The Dartmouth men's rugby team defeated both the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton in a home doubleheader this weekend, outscoring opponents 136-6 and further proving its dominance in the Ivy League.
Dartmouth (6-0, 6-0 Ivy) began its double-header on Saturday against Princeton (2-2, 2-2 Ivy). The Big Green got off to a strong start, with Derek Fish '12 scoring on a try just minutes into the game.
Making the most of some strong line breaks and set pieces, the team went on to score 48 points in the first half alone. Dartmouth's offense was so dominating that the Tigers remained on defense for the majority of the half.
After halftime, Princeton's defense made some changes and came back stronger, holding Dartmouth to 15 fewer points than in the previous half 33 points for the Big Green.
The Tiger offense made a penalty kick early in the half, but was unable to control the ball throughout the rest of the game, leading to an 81-3 loss for Princeton.
"The Princeton game was a lot of fun," Tommy Brothers '11 said. "We were able to score a lot of points and play around with people in different positions."
Top performers at the Saturday game were identical twins Nick Downer '11 and Chris Downer '11, with two and four tries, respectively. Brothers was also a lead contributor, with both a try and a conversion.
The Big Green followed up the victory with another Ivy match on Sunday, facing Penn (0-4, 0-4 Ivy). Dartmouth began the game looking a bit unfocused against an intense Penn team, allowing an early Quaker penalty conversion.
The Big Green came out on top at the end of the first half with a 19-3 lead.
"We came out really flat," Brothers said. "We weren't expecting them to be so aggressive, and it caught us off guard."
After halftime, the Dartmouth team was revitalized and began to take control of the game.
The Big Green defense shut out the Quakers, while the offense delivered 36 points of its own. Ultimately, Penn could not overcome Dartmouth, losing 55-3, despite keeping the Big Green to one of its lowest halftime scores of the season. Leading scorers in the Penn game were Brothers with one try and four conversions, and Chris Downer with a conversion on his own try.
This weekend was somewhat of a learning experience for the team, Brothers said. Even with such a strong record, the ruggers cannot take any of their opponents lightly, he said.
Freely substituting its reserve players, the Big Green still beats its opponents by an average of almost 64 points. Winning by such a larch margin has allowed the team to practice its set pieces and connections with one another.
Although the team will be looking for a win to complete its undefeated season, Dartmouth is more concerned with preparing for a run in the postseason, Nick Downer said.
"We are working hard, but we want to peak at the right time," he said. "Going in to the Ivy playoffs and then on to the NRU tournament is the perfect time."
With a week left to play in the regular season, Dartmouth's win against Penn has already secured the Big Green's place as the top seed in the Ivy League playoffs this upcoming month. As a No. 1 seed, the Big Green will be playing at home against the fourth-ranked team in the conference.
The Ivy League playoffs begin on Saturday, Oct. 24, which is also the Big Green's Homecoming weekend. First, however, Dartmouth must face Brown this Saturday in Providence, R.I.
