But for those of you that are not too familiar with Ivy League basketball, fortunes can change hands in as short a time span as two years.
It is astonishing to think that the Dartmouth women's basketball team (10-4, 1-0 Ivy) was an underdog in the league only two seasons ago. The 10-woman squad included no juniors and only two senior players. Now, following last season's Ivy League title and NCAA berth, the Big Green is the team that other Ivy schools need to beat to be considered champion-worthy.
"When it comes to Ivy season, each team is very competitive and for some reason every team, no matter who it is, always plays their best game against us," Taylor said.
Yet Dartmouth should be in better shape compared to last year. The core of last year's team returned this season with the exception of starting center Elise Morrison, who will miss the remainder of the season, but should make a full recovery in time for her senior season.
Among the challengers for the league crown is last year's Ivy co-champion, the Harvard Crimson, which has headed down a steep hill after losing last year's Ivy League Player of the Year Reka Cserny to graduation and senior co-captain Jessica Holsey to injury.
The Crimson had been a consistent force in the League for the past three seasons and managed a championship trophy last year despite graduating Hana Peljto -- who scored more than 2,000 points in her Harvard career -- in 2004.
While both the Big Green and Crimson boast seasoned coaches, winning traditions and resourceful players, it appears that the Crimson is no longer in the race for a conference title this year.
If recent standings endure, Dartmouth's principal and toughest rival this season will be the Princeton Tigers (12-4, 3-0 Ivy), who played the most competitive schedule in the league and still managed its best start in recent years. Tigers' opponents this season already include No. 6 Rutgers Scarlet Knights and No. 1 Tennessee, against whom Princeton lost 65-56 and 107-39, respectively.
"I think our toughest opponent will be Princeton," Scott said. "They have a very similar team to ours and definitely play with a lot of confidence, but we will be ready for them. They are a really good team and it'll feel good to knock them off."
The Tigers return 12 players from last year's roster and all five starters, including last year's leading scorer Becky Brown and Rookie of the Year Meagan Cowher.
"Princeton is probably the Ivy team that I want to defeat the most," Taylor said. "They have been hyped up so much this year and they think they are going to win it. It would be nice to put them in their place."
Brown (8-7, 2-0 Ivy) returns a strong core of backcourt players that helped the Bears to a 10-4 finish in Ivy play last season. First-team All-Ivy Sarah Hayes is the Bear to watch out for in the upcoming season. Aside from the Crimson, the Bears are the only team in the league that defeated the Big Green last year.
Furthermore, Dartmouth hasn't won in Pizzitola Sports Center against the Bears in three years. Brown is the second-most threatening contender for the Big Green's championship title.
"I'd really like to beat Brown in their arena because I've never won in there in my career at Dartmouth," Soriaga said.
UPenn (3-13, 1-2 Ivy) is under the guidance of second-year coach Patrick Knapp and lost five seniors that accounted for 45.5 percent of the team's points and 58.8 percent of its assists. But the Quakers do not present a formidable obstacle for the Big Green to hurdle.
Yale (1-14, 0-2 Ivy) is the Ivy League's biggest enigma coming into the season. The Bulldogs boast a diverse roster of players that range in height from 5'4" to 6'4." But under new head coach Chris Gobrecht -- who owns more career victories than any other active coach in women's or men's basketball -- they have yet to click this season.
Columbia (4-12, 0-3 Ivy) is also in the hands of a new coach (Paul Nixon) and looks in some ways like last year's Dartmouth squad. The Lions have only one senior on the 12-member roster. Cornell (5-11, 2-1 Ivy) will also need a boost from its herd of freshmen to improve on its 1-13 record from last year. But the Big Red has already defeated the Quakers and the Lions so far behind the strong play of five-time Rookie of the Week Jeomi Maduka.
While it may be a down year for the Ivy League, the Dartmouth players still realize that a repeat of last year's success will not come easily -- especially with everyone gunning for their title.
"I think we have a very good chance of winning the championship this year, but it will be a hard road," Scott said. "The league is not as good as it has been in the past couple of years but every team is dangerous and can spoil our season. We will have to come out hard every night."
"I feel confident in our chances," Soriaga added. "We played a tough non-conference schedule that I feel has really prepared us for these upcoming games. We know how highly competitive the Ivy League is and how everyone will be out to get us because we are the defending champs."
When it comes to defending their Ivy League championship, the women in green appear confident in their abilities.
"We know what we need to do to win. We have a lot of experience under our belts and I think that will play a huge role in how successful we are," Soriaga added.
Confidence is a quality that cannot be taught, rehearsed or transferred. And confidence often separates the winners from the losers.
The Lady Green will use this "experience" to spur them through the remainder of the 2005-06 campaign towards the team's one, undeniable goal: the NCAA tournament.
The road to the dance is still long, but Dartmouth has shown its resilience down the stretch throughout the past two seasons and will remain in the driver's seat of the Ivy League until someone else forcibly grabs it. And it seems it will take a whole lot for such a turn of events to be realized.
