As the first place seed, the undefeated Big Green women's water polo team looks forward to this weekend's upcoming New England Championships to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pool in Boston.
"I feel nervous but excited about our prospects," co-captain Kristi Esmiol '02 said.
"Yale and MIT will be our toughest competition."
Before spring break, the team beat Yale in the first tournament of the season in New Haven, Conn. The final score was 6-3 in favor of the Big Green, with a goal in the final second of the game by Samantha Klau '05. The team has not come face to face with the Bulldogs since the beginning of March and the anticipation to win again has been mounting.
The other rival, MIT, was scoped out during spring training when the team went down to scrimmage and practice at the competition pool. The scrimmage demonstrated that even MIT's best players are not prepared to face the Big Green's starting seven. The team has not played a game against MIT since the New England Championships last year, and so a match-up has been long awaited. MIT would have the home-pool advantage with its narrow six-lane set up.
Dartmouth will face off against sixth and seventh place seeds Wesleyan and Boston University on the first day of the tournament. Assuming the Big Green can fly past with two wins, the team will most likely battle either MIT or Yale for the New England title on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. in Boston.
At Holy Cross over the weekend, the women's water polo team finished the regular season undefeated. The teams at the tournament proved to be no contest for the Big Green.
In the first game, against Middlebury, Lindsay Richardson '02 won the swim off and swam for a quick goal within the first 16 seconds of play. The scoring chances persisted throughout the game as the team eventually began to resist opportunities to score on fast breaks in favor of setting up the offense.
Dartmouth shut out the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in the second game. The game offered an opportunity for inexperienced Big Green players to hone their skills and score some goals of their own.
After losing to the Holy Cross men's water polo team by one goal two weeks prior, the Big Green triumphed over the women's team by a significant margin on Saturday. Playing stronger and faster men's teams has helped the women step up their play in recent weeks.
In the final game against Williams on Saturday the Big Green still came out on top. Following an ejection of a Williams defender, first-year player Katherine Farmer '03 scored a goal off a cross pass from veteran Suzanne Wendelken '01. Crisp and consistent passing characterized the final game of the day.
Finishing off the regular season undefeated and with little left to prove, the team hopes to continue its success this weekend. If the team clinches the New England title, it will come with an invitation to attend the National Championships that will take place in the first weekend of May.
Kelly Cameron is a sophomore 2-meter defender for the Dartmouth women's club water polo team.