Dancing may be an uncommon activity in boxing rings, but, after only three short rounds, a victory by the first Dartmouth female boxer to set foot inside the interscholastic ring was indeed cause for celebration.
"My coach jumped into the ring and grabbed me and swung me around," Megan Fehely '03 said.
Fehely began training last spring, but because there are so few female boxers, was unable to find someone in her weight class to box against until last Saturday against Raquel Carey of Amsterdam, New York.
One of only two female bouts that day, Fehely's domination of all three rounds was in her first bouth ever was remarkable. According to Fehely, her trainer was in the ring before her official victory was even announced to the crowd.
"It was scary to get into the ring for the first time, but that was the hardest part," said Fehely.
Dartmouth's Boxing Club, which according to Fehely has about 35 active members this term -- about 10 of which are ready to compete -- has been steadily increasing in popularity. Dedicated trainers volunteer their time several nights a week to train the talented young boxers.
Fehely said that it was the trainer's dedication that inspired her to like boxing, although she had admired the sport since childhood. Her first exposure to the sport came thanks to her aunt who would order pay-per-view boxing matches and invite the whole family to her house to watch them.
Despite her early interest in boxing, however, she had never really considered participating herself until she arrived at Dartmouth. Other than shot put in high school, she had not been involved in any organized sports since grade school.
The hardest part about being a female boxer, according to Fehely, is the lack of sparring partners. To safely box and train with someone, the participants must be of comparable height and weight, and the simple lack of female boxers has made this difficult.
Though Fehely is the only Dartmouth woman to compete in intercollegiate boxing thus far, she says there is a slowly growing number currently training.
Fehely's roommate and fan Erin Jones '03 went along to see Fehely box in Newport the past weekend. To relieve some of Fehely's nerves, Jones offered to spar with her, something she says she will not soon repeat.
"I was really sorry about agreeing to do it afterwards," Jones said.
Fehely has another scheduled bout a week from Saturday, and the Dartmouth Boxing Club is planning to hold an exhibition on campus sometime in early May.
