The Dartmouth water polo club went into this weekend's tournament with a 6-1 record and high expectations. After all, it was the annual Dartmouth Invitational, and the team had been playing extremely well and armed with confidence, the momentum carried over, as the team won all four of its games and finished the regular season undefeated in league play.
The victories this weekend leave the team as the top seed for the upcoming New England Water Polo Championships. With a good showing at the New England Championships, the Big Green will qualify for the national tournament.
"We're the only team to go undefeated in the league," Captain Jon Kenyon '97 said. "It feels good to know that we can beat everyone at New Englands and gives us confidence going into the tournament."
Dartmouth was also the only team in the league to send two teams to the invitational. The "B" team opened against Wesleyan, losing 13-7 behind three goals by Carlo Corti '98 and four points by Todd Weller.
The "A" team opened against Williams with a 15-11 victory. After a tight first half which left the Big Green ahead 7-6, all six players in the water scored goals raising their advantage to 14-8. Brent Boehlert '98 lead all scores with six goals.
The "A" team's next game against Amherst remained close throughout. Leading 6-4 at the half, the Big Green were unable to break away and both teams scored two goals in the third quarter. But a big performance by Kevin O'Neil '97 and the Dartmouth defense held off the opposing offense as Kenyon and Boehlert scored the game's final goals in the 11-8 win.
The "B" team dropped its second game 18-7. Again Corti led Dartmouth with four goals.
The "B" team came back Sunday morning looking for its first win of the tournament versus Trinity. But, despite five goals by Corti, the Green again came up short, falling behind 9-5 the third quarter and losing 12-10.
The "A" team started the second day with an 18-11 win over Yale. Dartmouth led 11-8 after the third quarter, but put Yale away with goals from six different players. In its final game of the tournament, the "A" team slipped by the "B" team 9-7.
"The difference for the team this year has been the fall training trip we took before school started," Coach James Wilson said. "With that training and their play, the team has proved to itself that it has the capability and the talent to win. We are looking forward to New England with high expectations."
Dartmouth went into the weekend ranked ninth in the nation, and the Big Green's ranking should improve after this weekend's performance.
