As Dartmouth teams turn to the heart of league play, 14 Big Green teams will head into the weekend looking to position themselves for post-season opportunities. The men’s and women’s swim and dive teams host their annual Dartmouth Invitational on Friday and Saturday while men’s and women’s tennis teams will also host kick-off weekend matches. The men’s and women’s track teams look to build on two positive results as they take on Ivy Leauge foes Yale University and Columbia University while the men’s and women’s ski teams head to the University of Vermont Carnival to try and take down the defending EISA champs.
This week, however, we take a look at three Dartmouth teams who are riding impressive win streaks into the weekend, looking to keep up their momentum and add a few more victories.
Women’s Hockey vs. Cornell University (Friday 7 p.m.)
Fresh off an impressive win over No. 5 Harvard University last weekend, the women’s hockey team (10-7-1, 6-5-1 ECAC) looks to continue its four-game win streak with another tough match up against Cornell (9-6-3, 7-2-2 ECAC) at Thompson Arena. The Big Red come to Hanover just three points ahead of Dartmouth in the ECAC standings.
Last weekend, the Big Green fought from behind, erasing Harvard leads of 1-0, and 2-1 to tally four goals against the Crimson in the final stanza, dealing the visitors their first loss since November. Dartmouth’s goaltender Robyn Chemago ’17 was stout in goal, making 37 saves in the game including 21 in the third period alone. Cornell brings its own three-game win streak into the matchup including wins over ECAC foes Yale University and Brown University and a commanding 6-2 victory over No. 4 Boston University.
The Big Green will have to shut down Cornell’s potent offense, which ranks second in the league with a 3.28 goals per game average. This is in large part thanks to senior forward Brianne Jenner, who leads the ECAC in both points and assists. Dartmouth needs to come out strong and avoid falling behind early, but if they do, they have a great opportunity to knock off another Ivy rival in front of the home crowd.PREDICTION: Dartmouth 3-2
Women’s Basketball vs. Harvard University (Saturday 6 p.m.)
After having last weekend off from competition, the Big Green (10-5, 1-0 Ivy) returns to the court this weekend, sporting a five-game win streak of their own as they meet the Harvard Crimson (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) in Leede Arena. The two teams met in Cambridge in Dartmouth’s last action, a confident 76-61 Big Green victory. Dartmouth was led by forward Lakin Roland ’16, who contributed 25 points and nine rebounds to the team’s highest-scoring game of the season.
While the first half went back-and-forth with the Big Green holding a slim 32-29 lead at the break, Dartmouth exploded for 44 points in the second period and maintained a lead of over eight points for the final 17 minutes of the game. Harvard did earn a 66-54 win last weekend over the New Jersey Institute of Technology, but it likely will not be enough to overcome Dartmouth. Expect more of the same from the Big Green this weekend who seem to have Harvard figured out. Add in Dartmouth’s home court advantage this weekend and the Big Green should come away with another win.PREDICTION: Dartmouth 74- Harvard 64
Women’s Squash vs. Bates College (Sunday 12 p.m.)
Making their first appearance in this space, the women’s squash team returns to Hanover after a pair of upset wins last weekend over then-No. 7 Stanford University and then-No. 8 George Washington University to climb back into a slot in the Howe Cup competition at the end of the season, where they will compete for a national title. In the previous matches hosted by Yale University, the Big Green notched its second win of the season 7-2, losing the matches at the first and second positions but winning matches three through nine to come away with a victory.
Oona Morris ’15 won the only five-game match to give Dartmouth a commanding 4-1 lead before Madeline Fraser ’17 closed it out for the Big Green. The next day, Dartmouth continued its winning ways with a dramatic 5-4 win over GW, with Helena Darling ’15 taking the decisive ninth point after her opponent was forced to retire due to injury. Dartmouth jumped three spots from No. 10 to No. 7 in the national rankings thanks to the two wins and will look to keep the win streak alive back in Hanover taking on No. 15 Bates, who has already lost to both Stanford and GW this year.PREDICTION: Dartmouth 9 – Bates 0
