The Dartmouth men's Water Polo team dismantled three of their league opponents this weekend but dropped an overtime nail-biter against Williams College at a tournament at Yale University.
The Big Green -- who are currently ranked number one in the National Collegiate Club Water Polo league -- got off to a powerful start on Saturday morning, defeating a weak Coast Guard Academy team 22-5.
Dave Martin '00 and Ryan Utsumi '01 established Dartmouth's superiority early, each putting three goals past Coast Guard goalie Mike Boyesin in the first quarter. The early lead enabled the Big Green to make some line-up changes, and their deep bench provided more than enough offensive skill to increase the lead. Dan Concannon '00 had four goals while Ross Downey '95 put in three.
A scrappy Wesleyan University squad faced Dartmouth in its second Saturday game, but could only manage three goals to Dartmouth's 19.
Dave Martin '00 single-handedly crushed Wesleyan's chances of entering the game with four quick goals in the first five minutes of play. Utsumi and Concannon each added three goals apiece in the next three quarters to maintain the lead. Dartmouth's strong defense -- led by goalie Matt Nelson '00 -- were key to all of Saturday's wins.
Against Trinity College, the Big Green extended their command of the league with another blowout, this time 18-4. Co-captain Ken Kriwanek '99 led the team with a startling seven goals while fellow captain Danny Alfonso '99 shut down Trinity's two-meter offensive position.
As one-sided as the first three wins were for the Big Green, coach Jim Wilson and his players knew that the real challenge would come on Sunday morning against a spirited and experienced Williams team.
Only three weeks ago Dartmouth had established superiority over the league by beating their chief rival Williams 14-10. But the story was different on Sunday as Williams managed to come from behind to serve Dartmouth its first defeat in league play.
Ahead 8-7 going into the fourth quarter, Dartmouth was outscored two-to-one during the seven minutes of play, sending the game into overtime. While both teams scored in the next period, it was Williams who came away with the 11-10 victory.
Illness was a factor in the game as Kriwanek, Alfonso and Concannon were all battling similar flu symptoms.
"Williams always plays us tough, and we opened the door for them with defensive mistakes and too many missed shots," Kriwanek said.
In addition, the normally prolific goal scorer Utsumi only managed one goal on the game. "He couldn't seem to get any calls to go his way," Kriwanek explained.
Dartmouth will most likely meet Williams again in three weeks at the New England championships at Wesleyan University. Despite the loss to Williams on Sunday, Dartmouth's record already assures them of a number one ranking going into that tournament.
The winner of New Englands will go on to the National tournament -- which Dartmouth won for the first time last year.