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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Winter club sports kick off

The figure skating team will have a chance to capture a fourth consecutive national title later this year.
The figure skating team will have a chance to capture a fourth consecutive national title later this year.

Club teams are student-run and vary from heavily competitive, like the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club and its consecutive Ivy League championships from 1998 to 2002, to instructional teams that anyone with a penchant for athleticism and sportsmanship can join. They may not have been professionally scouted out for their lighting-quick feet, their massive attack on the outside pin or the unfathomable ability to run a mile under five minutes, but Dartmouth club sports are more than ready to succeed this season (and earn PE credit at the same time).

Figure Skating: Captained by Nicole Newman '08 and Katherine Kalaris '07, the figure skating team is comprised of 22 skaters who range from novice to senior levels of competition and compete in the Eastern Collegiate Conference. In October 2006, the team's bid was accepted to host the 2007 National Collegiate Figure Skating Championships on Friday, April 13 to Sunday, April 15 at Thompson Arena. The figure skating team has already won three national titles and is gunning for a fourth this coming spring.

Fencing: The fencing team is a part of the Northeastern Fencing Conference and will have its first meet in late January. Team members compete in men's and women's sabre, foil and epee and are ranked by their number of victories from every bout. Amanda Carye '07, and Alison Manning '07 co-captain the club sport.

Hockey: The club hockey team heads into season of new expectations with a different mix of players and fresh competition from Muhlenberg College, Babson College and Bentley College. "The team will be finalized by Monday night," captain Jeremy Seidling '09 said. "We've had a real short bench of late, but this term we should be better in numbers." Recalling the September game against Yale, where Seidling lost half his starters to the tradition of Fall term rush, he looks forward to starting with a solid lineup. Though the team does not associate itself with the American Club Hockey Association (ACHA), the squad does play teams in the highly competitive league and schedules matches against the Tuck team, composed of graduate students, and other clubs near Boston.

Polocrosse: The newly inducted polocrosse team earned its club title this past year and can now officially represent Dartmouth atop their steeds. The unique game of polocrosse was introduced to the college by co-founders and co-captains Virginia Deaton '09 and Page Wagley '09 as an equestrian sport with a mix of polo and lacrosse. Competition comes from various areas since the sport is not as popular on the East Coast as it is in the West and the South, but the captains have managed to schedule an intramural tournament as well as a few scrimmages later in the year. They estimate that by February they will have an open match for spectators.

Volleyball: Though generally thought to be only a men's team, club volleyball has recently expanded to include female members. Of the change co-captain Miles Yourman '07 said, "I wish we were good enough to not be co-ed, but the change has been for the better." In the past the team always allowed women to practice with them but up until 2007, Yourman, along with co-captains Benjamin Reed '07 and Luke Mann-O'Halloran '09 have finally decided to welcome women onto the court during tournaments. The team's season will begin with a tournament held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in late January, though the squad's focus will be its home game held during the weekend of Winter Carnival on Saturday, Feb. 10 and Sunday, Feb. 11. "We're training really hard for our upcoming tournaments and we hope we can capture the victory at our home tourney," Yourman said.