After four years of hard work and dedication to her sport, senior basketball player Jen Stamp helped develop herself and the Dartmouth basketball program into just plain excellence.
As captain, Stamp led the Big Green this year on the courts scoring 12.6 points per game and averaging 2.64 assists and 6.6 rebounds.
"Jen is just a special person," Coach Chris Wielgus said. "She is a remarkably gifted athlete, and that's from all of the hard work she has put in to make herself a great basketball player."
For the Big Green, Stamp's efforts on the court led Dartmouth to a winning 17-9 record.
She has always been a hard worker, and this year she really improved her game and became a mainstay of our team," teammate and roommate Sally Annis '97 said. "We definitely are a totally different team without her."
But what makes Stamp so special is not what she brings to the basketball court come game day, but is instead what she brings to her teammates and coaches every day.
"Jen is just genuinely loved by her teammates, her coaches, the administration and all of those little ones who come to watch," Wielgus said. "She really has endeared herself to the Dartmouth community."
Stamp is also the true student athlete. Two weeks ago, she was named to the GTE Academic All-American squad.
"Jen is just so enthusiastic," Wielgus said. "She truly enjoys what she is doing. She has enormous pride and strength."
This "pride and strength" was put to the utmost test two weekends ago when, with only seconds remaining in a game against the University of Pennsylvania, Stamp was carried out of the game. She was later diagnosed with a broken leg.
For Stamp, the untimely injury meant an early end to her career, as she missed the last three games.
But Wielgus notes that while the injury was unfortunate, it is not the thing the Big Green will remember most about their beloved senior captain.
"I think Jen has left a legacy of hard work," Wielgus said. "One in which you work hard, have fun and do well, and that will last longer than a memory of a broken leg."
"I'll remember her enthusiasm" Wielgus added. "I think when we think back on Jen, we'll always have a big smile and think that one was special."
