Editor's Note: This is the eleventh in a series of articles profiling members of the Class of 2004 on Dartmouth varsity sports teams.
The Ivy League isn't traditionally thought of as an athletic powerhouse. Large schools offering athletic scholarships have come to dominate many major collegiate sports, most notably football and basketball. In lacrosse, however, the Ivy League remains quite competitive.
Princeton captured the NCAA title in women's lacrosse in 2002, after winning a strong Ivy League that featured four other nationally ranked teams (Dartmouth, Cornell, Yale, and Pennsylvania). Meanwhile, of the top 25 men's lacrosse teams in the nation in 2002, according to the website LaxPower.com, seven were schools in the Ancient Eight (Columbia does not field a men's lacrosse team).
How has the Ivy remained competitive in lacrosse? According to Dartmouth midfielder Geoff Colla '04, "The Ivy League has a strong tradition in the sport. Because of that tradition, there are a lot of alumni and general benefactors who continue to support it at our level."
In addition, according to midfielder Russell Radebaugh '04, "The Ivy League has remained competitive in lacrosse because of the nature of the sport. While the game is growing," said Radebaugh, it's appeal "is mainly located on the East Coast and the location of Ivy League schools make them very appealing to young players."
Due to this combination of factors, the rising juniors of the Big Green men's lacrosse team don't see the League fading anytime soon. According to Radebaugh, "The ivy league will be competitive for quite some time. Besides the competitive lacrosse, the quality of education also appeals to many rising lacrosse players."
Furthermore, according to Radebaugh, because "the Ivy League places restrictions on the amount of practice a team can take part in, players in the League need to be self motivated, a characteristic that breeds good teams."
While the Ivy League's status in the lacrosse world is unlikely to change in the near future, one thing that the Dartmouth men's lacrosse '04s would like to see change is the Big Green's place within the League. While the team has posted an admirable 11-4 non-conference record over the past two seasons, Dartmouth's Ivy record during the same period has been 1-11, including a winless Ivy season in 2002.
However, the rigors of Ivy competition have not disheartened the Class of 2004. Rather, the rising juniors have welcomed the challenge, and are ready to step up and take the Big Green forward.
Colla told The Dartmouth that he "expected to see our team competing in every game, even against the teams like Princeton, Cornell, and Duke. I think that we've pretty much accomplished that goal. Now, we need to start translating the competition into some big wins. I also expect to see a winning season this year."
Radebaugh agrees that the team has a bright future, and told the Dartmouth that he and his teammates were well aware of the work that would be required to play competitively in the Ivy League.
According to Radebaugh, "The first two years have been pretty much what I expected. We knew that we would be a young team, and we have gone through some growing pains. Our class is a very strong class and the younger classes are just as strong.
"We all knew that by choosing Dartmouth, we were investing in a program, and not just coming into an established program like the top teams. We all are committed to putting Dartmouth at the top of the Ivy League and the NCAA."
In attempting to "put Dartmouth at the top" in 2003, the Big Green men's lacrosse team will have the help of ten new supporters. In addition to the nine members of the class of 2006, the team will welcome a new assistant coach, Dan Chemotti. Chemotti is no stranger to the Big Green, as he played against Dartmouth as a member of Duke's lacrosse team.
When asked about having a former rival on the coaching staff, the rising juniors were more than happy to welcome Chemotti aboard, as Radebaugh told The Dartmouth that Chemotti "will be a valuable addition to our coaching staff. The game is constantly changing, and having a player from one of the leading teams in the nation will add a lot to our team."
As for the incoming '06s -- and eventually, the '07s -- Radebaugh told The Dartmouth that, "The most important thing that we will pass on to the future classes is the importance of the team and its players. The chemistry on our team rivals that of any other Division I team. With the amount of time that we spend together, good chemistry, on and off the field, is vital to having a successful team."
For Colla, one of the most important things to pass on to incoming players is that "It's hard to come out of high school and immediately feel like you're contributing, or getting the chance to. But, in reality, you are contributing from the moment you get here, whether it's on the practice field, in the locker room, or on the game field."
Therefore, says Colla, it's important that the incoming freshmen "try to stick with it through tough times."
"Tough times" are something that the '04s are certainly familiar with. Their first season at Dartmouth was marked by the loss of classmate and teammate Matthew "Matty" Demaine '04, who died in his sleep on April 10, 2001.
Demaine's initials and jersey number, 30, continue to mark the helmets of the Big Green lacrosse players, and no Dartmouth player will wear number 30 while the '04s are at Dartmouth.
According to Radebaugh, Demaine's passing "came as a great shock to the team." However, "the close knit nature of our team allowed us to come together as a group to get through that difficult time. His memory is always with us when we take the field."
And as the Big Green men take the field over the next two seasons, they will look to do their former teammate proud, and bring the Dartmouth men's lacrosse program to new heights in Ivy League competition.
