The water polo team ended its season with a third place finish out of eight teams at the National Collegiate Club Water Polo tournament last Saturday in Buffalo, N.Y. The team improved its record to 14-4 overall.
The Big Green opened against Yale University, a team they had suffered a disappointing first round loss to at the Eastern Water Polo Association Championships two weeks ago.
At first, Dartmouth's luck seemed to be as bad as it was two weeks ago. The team got lost trying to find the pool, a new facility located in downtown Buffalo, and arrived late for the 10:30 a.m. game, leaving only five minutes for warm-up.
Fortunately the Big Green didn't need the warm-up. Sigfrid Muller (Tuck '95) capitalized on an early Yale ejection, scoring the game's first goal and Jon Kenyon '97 quickly followed by scoring a goal of his own to put Dartmouth up 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Yale opened the second quarter by scoring after Brent Boehlert '98 was ejected. Boehlert, however, soon redeemed himself by scoring a goal twenty seconds after returning to the game. Two minutes later, Jamie Keenan '96 scored after another Yale ejection, leaving Dartmouth up 4-1 at the half.
Both Kenyon and Boehlert scored their second goals in the third quarter. Yale then scored three more goals, but was unable to come back. Kenyon scored less than a minute into the fourth quarter giving Dartmouth a 7-4 victory, avenging the opening round loss two weeks ago that had put the team in the loser's bracket and a disappointing fifth place.
"Jon really performed well for us." Coach Jim Wilson said. "His presence in the water definitely steadies the team. Not only is he a strong offensive force, but he is one of the key members on defense."
The Big Green were not so lucky in their second game, drawing the United States Military Academy. Army was recently demoted from varsity status and had not lost a game all season. Army opened the game with three quick goals by Eric Hobson, leaving the Big Green trailing 4-0 at the end of the first quarter.
"I started the second string hoping Army would start slowly, giving us an advantage when the starters went in." Wilson said. "Hind sight being 20/20, I'm not sure I'd do it again. Even though I threw the starters in after four minutes, they were cold and couldn't get going soon enough to prevent Army from scoring again."
Fourteen seconds into the second quarter, Army's Hobson scored again. A goal by Boehlert ended the half with Dartmouth behind 6-1, about as close as any team had been to Army all year. However, when Dartmouth returned to the water, the starters were ready.
Kenyon scored after an ejection to one of Army's drivers and two goals later, Kenyon brought the team within two goals. Unfortunately, another Army goal slipped by with only twenty seconds remaining in the third quarter, which left Dartmouth trailing 8-5. Goals by Muller and Kenyon brought the team within one goal of a tie, but Army pulled away to win 10-7.
"We have to be very satisfied with our performance, especially in light of Army's 17-10 win over Dayton in the championship game." Kenyon said. "We played Army closer than anyone has all season. The team played a strong game, but fatigue eventually took its toll in the fourth quarter."
The loss to Army placed the Dartmouth squad in a consolation game against the University of Maryland, a team that was ranked third in the nation.
The Big Green opened slowly, still spent from the previous game and Maryland opened up a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. Dartmouth remained scoreless until Kenyon scored a minute-and-a-half into the second quarter, but the team was unable to gear up in the first half and remained behind at 5-2.
"We played an ugly game until the third quarter." Wilson said. "We were still a bit sluggish but Brent [Boehlert] and Jon [Kenyon] were able to put us in the lead going into the fourth quarter."
The final quarter was a nerve-wracking one. Maryland scored less than a minute into the quarter, tying the game. It remained tied until Boehlert drove in from the left wing, placing a shot in the upper right hand corner of the goal, giving Dartmouth a 7-6 win.
"We are very pleased with the season. After our performance, we have proved ourselves to be one of the top clubs in the nation." Wilson said. "After practicing every night until ten-thirty and eleven with some of the players getting up at six the next morning for swim practice, there is no question the team has worked extremely hard."
