There were both shining success stories and bitter disppointments this year for Dartmouth sports teams.
Women's teams, in particular, fared well this year. The women's soccer team made it to the NCAA tournament and the women's basketball and lacrosse teams narrowly missed NCAA bids.
And who can forget the Big Green's attempt to win an unprecedented fourth straight Ivy League football title, which fell just short?
All in all, it was a terrific year for Dartmouth sports. This is a team-by-team look at all the teams and how they fared.
Football
This year Memorial Field was home to thrilling fourth quarter come-from-behind wins and a terrific battle against Princeton in the snow, but no Ivy title. The Big Green finished 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the Ivies. A 10-6 loss at Penn in the season opener cost Dartmouth its fourth straight Ivy title.
The College must say goodbye to Jay Fiedler, the senior quarterback who broke many school records on his way to earning first-team All-Ivy honors for the second consecutive year. John Hyland '94, another first-team selection, established new Dartmouth single-season marks for receptions and receiving yards.
Offensive tackle Andy MacDonald '93 and linebacker George Neos '93 were unanimous first-team All-Ivy picks. Defensive back Jim McGeehan '94 was also named to the first team.
Women's Soccer
The women's soccer team, ranked 14th nationally, established itself as the premier team in the Ivy League and one of the top teams in the country, finishing with a 7-0 Ivy record,12-3-1 overall record and an NCAA tournament bid. Dartmouth dropped a close 3-1 decision to Connecticut in the first round.
Melissa McBean '97 led the offense and earned second-team All-American honors. McBean, Brittanny Boulanger '95, Mya Mangawang '95 and Megan Owens '96 all were named first-team All-Ivy.
Seniors Annalisa Gorman, Jess Andre and Stacy Smith provided solid leadership and play.
Men's Soccer
Five heart-breaking one-goal losses for the men's soccer team led to a respectable 9-6 overall mark, but a disappointing 2-5 Ivy record.
Seniors Geoff Zawtocki, Bepi Raviola and John Faubert led Dartmouth, along with All-Ivy picks Asa Marokus '95, Ian Saward '95 and Methembe Ndlovu '97.
Coach Bobby Clark resigned in January to become the New Zealand national team coach. Fran O'Leary has replaced him.
Cross Country
Dartmouth continued its fine cross country tradition, with the men finishing 13th in the NCAA Championships and the women 18th.
Ted FitzPatrick '95 finished 38th and earned All-American honors. Sam Wilbur '94 placed 47th and Derek West '94 finished 85th. Meegan Larsen '95 was the top finisher for the women, placing 32nd, and Captain Tori Knox '94 finished 77th.
FitzPatrick, Wilbur, Larsen and Maribel Sanchez '96 garnered All-Ivy honors. Sanchez later won the U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championships.
Field Hockey
The field hockey team finished with a 6-8-1 overall and 2-3-1 Ivy record, with seven of the eight losses decided by one goal.
New head coach Julie Dayton revived the program and guided the Big Green to a 2-1 upset of nationally ranked New Hampshire.
Senior Co-Captains Ashley Bowen and Beth Breckenridge, along with Jen Hanley '94, helped Dartmouth go undefeated in its last four games of the season. Sarah Devens '96, the team's leading scorer, earned All-Ivy honors.
Women's Volleyball
The biggest story for the women's volleyball team, which went 0-10 in the Ivy League and 4-18 overall, came in February when the College granted the program fully-funded varsity status. Women's volleyball had previously been an unfunded varsity sport.
Senior co-captains Michelle Moore and Jennifer Hall kept the team together through the frustrating season.
Women's Basketball
Coach Chris Wielgus, the architect of the Big Green women's basketball dynasty of the '80s, returned to the school and worked her magic again.
The Big Green finished with a 16-11 overall record and an 11-3 Ivy mark, good enough to share the Ivy title with Brown.
Despite handing the Bears two regular season losses, the Big Green lost to them in a playoff for the automatic NCAA tournament bid.
Ivy League Player of the Year Betsy Gilmore '94 was the team spark, averaging 8.5 points, five assists and a league-leading 4.6 steals per game.
Men's Basketball
The men's basketball team blew hot and cold, going 9-4 over the last 13 games of the season after a disastrous 1-12 start. The Big Green finished 10-16 overall and 6-8 in the Ivies, their best league record since 1989-90.
First-team All-Ivy pick Gregg Frame '94 averaged team-highs of 15.6 points and 6.1 rebounds, ending his career in 10th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,181 points.
Stan Kowalewski '94 become just the third player in school history never to miss a game, appearing in 104 contests over four years. Jeff Richards '94 and Wilfredo Castillo '94 were spirited reserves.
Indoor Track
Aaron Culliney '96 won the 800-meter run, and Adam Nelson '97 won the shot put at the Heptagonal Championships, where the men's track team finished fifth. Nelson broke the school record twice and was named first-team All-Ivy along with Culliney, Brian Barry '96, Wayne Burwell '97, Geoff Zawtocki '94 and Sam Wilbur '94.
Wilbur also earned All-American honors after placing 10th in the 3000-meter run at the NCAA Championships.
Women's co-captain and All-Ivy team designee Candi Shoemaker '94 won the shot put at Heps to lead the Big Green to a seventh place finish.
Swimming
The women's swim team had its most successful season in school history, as the Big Green recorded a 7-4 overall and 3-4 Ivy record. With six straight wins and several shattered school records, the women finished seventh at the Eastern Championships.
The Big Green men finished with a 1-10 overall and 0-9 EISL record and placed ninth at the Eastern Seaboard Championships.
Women's Hockey
The women's hockey team had a fine season but couldn't duplicate last year's Ivy crown and ECAC success. The Big Green skated to a 14-10-2 overall and 5-4-1 Ivy mark.
The Big Green lost in the first round of the ECAC Championships to eventual champ Providence.
Gretchen Ulion '94, recording 49 goals and 36 assists, completed her Dartmouth career by being named the Ivy League Player of the Year for the second time. Kim Cohen '94 was also named All-Ivy; she tallied 9 goals and 34 assists as a defender.
Men's Hockey
The men's hockey team finished with a disappointing 5-21-1 overall and 4-17-1 Ivy record.
Scott Fraser '94 led the Big Green in scoring, tallying 17 goals and 13 assists. He ended his career ranked 14th on both the school's all-time point and goal-scoring lists. Dion Del Monte '95 finished a close second to Fraser in the scoring race (11-18-29) and earned team MVP honors.
Squash
Women's squash finished with a respectable 5-5 overall record and went 1-4 in Ivy play. Sascha Greatrex '95, named All-Ivy and second-team All-American, led the women along with seniors Lindsey Amon and Nicole Artzer.
Craig Daily '94 and David Dwyer '94 led the men's squash team to a 4-10 overall and 1-5 Ivy record. The squad placed 11th in the NISRA Team Championships.
Men's Lacrosse
One of the stories of the year was the turnaround of the men's lax team which hadn't won an Ivy League game since 1988. They won three this year to finish 3-3 in the league and 10-4 overall.
Brendan Bowler '94 led the team with 24 goals and 13 assists, finishing his career tied for fifth on the school's all-time points list. Fellow seniors Pete Fahey, Andy Ruckh, Dave Fivek, Dan Williams, Bill Thomas and Walter Wuckash were key players in Dartmouth's turnaround.
Women's Lacrosse
The women's lax team had another outstanding season but was surprisingly snubbed for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The Big Green finished 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the Ivies. The bulk of those wins came in a school record nine-game winning streak, when Dartmouth downed national powers like Penn State, Yale and Virginia.
Junior Lauren Holleran's 63 points helped her break the school record, and Sarah Devens '96 set a school record for assists in a season with 17. Holleran and Ellen Bruce '94 were named first-team All-American, and goalie Kim Cohen '94 earned second-team honors.
Baseball
The baseball team went from last place in 1993 to second in the Red Rolfe Division of the Ivy League. The 28-man roster featured 20 freshmen and sophomores but potent hitting -- a school record .318 team batting average -- overcame inexperience and helped Dartmouth finish with a 16-21 overall and 9-11 Ivy mark.
Greg Gilmer '96 scorched Ivy League pitching, batting .476 to lead the league and record the second highest average in school history. He was named first-team All-Ivy along with outfielder Andrew Spencer '97. Captain Steve Murphy '94, the top pitcher, earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors.
Men's Tennis
After finishing 6-3 in the EITA and 12-12 overall, the Big Green lucked into an NCAA regional tournament bid when West Virginia was disqualified because of NCAA violations. After upsetting number one Columbia, 4-3, Dartmouth fell to Princeton, 3-4, in the finals.
Seniors Dan Coakley, Randy White and Mike DeGuzman led the team. Coakley was named the EITA player of the year and qualified for the NCAA championships, where he lost in the first round.
Women's Tennis
The women's tennis team finished third in the Ivies with a 4-3 record (6-5 overall).
Captain Cathy Birkeland '94 was named All-Ivy in doubles.
Crew
The men's varsity lightweight crew team capped off an undefeated season by winning the Eastern Sprints. Seniors Eric Cesnik, David Shaff, Jeff Couture and Brian Crounse were part of the winning boat.
The men's heavyweight team finished 7-2 overall and placed second at Eastern Sprints.
The women's varsity crew team placed fifth at Eastern Sprints and recorded a 6-3 record.
Outdoor Track
The men's track team blew away the field winning the New England Championships and finishing third at the Heptagonal Championships.
Adam Nelson '97 (shot put), Gerry LaMontagne '94 (discus) and Sam Wilbur '94 (3000m steeplechase) were individual winners for Dartmouth at Heps. Nelson was victorious again at the IC4A's, as was Ted FitzPatrick '95 in the 10,000-meter run.
The women's team placed fourth at Heps, thanks to first place efforts by Candi Shoemaker '94 (shot put), Amy Winchester '96 (discus) and Karen Rieper '94 (heptathlon).
Golf
Bryan Kim '95 earned All-Ivy honors as he finished third overall at the Ivy League Golf Championship. The men finished sixth in the team competition. On the women's side, Captain Kelly Just '94 ended the season ranked third in New England, and the team finished fifth at the Northeast Championships.
