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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Big Green sports open winter seasons, face tough matches and meets at home and away in December

Men’s Track and Field

The men’s track and field team competed in two meets over the course of December. Distance runners tend not to compete during the month of December, while some mid-distance runners, sprinters and field athletes do. The team began the 2016 indoor season at Boston University for a non-scoring meet hosted by the Terriers. Myles Holt ’20 led the charge for the Big Green, finishing as the top college runner in the meet and second overall in the 400-meter dash, running the event in 49.65 seconds. The team then hosted the University of New Hampshire and the University of Maine on Dec. 10. Nico Robinson ’17 won six of the seven pentathlon events to take home the overall pentathlon title. Holt followed up his strong start to the season at BU by winning the 400m against Maine and UNH with Alec Eschholz ’19 and Parker Johnson ’19 taking the second and third spots in the race.

Women’s Track and Field

Like the men’s side, the women’s track and field team competed in a pair of December meets. Cha’Mia Rothwell ’20 finished second in the 60-meter race at the BU meet before taking home victories in three different events at the tri-meet against UNH and Maine, winning the 60m dash, the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump. The Big Green women won its tri-meet against the Wildcats and the Black Bears.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team played a busy December slate, dropping the month’s first four games before winning the next three. The team’s four-game skid began with an 18-point road loss against Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Four days later, the team dropped another road contest, this time at the hands of the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. The Big Green then hosted the University of Maine but fell in a tight 73-68 game. The team then went back on the road, losing at the University of Hartford in another tight contest, by a score of 70-66. The Big Green registered its first win of the season on December 13th, trouncing LIU Brooklyn, 82-68. Miles Wright ’18 had his second-straight strong performance against LIU Brooklyn. Wright notched a 39-point performance against the Blackbirds a season ago, then scored 25 against them this year. Next, the team travelled to Smithfield, Rhode Island for a match-up with Bryant University, which it won 75-69. The Big Green extended its win streak to three with a dramatic 63-62 win over the University of New Hampshire. The team trailed late, but a clutch three-pointer from Brendan Barry ’20 with just 2.8 seconds left on the clock ensured a victory against the in-state rival. In the game, Evan Boudreaux ’19 registered his fifth double-double of the season, continuing right where he left off on the heels of a strong freshman campaign.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team was even busier than the men’s squad, playing eight games in December with mixed results. The Big Green began the final month of 2016 with a game against the College of William and Mary on the road in Williamsburg, Virginia, only to fall by a score of 63 to 50. Kate Letkewicz ’18 and Emily Slagle ’18 led the team in scoring with 11 points apiece in the losing effort. The following week, the squad travelled to Boston University and knocked off the Terriers 61-49. Letkewicz’s 17 points and 12 rebounds led the charge for the Big Green in the non-conference showdown. A few days later, the team fell to the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, before returning to Hanover where it lost to Marist University 66-61. After a two-game losing streak, the Big Green earned a ten-point win over the University of Rhode Island in South Kingston, Rhode Island. The team then made its second trip to Boston of the month, this time falling to Boston College. However, the Big Green did not allow itself to fall into another losing streak, pulling off a 69-61 overtime win in Hanover over the University at Albany. Once again, Letkewicz led the team in scoring, this time with 19 points. The team ended its turbulent December with a 64-47 loss on New Year’s Eve at the University of New Hampshire.

Men’s Swimming and Diving

The men’s swimming and diving team had a relatively quiet month of December in terms of competition, though it did enjoy a training trip to Hawaii. The Big Green competed in the Bruno Invitational over the course of three days in early December in Providence, Rhode Island. The meet featured Ivy League foes Brown University, Columbia University and Princeton University along with Rider University and Rutgers University. The Big Green placed last at the meet. However, the finish was not without silver linings, as Josh Hendell ’20 cut over 20 seconds off his seed time to finish second in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Hendell also won the 500-yard freestyle on the competition’s first day. During the two-week training trip in Hawaii, the team lost a dual meet against the University of Hawaii in Honolulu by a score of 184 to 113. Again, the disappointing result featured a number of strong swims by the Big Green. This included an impressive performance by the 200-yard medley relay of Tony Shen ’18, James Flood ’20, Henry Patrick ’19 and Tang-e Tan ’20. The relay completed its swim in 1:36.01, taking second place. Flood went on to win the 200-yard backstroke for the Big Green with a time of 2:07.58.

Women’s Swimming and Diving

The women’s swimming and diving team also took a training trip to Hawaii but not before competing at the Bruno Invitational. At the meet hosted by Brown University, Dartmouth beat out Rider University and Columbia University to place fourth behind Brown, Princeton University and Rutgers University. The women sat in third place after the first day of competition, but despite sending 15 swimmers to finals on the meet’s second day, they slipped to fourth at the conclusion of the meet. AnnClaire MacArt ’18 impressed throughout the meet, taking sixth-place in the 500-yard freestyle and third in the 1,650-yard freestyle. In a quad meet against the University of Hawaii, University of California-Los Angeles and Oregon State University, the Big Green lost to all three competitors. However, Dartmouth posted top-ten finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. Molly Brickman ’19 took fifth in the 1,000-yard freestyle, and the Big Green had three top-ten finishers in the 200-yard freestyle.

Women’s Squash

The No. 9 women’s squash played three games in the first seven days of December: a two-game homestand and a match at No. 1 Harvard University.

On Dec. 3, Dartmouth lost its season opener 7-2 to No. 3 Trinity University. Emma Roberts ’19 and Maddie Fraser ’17 were bright spots in the loss, with each downing her Trinity opponent in straight sets. Jacqueline Barnes ’17 and Annie Blasberg ’20 also impressed with strong performances against talented opposition.

The next day, Dartmouth downed No. 14 Franklin and Marshall College 8-1 to earn its first victory of the season. Dartmouth’s lone loss came at the No. 1 position, where Barnes lost to the Diplomats’ Fiona Murphy. Blasberg and Julia Potter ’20 provided some drama in an otherwise uneven match. Both Blasberg and Potter played games that went to extra points, but each notched her first collegiate victory in four-set fashion.

The Big Green wrapped up December with a 9-0 loss to Harvard. Roberts played the closest game of the match, taking her Harvard opponent to extra points before losing.

Dartmouth resumes winter play on Jan. 14 at Princeton University.

Men’s Squash

The No. 8 men’s squash team had mixed results during winter interim, going 2-3 during an eight-day period.

Dartmouth opened the season with 9-0 defeats to No. 3 University of Rochester and No. 1 Trinity College. Carson Spahr ’19 came closest to a victory against Rochester, stretching his match to five games before an 11-3 loss put the match away. Likewise, Jack Harvey ’18 forced a fifth game against his Trinity opponent but lost in extra points.

The Big Green followed the two losses with a pair of wins on Dec. 4. Alvin Heumann ’18 and Brandon De Otaduy ’20 won their matches at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions against Franklin & Marshall College, each win coming in five games. The rest of the victories in Dartmouth’s 8-1 triumph came in straight sets. Dartmouth beat the United States Naval Academy 7-2 later in the afternoon.

The Green and White defeated Harvard last season for the first time in nearly 70 years but could not do it again on Dec. 7, losing 8-1.

The men will play again on Jan. 14 at Princeton University.

Men’s Hockey

Dartmouth played seven contests between the end of fall term and the new year, going 2-4-1 over that span.

The Big Green split a two-game series with Robert Morris University in late November, playing to a 5-2 victory at PPG Paints Arena the night after a 3-0 loss to the Colonials. It was Dartmouth’s first road victory of the season.

The road trip continued with a swing up north through New York, where the Big Green’s road woes resumed. The team lost 4-2 to Clarkson University and 5-1 to No. 19 St. Lawrence University.

On Dec. 10, the Green and White returned to Thompson Arena for the first time in more than a month. Home ice was a welcome sight as Dartmouth thumped rival University of New Hampshire 5-1.

The team closed out 2016 with the 28th edition of the Ledyard Classic. Its first game ended in regular time as 2-2 tie with the United States Military Academy, but the Big Green won the shootout 1-0 and advanced to the championship against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. The championship game was locked at 4-4 with 8:56 remaining in the third period when UMass Lowell broke the tie. Two empty net goals from the River Hawks made the final score 7-4.

Women’s Hockey

Between the conclusion of the fall term and the end of December, the Big Green went 1-5, including losses to two ranked opponents.

After more than two weeks off the ice in mid-November, women’s hockey notched its second victory of the season, a 4-0 shutout of the University of Maine. The next night, the Black Bears avoided a sweep with a 3-2 win the next night.

A pair of 2-1 defeats, first to No. 7 Colgate University and then to Cornell University, finished up Dartmouth’s road trip.

The Big Green returned to home ice on Dec. 7 only to be dispatched 6-1 by No. 6 Boston College. Three days later, despite Kennedy Ottenbreit ’17’s two goals, the Big Green lost a fifth straight decision, this time 4-2 to the University of Vermont.