The "well-rounded Ivy Leaguer" is something of a platitude these days, but Dartmouth has a pair of sophomore women who have extended the definition of that oft-used phrase.
At the tender age of seven, Jennifer Murray '09 and Danielle Murray '09 joined a jump-roping squad. They continued with the program until they reached the age of 16, after which they both decided to switch their focus to tennis. The move paid off, as the two are currently members of the Dartmouth varsity women's tennis team.
The duo has had a great amount of success jumping rope over the years. They competed in the Junior Olympics in Washington State. More impressively, they were able to win two titles in the Canadian National jump-roping championships, one in 2004 for pairs freestyle jump-roping that consisted of a choreographed routine created by the twins and the second for Double Dutch in 2003.
The pair showcased their skipping skills during the halftime show of the women's basketball game against Harvard on Jan. 6. The act included some jaw-dropping jump-roping that seemingly defied gravity. The twins, along with the help of Maggie Suydam '08 and Sarah Leners '09, put on a jump rope routine that was filmed and loaded onto YouTube.com under the title, "Dartmouth College Jump Rope Extravaganza."
Skipping in rhythm with each other with music pumping, the two performed Double Dutch moves, synchronized singles roping, combined singles jump-roping. The two then choreographed a kind of Double Dutch hybrid and a kamikaze move that involved jumping over a single jump rope that was twirling around the floor.
While both are pre-med, Jennifer is majoring in sociology with a biology minor and Danielle is majoring in neuroscience with a French minor. Jennifer is a member of Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority and Danielle, a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Jennifer recently stepped away from Dartmouth, and her sister, for a new kind of athletic activity. Although Jennifer had very little experience with long distance cycling, she participated in the Bike and Build program that Dartmouth promoted. The program gives students an opportunity to pedal for low-income housing, raising money and traveling across the United States, while building homes along the way.
"It was an incredible adventure," Jennifer said. "I was taking a chance; I had only pedaled a mile before the trip."
Jennifer stepped outside of her comfort zone, biking a total of 4,000 miles from Portsmouth, N.H., working on a total of five houses.
Beyond working on the homes, the team raised $60,000 for the habitat building sites.
"It was really an outstanding thing," women's tennis head coach Robert Dallis said. "It is always exciting any time when someone can give back like that."
The twins also work in tandem at giving back to the community. They have offered jump-roping seminars at elementary schools that supplement normal instruction during physical education classes. The classes help promote basic jump-roping skills and an active lifestyle.
Danielle does not reserve her teaching for just elementary school children, though. With a huge smile on her face she said, "I would love to teach anyone at Dartmouth who wants to learn how to jump rope."
