with a 3-0 victory in Ithaca for the team’s final game of the season. Freshman Corey Delaney took home conference Rookie of the Year honors (the team’s first outright winner since 1983) and five Big Green were named to the All-Iv first team (along with Daleny, Aurelia Solomon, Chrissy Lozier, Emma Brush, and Tatiana Saunders made the team)

Men’s Soccer:

The Big Green men’s soccer team excelled at home in 2012, finishing 6-1 overall and an undefeated 4-0 against Ivy League foes. The team had two members named to the All-Ivy team. Sophomore forward Alex Adelabu tallied a team-best nine goals, finishing second in the Ivy League in goals per game (0.56), points per game (1.31), and goals. In addition to making the All-Ivy first team, Adelabu ranked 41st in the country in total goals.

Field Hockey:

Continuing its three-year improvement, Dartmouth finished second in the Ivy League in field hockey, scoring six wins in the league for the first time in four years. The Big Green won eleven games, including eight of its last ten. Dartmouth was the only team to score on Princeton—which outscored its opponents 45-1 over the course of the Ivy League system—and lost only one game at home all season. Goalkeeper Jenna Stearns allowed only 21 goals all season, second best in the conference and forward Ali Savage’s 26 points were fifth in the Ivy League.