With the National Tournament on the horizon, Dartmouth's Men's Rugby Club fought its way to a fourth consecutive Ivy League title this past weekend. The road to the title was not easy, as Princeton hung with the Big Green until the very end, falling to Dartmouth 23-20.
The club headed to Princeton Junction for the Ivy League tournament on Friday night, and got the reward of a first round bye. Their opening match against Brown proved to be little more than a tune-up for the title game and the inevitable Sweet 16.
All phases of the Big Green's game looked impressive against Brown (who Dartmouth only beat by nine in the fall) as the forwards and backs equally outmatched their counterparts.
The team was led by MVP candidate Nate Stone '01 who racked up a hat trick in scoring three tries, followed by Doug Hetiner '02, Kevin Reavey '02, Matt Sullivan '02, Luke Perry '01, and Rob Fasani '98 who all tallied one try a piece.
In the championship game on Sunday, Dartmouth faced off against Ivy rival Princeton in a match that has a history of competitiveness. The game, played under terrible conditions and questionable officiating, started off quick for the Big Green as Edward Dabuzhsky '01 rumbled in for a try, and Matt Sullivan '02 made the conversion.
After a penalty conversion by Sullivan, Princeton answered with a try of their own to bring the score to 10-7 in favor of Dartmouth. Later in the first half, a breakaway by Dan Brown '03 set up a try for Mike Linchitz '02, and another conversion by Sullivan gave Dartmouth a 17-7 lead.
However, that margin was again reduced as Princeton answered with another try, making the halftime score 17-14.
After a number of games already played in the rain, the field began to give way in the second half, creating a very sloppy game not suited to Dartmouth's speed and handling.
As the penalties mounted for both sides, the game evolved into a war of wills and kicking as neither team was able to score another try. Fortunately for Dartmouth, their superior defense and exceptional kicking by Sullivan (who did not miss a penalty or conversion all game) resulted in Dartmouth's three point victory.
The victory gave the graduating Dartmouth seniors of Jeff Kinkaid, Rob Ozols, Payman Zamani, Eric Ristow, Luke Perry, Stefan Ekernas, Edward Dabuzhsky, James Macintosh, Ray Gilliar, Jeremy Linden, and Nate Stone their fourth consecutive Ivy Title.
More impressively, these seniors end their Ivy League career without ever having lost an Ivy League Game. As a class, their undefeated and untied career in Ivy League Play is unprecedented and sets an all-time mark that will hopefully be matched by the 02's next year.
In the next two weeks, Dartmouth hosts Athloune (Ireland) and then travels to West Point for the Sweet 16 National Tournament. In all likelihood, the ruggers will get one last crack at rival Army for entrance into the Final Four and a long awaited shot at the National Championship four weeks from now.
