It was a scene replayed time and time again during the 1992-93 sports season: the image of the graduating student-athletes playing their last games in the green and white.
It's just a part of what college athletics is all about. It's men's basketball teammates Alex Gayer '93, John Conley '93 and Crawford Palmer '93 standing at Leede Arena mid-court, arm-in-arm.
It's women's soccer and women's lacrosse captain Ginger Smith '92 unlacing her cleats for the final time as a Dartmouth athlete.
It's baseball team co-captain Joe Tosone '93, hesitating slightly before leaving the field after the last out of the season.
It's number one singles player Ali Boss '93 before the final home tennis match of her career getting a chair with her parents.
The prolific use of the words "final" and "last" should not obscure the rich athletic legacy of the Class of 1993. They broke records they never thought they would break and helped many of Dartmouth's teams reach new heights of achievement.
The accomplishments of the 1992-93 athletic year will now be consigned to perhaps the most soothing of analysts: the athletes' memories. The wins become sweeter, the losses harder to recall.
It was a year of highs and lows. Here's a team-by-team look at the year in Dartmouth sports.
Football
One of the big stories of the fall, and indeed the athletic year was the football team's third consecutive Ivy League title, which the team shared with Princeton thanks to a 34-20 stomping of the Tigers in the final game of the season.
En route to the Ivy Crown, the Big Green, which went 8-2 overall on the season and 6-1 in the League, wrought havoc on the Dartmouth record books with as potent an offense as the Ancient Eight has seen in many years.
Quarterback Jay Fiedler '94 led all Division I signal-callers with a 169.35 proficiency rating and won the Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League player of the year. In addition to his rating, Fiedler set eight Dartmouth records: yards passing in a game (419) and total yards in a game (398) both against Yale, yards passing in a season (2,748), total offense in a season (2,934) and career (4,564), touchdown passes in a season (25) and career (38), season completion percentage (64.1).
Kicker Dennis Durkin '93 was accorded All-Ivy and AP All-American honors for not missing a field goal in 15 attempts during the season and nailing 41 of 43 extra points. Other All-Ivy selections were receiver Matt Brzica '93, offensive tackle Andy MacDonald '93, linebacker George Neos '93 and offensive tackle Lance Brackee '93.
Men's Soccer
For the men's soccer team, 1992 was another outstanding campaign in a program where excellence is the norm. The team won the Ivy League Championship for the third time in five years and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals before losing to top-ranked Virginia.
Justin Head '93, who garnered the Player of the Year award in the Ivy League and All-New England honors, led the Big Green to an 11-5-2 record. David Moran '96 was the league's Rookie of the Year. Ian Seward '94 was also named to the All-Ivy squad.
Women's Soccer
It was a season of firsts and superlatives for women's soccer.
The team's 10-6-1 record was its best ever and its post-season run that ended in the ECAC semifinals marked Big Green's first ever playoff appearance.
The team's first-ever post-season win came when Karen Erhardt '93 knocked in the winning penalty kick to beat Cornell after 30 minutes of scoreless overtime.
Ginger Smith '92 grabbed All-Ivy honors with five others on second-team or honorable mention.
Cross Country
Despite an almost entirely new staff, Dartmouth continued its tradition of strong cross country teams. The men's team failed to win the Heptagonal Championships for the first time in eight years, but still finished in a strong third place. The team rebounded to finish in the top half of the field at the IC4A's.
The women's cross country team placed second in the New England region at the ECAC Championships, and in doing so qualified for the NCAA Championship Meet, where the team finished 22nd.
Field Hockey
The field hockey team was a lot like an Oreo Cookie this season: hard on the ends but soft in the middle. After an encouraging 3-2-1 start, the Green had a tough 0-4-1 stretch before righting themselves to win the last three games and even their record at 6-6-2 overall.
All six of Dartmouth's wins and both ties were shutouts and the Dartmouth defense did not allow a single goal in its final four games.
Sarah Curtis '93 and Margaret Field '93 were first-team All-Ivy picks and Academic All-Ivy selections.
Women's Volleyball
1992 was an improved season for the up-and-coming women's volleyball program. The team started strong, and ended with a 12-25 record -- an improvement over last year.
It was the final season for fifth-year coach Eric Baumgartner, and the team is currently searching for his replacement.
Amy Shortridge '93, the team's captain, was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection.
Women's Hockey
Youth served the women's hockey team well in the 1992-93 season. One senior, three juniors, three sophomores and eight freshman combined to win the Ivy League crown and cruise to the semifinals of the ECAC tournament.
After losing four of its first five games, the team went on to win 18 of its last 22 games, outscoring its opponents by nearly five goals a game. The women finished the season 19-7-1 overall, 9-0-1 Ivy.
The team's biggest win came when it iced defending champion Princeton 6-3 to win the Ivy League Title and preserve its first undefeated Ivy League season.
Gretchen Ulion '94 led the ECAC and Ivy League in scoring with 44 goals and 34 assists for 78 points and was accorded a host of awards, including Ivy League Player of the Year and first team All-Ivy and All-ECAC. Sarah Devens '96 won the Rookie of the Year Award in both the ECAC and Ivy League. Kim Cohen '94 was also named first team All-Ivy and All-ECAC.
Men's Hockey
The men's team exploded in '92-'93 for its best showing in 13 years. The team started the season by winning the Auld Lang Syne Tournament for the first time since 1981 and went 11-16 overall and 9-13 ECAC.
But the record hardly does justice to the electricity this team brought to bear every time they set their skates on the ice. Thompson Arena was the place to be this winter. More than 4,000 fans rocked Thompson to the rafters for Dartmouth's stunning 4-3 upset of Harvard.
In the first round of the ECAC Tournament, Dartmouth played the longest game in the tournament's history, an 87 minute, 16 second 4-3 loss to Colgate.
Coach Roger Demment was named ECAC Coach of the Year.
Women's Basketball
The rule for the women's basketball season was a simple one: if it ain't broke, it will be soon. The team, which started the season with only nine players, played with seven for most of their games and as few as six on some nights. For the final 1:18 of the team's game against Yale, the Big Green played with four players on the court.
Renee Reed '93 missed the first half of the season with a stress fracture, Brandi Jones '95 missed the second half with strained ligaments in her ankle, and Ilsa Webeck '94 missed the whole thing and red-shirted.
The team began the year with a dismal 2-12 record before turning the season around to end up 8-18 overall, 6-8 Ivy. Constantly fighting the fatigue of too few substitutes, Coach Jackie Hullah's squad played with heart and courage.
Team captain Renee Reed '93, the team's only senior, won second-team All-Ivy honors.
Men's Basketball
After flirting with the possibility of winning the Ivy title through the first half of the season, Dartmouth collapsed in the home stretch, losing six of its last seven games to end the season 11-15 overall, 5-9 Ivy.
The turning point came in a disappointing 51-42 overtime loss to Yale, which the Big Green followed with an equally heart-wrenching 63-60 overtime loss to Princeton. The team consistently had problems winning close games against Ivy opponents. Crawford Palmer '93 led the team in scoring and rebounding, and his 2.7 blocked shots per game average was 18th best in the nation. Palmer, a second team academic All-American, was also second-team All-Ivy.
Indoor Track
The men's track team had an outstanding indoor season as it went 7-0 and won both its multi-team meets. The two-mile relay combination of Mike Hughes '93, Jon Fidelak '93, Tim Farrell '96 and Brian Berry '96 won their race at the Heptagonal Championships, where the men finished sixth overall. The four were named All-Ivy.
The women finished 8th at the Heps, but a pair of second place finishes in two meets at Dartmouth helped pushed the team's record to 5-2 for the season. Thrower Amy Winchester '96 was named to the first team All-Ivy squad.
Swimming
After going through the 1980s without winning a single meet, the women's swim team continued to shake its decade-long slump with a 5-5 overall, 2-5 Ivy record.
The five wins included several over teams Dartmouth had never beaten before. Dartmouth qualified a record seven swimmers and a diver for the Eastern Championships.
The women broke several Dartmouth records en route to the best season in the program's history.
The men ended the regular season without a win at a duel meet, but 16 of the team's 18 swimmers recorded personal best times at the EISL Championships .
Squash
The men's team finished its season with a respectable 6-10 overall, 1-5 Ivy mark and grabbed 15th place at the NISRA Team Championships.
Alexis Miron '93 ended an outstanding college career with All-Ivy and All-American honors, taking the team to a 12th-place national finish.
The women's team went 4-7 overall and 1-4 in the Ivy League, an improvement over last year. Sascha Greatrex '95 led the team in the Howe Cup tournament at Yale, where the women finished 12th out of 25.
Coach Jim McCracken resigned at the end of the season.
Baseball
It was a wet and weird spring for the baseball team. After a fruitful California trip and a strong start to its season, the team played only one game in eleven days during the heart of its schedule. After the layoff, the Big Green's 10-6 start was soured by a stretch that featured nine losses in 11 games.
The team ended the season winning five more games than last year at 14-19 overall, 8-12 Ivy but shaky relief pitching and a lack of clutch hitting hurt the Big Green throughout the season.
Joe Tosone '93, who led the team in 10 offensive categories, won All-Ivy honors, as did catcher John Clifford '95.
Women's Lacrosse
The women's lacrosse team pushed its ranking to fourth in the nation and went 11-4 overall, 2-4 Ivy in one of its best seasons ever.
This was a team that didn't just beat its foes -- it obliterated them. Even without trying to run up the score, over one seven-game winning streak, the Big Green outscored their opponents 85-25.
Despite going into the NCAA Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country, Dartmouth could not pass Harvard in the first round.
Ginger Smith '93, Kim Cohen '94, Lauren Holleran '95, and Ellen Bruce '94 were all named first team All-Ivy. Holleran and Bruce were first-team All-American and Smith and Cohen were second-team.
Men's Lacrosse
The men's lacrosse team extended its Ivy jinx another year as it failed to win an Ivy League game for the seventh season in a row and finished 1993 at 3-9 overall.
Eric Welsh '95 led the team in scoring and assists and was an honorable mention All-Ivy pick.
Men's Tennis
If the 1993 spring sports season is remembered for any one thing, it will probably be recalled as the year the Dartmouth tennis emerged.
The men won a piece of the EITA title along with Yale and Harvard for the first time in the league's 87-year history thanks to a tenacious, 4-3, come-from-behind thriller over Harvard in front of a packed crowd at the courts by Topliff Hall. The Big Green finished 15-7 overall, 8-1 Ivy.
Dan Coakley '94 led the team with a strong showing from the number one singles spot and Holden Spaht '96 went 14-0 in the two slot.
Women's Tennis
The women's tennis team put together a solid 5-2 Ivy League record and contended for the title up until a close loss at Yale in the final weeks of the season. The Big Green finished second in the league.
The five Ivy League wins included a 5-1 shellacking of Ivy League champ Princeton.
Ali Boss '93, who posted a 6-1 record in singles and a 5-2 record in doubles, was All-Ivy in both singles and doubles as was her doubles partner Cathy Birkeland '94.
Men's and Women's Crew
The varsity lightweight men's crew team came away with one of the biggest wins in spring sports when it captured the Eastern Sprints Championships, one of rowing's most prestigious titles, for the first time in school history.
The men's heavyweight team, which won last year's sprints, did not fair as well this year. The team finished seventh.
The women's crew team, which finished eighth at the Eastern Sprints, nonetheless showed marked improvement throughout the season.
Men's and Women's Track
The women's track team continued a steady improvement under first-year coach Sandra Ford-Centonze as evidenced by the squad's fifth-place finish at the Heptagonals, the spring's most important meet.
For the men, who finished eighth, the throwers were also very strong as Jerry LaMontagne '93 and Kurt Cohen '94 recorded the only first or second place finishes of the day.
Men's and Women's Golf
It was another typically outstanding season for the men's and women's golf teams. The men scored a huge victory at the Yale Invitational, where they finished first out of 17 teams and placed second at the Ivy League Championships.
All-Ivy selection Tracy Welch '93 led the team to a first place finish at the Princeton Collegiate Championships and second at the Hartford Invitational.
