Once the silly string settled following the Dartmouth women's baskeball team's Ivy League title-clinching victory over Harvard, the team immediately set its sights on the NCAA tournament.
"It was a great feeling," Meghan McFee '11 said. "We clinched the title, won it outright, and got the bid [to the NCAA tournament]. It was amazing."
Women's basketball joined two other Big Green sqads in the postseason this break, as skiing raced at the NCAA championships and women's hockey played in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
The Big Green women's basketball team played at the University of Maryland's home court. The game, held at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md., drew 10,847 fans. This was more than any other women's game in the first round of the tournament this year, according to The Washington Post.
About 300 Dartmouth alumni and family members came out to support the team.
"[Maryland's] fans were definitely really loud, but our crowd was loud too, so it didn't make a big difference," co-captain Darcy Rose '09 said.
Fast breaks and strong rebounding carried Maryland to a decisive 82-53 victory, but McFee said the Big Green was still satisfied with its performance.
For the women's basketball team, playing in such a big arena was exciting, although Rose said it was not the first time they had played in front of a large crowd because of the team's tough schedule.
Nevertheless, the feeling of playing on a national level was new for most of the women. The basketball team has qualified for the NCAA tournament seven times under current coach Chris Wielgus, and last danced in 2006, when the team's seniors were freshmen.
McFee said that the whole team was nervous driving to the game, although the players also felt well prepared to compete against Maryland.
"At first, before the game, I was really nervous," she said. "But once I got out on the floor, I forgot how many people were there."
The women's hockey team is a bit more familiar with NCAA play, having made tournament appearances in each of the past three years. Competing on a national level is still exciting for the team members, co-captain Shannon Bowman '09 said.
"We were at the point where it was a one-game knockout," she said. "It was win or go home, and we had the opportunity to prepare and totally focus."
The Big Green played the University of Wisconsin at the Badgers' home rink in front of a big crowd, which did give the Wisconsin team an advantage, Bowman said.
"You get energy from a crowd no matter what side it's on, but Wisconsin did get an edge," she said, adding that a team becomes familiar with the bumps on its own ice.
The team had a weak finish to the regular season, but competed very well in the ECAC tournament to take the title. Bowman said that the team found line combinations that worked well, and the wins in the tournament boosted the team's confidence for the upcoming NCAA action.
"We had high expectations after ECACs. We had a really strong weekend and hoped to carry it in [to the NCAA tournament]," she said.
Despite the team members' confidence, the Big Green ultimately fell 7-0 to Wisconsin. The Badgers' senior goalie Jessie Vetter shut down Dartmouth's normally potent offense, stopping all 32 of Dartmouth's shots.
Bowman said that although the loss was disappointing, the team enjoyed its trip to Wisconsin.
"Playing in front of the crazy fans was a lot of fun," she said. "We had a really great time."
For the ski team, the men and the women each sent a team of three athletes to both the Nordic and the alpine events, for a total of 12 Big Green athletes competing at the NCAA skiing championships hosted by Bates College.
In addition to the schools the team had raced during regular-season carnivals, the Big Green also had to face talented schools from the Western part of the country. At the end of the championships, Dartmouth finished seventh overall. Five of the top six finishes came from Western schools.
"Everyone always expects the Western schools to do well, but we had a strong season," Sophie Caldwell '12 said. "We weren't sure where we would stack up but we hoped to bring some good competition."
Although Dartmouth's skiers generally posted good times, there was strong competition and the Big Green was unable to deliver top finishes as efficiently as the team did during the regular season.
The women's cross-country team's strong showing on the final day was helpful, as all three skiers glided to top ten finishes.
As members of the hockey and basketball teams noted, Caldwell said that big crowds boosted the excitement level in tournament play.
"The crowds were surprisingly big, and the alpine skiers came out to support us," she said. "It definitely got everyone pumped up. I was more nervous for [the 15-kilometer freestyle race] than I have ever been in my life, but it was a good nervous."
Playing in NCAA postseason tournaments has perks that regular season play does not necessarily deliver, Big Green athletes said. One of the highlights of the experience for Rose was the opportunity to represent Dartmouth on a national level.
"It was great to meet the alums after the game," she said. "They were really enthusiastic and friendly."
McFee said that was pleasantly surprised by the number of alumni who came to watch the game and show their support after the loss.
Caldwell said that she enjoyed seeing her friends from other schools around the country, as well as racing for Dartmouth.
"You're trying to perform well for your school, not just yourself," she said. "It was a blast."
Even while their friends may have been sleeping in or relaxing on the beach, the Big Green athletes said they enjoyed spending their spring break with their teams.
"It was really fun, and I've spent almost all of my breaks with my team," Rose said. "It was a fitting end."
This was a step up from last year's spring break for the basketball team, which played in the National Invitation Tournament instead of the NCAA tournament after finishing the season in a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League and losing the tiebreaker.
Although the hockey team returned home fairly early and did get some time off, Bowman said playing over break is not a hardship.
"I think that you get used to it," she said. "We're all at Dartmouth because we made a commitment to hockey and we would have done anything to be in Boston in the Final Four."
