There are those who claim that Ivy Leaguers are not athletic. Weighed down by pocket protectors and blinded by the bad eyesight that necessitates those three-inch thick glasses, students in the Ancient Eight are best suited to write haikus, play with their TI-89s and go to bed before 8:30 p.m.
Clearly, these people -- if in fact they do exist -- do not know much about Big Green sports. Even though most Dartmouth seniors are leaving the College to enter the professional world in business or science, some athletes are also going pro.
Leading off the College's list of top sportsmen is the football team's six-foot-two, 235-lb. Casey Cramer '04. As the 27th pick in the seventh round of the NFL draft, the Big Green tight end was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a fullback.
But before Cramer can head out to training camp, he must first leave the school that watched him develop into one of the most dominant players in recent Ivy League history. Over his three seasons as a starter, the Middleton, Wisc. native has been honored with two first team All-Ivy distinctions, selected second team All-America by the Associated Press and named to the prestigious East-West Shrine Game. Cramer also holds records for most receptions and receiving yards at his position.
Dartmouth may also soon call itself home to a pair of major leaguers. '04s Tim Grant and Ed Lucas were both been drafted in last week's MLB draft -- Lucas in the eighth round by the Kansas City Royals, and Grant in the 35th round by the San Francisco Giants.
"I've talked to a number of scouts," Lucas said before the draft, "but it's to their advantage to remain ambiguous, so I can't say with certainty that I'll get drafted. But I've heard good things, and it's always been a lifelong dream, so I hopefully I'll get an opportunity to play at the next level."
Lucas, a six-foot-four shortstop/third baseman who won the Alfred E. Watson Trophy for outstanding male athlete at Dartmouth's Celebration of Excellence May 24, was named Ivy League Player of the Year for the 2004 season, and first team All-Ivy honors for third consecutive season.
Even taller than his teammate, six-foot-five Tim Grant has pitched the Big Green to victory on numerous occasions. Last year in the Cape Cod League, perhaps the top collegiate summer baseball league in the country, Grant earned himself a spot on the all-star team and the attention of baseball scouts across the country. But even though Grant may find himself in Yankee Stadium in the not too distant future, he still values the academic lessons he has learned at his school.
"Dartmouth has given me a great education, which takes away the pressure that so many baseball players face of needing baseball to make a living. I am lucky enough to be able to go out and enjoy it, knowing that I have one of the best college degrees in the world to use if things don't work out with baseball," Grant said.
Possibly the most surprising Dartmouth student-athlete story is that of Gino Beniamino '04, who longs to join the Professional Bowling Association. With a 215 average, Beniamino has the numbers. What he lacks is the funding.
"I'd have to prove my abilities in a series of 'Tour Trials' usually held over the summer months," Beniamino said. "If, at the end of those events, I qualified in the top 8 in the points standings, I'd gain an exemption for the following tour season. It may sound easy, but there are thousands of people vying for the tops spots, including pros that lost their exemption status the previous season. In order to participate, I'd need a significant amount of money to cover entry fees and purchase equipment, and also have the means to travel across the country."
However, with the support of his family and friends, Beniamino hopes to make a run during the 2005 summer.
In addition to those that hope to compete professionally, Dartmouth houses several top amateur athletes. Jarrod Shoemaker '04, who took fifth in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA East Regional Championships this term, plans on a post-collegiate career in the triathlon.
"I think he [Shoemaker] has tremendous potential in that sport," Barry Harwick, head coach of men's track and cross country noted. "He is a determined athlete and trains very intelligently."
John Hertzer '04 also anticipates making a splash on the amateur scene. Dominating lightweight crew, the senior certainly made a believer out his head coach, Richard Grossman. Grossman said that Hertzer stepped up his performance level for senior year in a way he's never seen before.
"In the month of February, he broke every indoor rowing (ergometer) record in our books and then went to the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, where he won the College Lightweight division by a comfortable margin, the first Dartmouth athlete ever to win at this event," he added.
This season Hertzer has won the Breer Award as the outstanding lightweight oarsman at Dartmouth, the Seymour Award as the outstanding member of the men's teams, heavy or light, and was named Academic All-Ivy. He is currently among 22 lightweight rowers looking for a spot among the 16 finalists that receive invitations to the United States national team's training camp.
