- FALL TEAMS -
Football
1993 RECORD: 7-3 overall, 6-1 Ivy League.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: ILB Josh Bloom '95, OLB Hunter Buckner '94, DB Brian White '95, DT Ben Murphy '95, NG Zack Lehman '95, RB Pete Oberle '96, RB Ambrose Garcia '97, TE Abe Rife '96, WR David Shearer '95, WR Andre Grant '95.
OUTLOOK: Memorial Field is the place to be on Saturday afternoons in the fall and with good reason. The football team is one of the best in the Ivies, having won three Ivy titles in the past four years.
Last season the Big Green dropped the opener to the University of Pennsylvania, 10-6, and that ended up costing them the title, as the Quakers went undefeated in the league.
This season should be interesting because QB Jay Fiedler '94, who rewrote the Dartmouth record book and led the team on several improbable fourth-quarter comebacks last year, has taken his considerable talents to the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Jay was a huge part of our success over the last three years," Buckner said. "But Jay is gone and we must move forward. If we hope to win in the future we cannot concern ourselves with the past, and Jay is part of that past."
After the spring practices, coach John Lyons was still unsure of next September's starter. Jerry Singleton, who will transfer from Colorado State University this fall, will be a top candidate.
Oberle and Shearer are two of the top offensive threats. Oberle, an honorable mention All-Ivy pick, rushed for 660 yards on 164 carries; Shearer caught 41 passes for 627 yards and five touchdowns.
Defense was the strength of last year's squad and should be again this fall, and the linebackers will be the strength of the defense. Co-Captains Bloom and Buckner each earned second team All-Ivy honors. Bloom recorded 78 solo tackles and 48 assists; Buckner tallied 95 tackles.
"Basically the bottom line is next year the football team has to bring the Ivy League title back to Hanover," Bloom said. "We understand that there are question marks about this team and that we've lost some talented players. However, there is no question that we are capable of winning the Ivy League."
Women's Soccer
1993 RECORD: 12-3-1 overall, 7-0 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Melissa McBean '97, M Mya Mangawang '95, F Brittanny Boulanger '95, GK Michelle Conroy '95.
OUTLOOK: Coach Steve Swanson has quietly built the women's soccer team into an Ivy, as well as national, power. Last year's team was unscored upon in Ivy play and qualified for the 16-team NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
The Big Green lost to perennial powerhouse Connecticut 3-1 in the tournament, but could be back again this fall after losing only three players.
"Every year is a different challenge," Swanson said. "The challenge this year is that we can't hide. We'll be the game that people get up for. We have to be ready to respond to that, and we will."
McBean is part of an outstanding returning group. The Ivy Rookie of the Year and a second team All-American, McBean is one of the most exciting players in the region. She has terrific speed and superb skills.
Mangawang and Boulanger, first team All-Ivy picks, are dangerous as well, and Megan Owens '96 is one of the best defenders in the league.
Men's Soccer
1993 RECORD: 9-6 overall, 2-5 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: D/M Ian Saward '95, D Asa Marokus '95, M Methembe Ndlovu '97.
OUTLOOK: The men's soccer team was snake-bitten last season, losing five games by only one goal. coach Fran O'Leary hopes to return the Big Green to where they were two years ago, when they made the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
O'Leary takes over for the popular and successful Bobby Clark, who resigned in January to become the coach for New Zealand's national team.
Eight starters return, including David Moran '96, last year's leading goal scorer. Ndlovu, a clever defensive midfielder from Zimbabwe, was the runner-up for Ivy Rookie of the Year.
Saward and Marokus, first-team All-Ivy picks, anchors one of the Ivy League's best defenses. GK Brian Wiese '95 sported a terrific 0.76 goals-against-average last year.
Cross Country
1993 RESULTS:13th at NCAA Championships (men) 18th at NCAA Championships (women).
RUNNERS TO WATCH: Ted FitzPatrick '95, Aaron Bouplon '95, Jack Dwyer '96, Meegan Larsen '95, Kristin Cobb '95, Maribel Sanchez '96.
OUTLOOK: Dartmouth has a strong cross country tradition that the team hopes to contiue this year.
The men's squad won the Heptagonal Championships nine years in a row in the 1980s and finished third at Heps last year.
FitzPatrick earned All-American distinction as well as All-Ivy honors after placing 38th at the NCAA's.
The women finished second at Heps last year and were ranked as high as 13th nationally.
Larsen and Sanchez earned both All-Ivy honors, and Sanchez won the U.S. Junior National Cross Country Championship in February.
Field Hockey
1993 RECORD: 6-8-1 overall, 2-3-1 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: M Sarah Devens '96, GK Lauren Demski '96, F/M Kathleen Hickey '96.
OUTLOOK: The field hockey team was plagued by tough luck last season; seven of its eight losses came by only one goal. Second-year coach Julie Dayton has revitalized the once-troubled program, however.
Her youthful team ended last season with a four-game unbeaten streak and the Big Green played tough against several nationally-ranked teams.
Devens, the team's leading scorer and a first-team All-Ivy pick, returns to head the offense.
- WINTER TEAMS -
Women's
Basketball
1993-94 RECORD: 16-11 overall, 11-3 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Betsey Gilmore '94, C Ilsa Webeck '94, G Sally Annis '97, F Kira Lawrence '96, F Laurie Stucker '95.
OUTLOOK: Leede Arena was the place to be during the first weekend of last March. Two packed houses saw the Big Green beat Yale and Brown Universities on their way to the Ivy title.
Dartmouth shared the Ivy crown with Brown and despite beating the Bears twice in the regular season, the Big Green was forced to play them in a one-game playoff to determine who earned the automatic NCAA tournament bid. Brown got the better of the Big Green that time, but look for Dartmouth to avenge that loss this year.
Gilmore, the Ivy Player of the Year, heads an impressive group of returning players. Annis, the unanimous Ivy Rookie of the Year, is a steady guard who does everything well and averaged 11.7 ppg last season.
The 6-foot-4 Webeck is one of the league's best centers; she teams with the physical Lawrence and Stucker to form a first-rate front court.
"Our goal is to build on our experiences. We know what it takes to improve individually and as a team. Now we just have to do it," coach Chris Wielgus said."We want our opponents worrying about playing us. We can do that."
Men's Basketball
1993-94 RECORD: 10-16 overall, 6-8 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G/F Jamie Halligan '95, G Sea Lonergan '97, PG Kenny Mitchell '97, C Brian Gilpin '97.
OUTLOOK: The men's basketball team played like two different teams last year-- one went 1-12 to open the season, and the other finished with a 9-4 record. The latter should show up more often this winter.
Team captain Halligan leads the returnees. He averaged 10 ppg and has a pretty outside shot. Lonergan, the Ivy Rookie of the Year, is a hard-nosed guard who can drive inside or shoot the three. He averaged 12.1 ppg.
Mitchell is a lightning-quick point guard, and Gilpin is a 6-foot-11 center with a soft shooting touch. "The overall talent, although young, is here," coach David Faucher said. "The attitude is tremendous and the work ethic is established. Enthusiasm prevails as we should have an exciting team."
Women's Ice Hockey
1993-94 RECORD: 14-10-2 overall, 5-4-1 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Rachel Rochat '95, Sarah Devens '96, Amy Coehlo '97, GK Sarah Leczner '97.
OUTLOOK: The women's ice hockey team finished third in the Ivies last year, a somewhat disappointing finish after winning the Ivy title in 1993. This year should be interesting because the team lost three outstanding players, including Gretchen Ulion, a national team player.
"Obviously our three leaving seniors had a huge part on this team and their leaving changes everything -- from team dynamics off the ice to lineups on the ice," Captain Rochat said. "I don't really consider this year a rebuilding one, however -- we have a large junior class that has experience."
Rochat recorded 12 goals and eight assists last year. Devens is another top player in the Ivies, and Coehlo was named team rookie of the year.
Men's Ice Hockey
1993-94 RECORD: 5-21-1 overall, 4-17-1 ECAC.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Dion Del Monte '95, D Trevor Dodman '95, F Owen Hughes '97, GK Ben Heller '97.
OUTLOOK: Del Monte, last year's team MVP, heads the men's hockey returnees. Del Monte was second on the team in scoring, tallying 11 goals and 18 assists. Heller looks to become the full-time goalkeeper; he played well in several appearances last year.
"Our hopes are set on regrouping from last year's disappointing
performance," said team rookie of the year Hughes. "Much of our success will depend on our willingness to devote ourselves to the team, and on our willingness to be disciplined hockey players."
Indoor Track
1993-94 RESULTS: 5th at the Heptaganol Championships (men)
7th at the Heptaganol Championships (women)
ATHLETES TO WATCH: shot putter Adam Nelson '97, middle distance Aaron Culliney '96, sprinter/hurdler Wayne Burwell '97, shot put/discus Amy Winchester '96, distance Kristin Cobb '95.
OUTLOOK: Nelson was the story of last year's indoor track season, as he broke the 22-year old school shot put record twice. He capped off his season by winning the World Junior Championship in the shot put in July.
The women's team finished eighth out of 31 teams at the ECAC
Championships. The Big Green was the only Ivy team in the top 10 at the meet.
Swimming
1993-93 RECORD: 1-10 overall, 0-9 EISL (men)7-4 overall, 3-4 Ivy (women)
SWIMMERS TO WATCH: Ben Lannon '96, Nick Gansner '97, Cory Murphy '95, Deb Whitney '96, Amy Schneeberger '97, Andrea Hill '97.
OUTLOOK: After winning only one meet in the past two seasons, the men's swim team is rebuilding. Second-year coach Jim Wilson looks to turn the Big Green into an league contention, just like he helped the University of Utah become a national power.
He has a good core of young swimmers with which to work.
The women's swim team, on the other hand, is coming off its best season ever. The Big Green have improved every year under coach Betsy Mitchell and look to break more records this winter.
- SPRING TEAMS -
Men's Lacrosse
1994 RECORD: 10-4 overall, 3-3 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: D Andy Thut '95, M Todd Smith '95, A Eric Welsh '95, M Brian Merritt '97.
OUTLOOK: The men's lacrosse team is finally looking to move into the upper echelon of the Ivy League. Last year's 10 wins marked the most for the program since 1949 and the three league victories were the first since 1988.
The Big Green finished fourth in the Ivies (highest finish since 1983) and ranked 18th nationally.
"We have as much coming back next year as any other Ivy team," coach Tim Nelson said. "We're looking to keep it going in '95."
Smith recorded 19 goals and 17 assists last year and will serve as team captain along with Thut, a big, physical defender. Welsh and Scott are capable goal-scorers, and Merritt, the Ivy Rookie of the Year, is a budding star. Ned Hazard '96 sported a 9.87 goals-against average.
Women's Lacrosse
1994 RECORD: 11-4 overall, 4-2 Ivy
PLAYERS TO WATCH: A Lauren Holleran '95, M Mya Mangawang '95, M Sarah Devens '96, M Kim Mendelson '97.
OUTLOOK: The women's lacrosse team is consistently one of the top teams in the nation. Last year's campaign saw a school-record nine-game win streak, which included victories over national powers University of Virginia, Pennylvania State University and Yale, and a top-ten national ranking.
The squad, however, was surprisingly overlooked for an NCAA tournament bid and will make sure that does not happen again this spring.
"Those returning will hopefully realize from [the 1994 season] that every game is very important," said coach Amy Patton. "I think that [the team] will be out to prove a point in that we belonged in the tournament [in 1994]."
Baseball
1994 RECORD: 16-21 overall, 9-11 Ivy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: C Greg Gilmer '96, OF Craig Pawling '96, OF Andrew Spencer '97, 3B Jake Isler '96.
OUTLOOK: Big Green baseball looks to continue its turnaround. Last year the squad finished second in the Red Rolfe Division and with 23 players returning, there is no reason why they shouldn't challenge for the Ivy title.
Gilmer heads an impressive group of returnees -- he batted .476 (highest for a Dartmouth player since 1946) in 1994 to win the Ivy batting title. He was named first team All-Ivy along with Pawling and Spencer.
Isler, a second team pick, batted .419 (third in the league).
"I have no doubt that we can sustain this level of play at the very least, and hopefully raise ourselves to the Ivy League Championship," captain Gilmer said.
Tennis
1994 RECORD:12-12 overall, 6-3 Ivy (men) 6-5 overall, 4-3 Ivy (women).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Jim Rich '96, Holden Spaht '96, Deb Healy '95, Kallie Buehler '97.
OUTLOOK: The men's tennis team lucked into an NCAA regional tournament bid last year when the University of West Virginia was disqualified for NCAA violations.
The Big Green made the most of their opportunity, upsetting number one seed Columbia before falling to Princeton in the finals.
The women's tennis team finished third in the league last season. The Big Green upset Harvard in the final week of the season, ruining the Crimson's chances at the Ivy title.
Crew
1994 RECORD:7-0 overall, 4-0 Ivy (men's lightweights) 7-2 overall, 1-2 Ivy (men's heavyweights) 6-3 overall, 3-2 Ivy (women's varsity).
OUTLOOK: The varsity lightweights completed their first undefeated season in history by winning the prestigious Eastern Sprints last May. Five of the nine members of the winning boat return this year. The varsity heavies finished second at Eastern Sprints the women's varsity placed fifth at Sprints.
Outdoor Track
1994 RESULTS:8th at IC4A's (men) 13th at ECAC's (women).
ATHLETES TO WATCH: shot putter Adam Nelson '97, distance Ted FitzPatrick '95, throws Amy Winchester '96, distance Kristin Cobb '95.
OUTLOOK: The men's track team blew away the field last year to win the New England Championships on its home track. Nelson won the shot put at that meet, and then duplicated the feat the following week at the IC4A's.
FitzPatrick won the 10,000 meters at the IC4A's and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Cobb placed third in the 5,000 meters at Heps.
