The women's lacrosse team was not the only Dartmouth squad defying expectations over the weekend.
While the seventh-seeded women's lacrosse team was making its first finals appearance in Boston, Princess Layout, the Dartmouth women's ultimate frisbee team finished tied for fifth place at the national tournament in Columbia, Ohio.
The squad was originally seeded 15th out of 16 teams and its fifth place finish was the best performance for the team in program history.
The team, making its third appearance at the Ultimate Players' Association College Women's National Tournament in as many tries, upset sixth-seeded Georgia in pool play on Friday and 11-seed Carleton in pre-quarters on Saturday to make the quarterfinals, where it dropped a game against top seed and eventual winner Stanford.
Both of Princess' wins were notable.
In the game against Georgia, both teams' first game of the tournament, Dartmouth battled back from a 14-11 deficit to force a decisive "universe point," in which the next team to score wins the game.
The women proved up to the task, scoring the final point to secure an upset victory and break seed in their pool after Georgia was again upset by No. 10 Emory later in the day.
"I'm very happy with the way the team played at Nationals," said women's captain Liz Middleton '06. "Coming back from being down three points to Georgia to win it on universe point was an exhilarating way to start the weekend."
The team went 1-2 in pool play after being seeded last in their pool, dropping games to No. 3 Colorado and Emory after their upset victory over Georgia.
By breaking seed in pool play on Friday, Princess Layout was placed into the championship bracket on Saturday with a chance to win the tournament instead of falling into the consolation bracket.
Saturday's games started with Dartmouth playing against Carleton, who had finished higher in their pool on Friday and were favored to win going into the game.
Dartmouth was unfazed and quickly took control of the game, taking the first half 8-4 and never looking back as the team rolled to a 15-7 victory.
"Our pre-quarters game against Carleton was definitely the highlight of the tournament," women's captain Lakshmi "Shmisus" Narayan '06 said. "Our spread offense really clicked, and we were able to utilize lots of wide-open deep looks."
Narayan also added that Dartmouth's defense forced Carleton to take lots of risky throws, leading to more turnovers and more possessions for Princess Layout.
The team's run at the title ended with a 15-6 loss to Stanford, which went on to defeat No. 2 seed UCLA 15-10 in the finals.
The team thrived on strong play from all of its players. With underclassmen playing such a large role on a team that will only graduate three seniors this year, the Dartmouth women seem poised to continue to improve in coming seasons.
In addition to Princess Layout's strong team performance, Narayan received recognition for her individual contributions to the team as she finished fifth in the Callahan Award voting, ultimate's equivalent of an MVP award.
The award recognizes players not only for their ability but also for their good-spirited play on the field, a trait that many on the team embodies.
While the team defied expectations, Princess Layout went into nationals looking to enjoy themselves, a goal they met with flying colors.
"Before every game, we would get psyched up by singing and dancing to pump up music, then go out and play amazing disc -- which is really how Princess rolls," Narayan said. "I love how other teams will get into serious huddles before going out to play, whereas we play our best disc when we're relaxed and ready to have fun.
"It's an amazing experience to be part of a team that can compete at the highest level but stay so connected to the reason that we're out on the field in the first place," she added.
