The championship game was the culmination of an impressive weekend for the Dartmouth rugby team, which outscored its three opponents 117-31 and included tournament Most Valuable Player Joe Killefer '06.
Captain Jesse Blom '06 said that winning the Ivy League title is always a priority for the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club.
"The Ivy League Championship is the most important title every year for Dartmouth because it lets us know that out of all the smart and rich kids in the Ivy League, we are the strongest, fastest and most rugged," Blom said. "There was never a doubt in our minds that we would win the tournament."
From the very first whistle, Dartmouth came out playing excellent rugby in the championship game. After a try by center Paul Huelskamp '06 and three tries by All-American eight-man Killefer, Dartmouth led Harvard 31-3 at the half.
With Dartmouth firmly in command of the match, Killefer added two more scores and fullback Mike Ribero '06 added one in the second half to stretch the lead to 52-6. Fullback Andrew Caspary '06 turned in a flawless kicking performance, going seven for seven on conversions and hitting his only penalty kick to give him a 17-point game.
After Thomas Monahan '06 was given a yellow card for a powerful hit on a Harvard rugger, Dartmouth was forced to play the final minutes one man down. Harvard capitalized on the situation and scored twice in the last seconds to make the final score 52-16.
Blom believed that facing Harvard gave Dartmouth that extra drive to win emphatically in the final.
"It is always fun to kick the sh*t out of Harvard," Blom said.
The win confirmed that Dartmouth would retain the Ivy League Cup, the championship trophy of the tournament and one of the most prestigious awards in American rugby.
According to Blom, the team's success this weekend gives the players confidence going into the National Tournament at West Point in two weeks. Ranked No. 11 nationally, Dartmouth will take on No. 5 Ohio State for the opportunity to advance to the national final four.
"Ivies is a chance for us to culminate all of our winter and spring training for a rugby bonanza," Blom said. "We will use the confidence that we built from dominating the Ivy League tournament to extend our domination further, this time on a national stage."
The semi-final match proved to be the true test match of the tournament as Dartmouth beat a powerful Princeton side 17-15. Dartmouth dominated large portions of the match and seemed to have put the match away when Caspary entered the try zone to put Dartmouth up 17-8. A late Princeton penalty try closed the score to 17-15 in the final seconds but Dartmouth was able to hold on for the victory.
In their first round match, playing in heavy rain, Dartmouth downed Columbia 48-0.
The team dominance of Dartmouth was reflected in the individual awards given out at the end of the tournament. Dartmouth starters Killefer, Ribero, Caspary, Huelskamp, Dan Kovler '06, Anthony Gargiulo '06, Henry Tarmy '06 and Scott Penner '06 all earned All-Ivy honors, giving the club eight players on the 15-man All-Ivy squad.
Killefer, who returned earlier in the week from the Rugby World Championships in Hong Kong where he played for the U.S. national team, captured the tournament MVP. Killefer said he enjoyed finally getting to play with Dartmouth again after two stints with the national team.
"It feels really good to be back in a green jersey, playing with my friends," Killefer said.
In a strange turn of events, Dartmouth actually sent two teams to the tournament. Due to Cornell dropping out of the tournament, the Dartmouth B team participated in the tournament as the eighth team.
In their first match, the seventh- seeded Dartmouth B team gave the tournament runner-up Harvard A side all it could handle in an 11-5 loss. Dartmouth jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and entered the half tied at five only to lose on two Harvard penalty kicks in the final seconds.
On Sunday, the Dartmouth B team lost a frustrating 12-0 game to Brown and finished out its tournament with a resounding 52-3 victory over Columbia.
According to Blom, the performance of the Dartmouth B team showed the overall dominance and depth of the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club.
"Our B side plays the same level of rugby as the rest of the Ivy League A-side teams," Blom said. "One of the reasons for our big margin of victory over Harvard in the championship game was that our B side beat them up the day before with their ferocious defense."
The 2006 Ivy League Rugby Championships were held at Yale University this past weekend.
