This weekend, the water polo team embarked on its most vicious and torturing trip of the season encompassing two tournaments in two days.
First up were the Ivy League Championships where the Big Green found themselves challenged by the big three varsity teams of the Ivy League -- Brown, Princeton and Harvard.
"It's really a big compliment to the program and to the team to be invited," Coach Jim Wilson said. "The other three teams at the tournament are all varsity teams, and Brown's program is nationally ranked. We were the only club team that the big three decided to invite."
Dartmouth's A team faced big challenges in all of its games but as has become habit, the team stepped up to play three very strong games. Dartmouth first played nationally ranked Brown and came out with a close 11-8 loss. It was a game that proved Dartmouth's legitimacy and makes a strong argument for their status as the top club in the Ivies.
Later the Big Green fell to Harvard 14-6 and Princeton 12-6.
"We had our best showing ever at the Ivy Championship," Jamie Keenan '96 said. "We stayed competitive against three very deep Division 1 varsity. I think our play surprised all three teams."
After Ivies, the team went back to the club level at Bate University's EWPA tournament where the story was reversed as Dartmouth became the favorite.
The theme of the tournament was domination as the A team ran over Bowdoin, beat Boston in a foul-ridden game and crushed a weak Bates team. Joe Fitzgerald '98 was the hero of the Bowdoin game, scoring five goals in the second quarter. Keenan contributed three goals and Brent Boehlert '98 scored four points.
Against Boston University, Dartmouth sprinted to quick 7-0 lead after the first quarter. The game can be summed up by Kevin O'Neil's last second two point score from the goalie's cage in the first quarter.
But despite the offensive success, the game was marked by an incredible number of fouls. The referees called an unheard of 20 personal fouls and even threw out yellow cards.
Boehlert was the leading scorer with seven points en route to Dartmouth's 22-8 victory. The team finished up the tournament with a victory over a very weak Bates team, to even their record for the weekend at 3-3.
This weekend's action leaves the team with an 8-5 record overall and a perfect 6-0 record in the Eastern Water Polo Association at the Club Level. With performances like last weekend, the Big Green are in strong contention to win the club championship.
