While most Dartmouth students will soon leave Hanover to enjoy a break from school and visit family and friends over spring break, student-athletes on four different sports teams men's and women's tennis, softball and baseball will not have the opportunity. All four teams will be busy representing Big Green athletics by competing in tournaments over break.
While the diamonds in Hanover are still thawing out, the Big Green softball and baseball teams are making an escape to Florida for two weeks over the interim.
The baseball team will play a total of 11 games, facing the likes of Bucknell University, Akron University, Long Island University, Bradley University, University of Illinois, Northwestern University and defending Big Ten conference champion Ohio State University.
Additionally, the team has a three-game series with Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
After spending the offseason preparing to defend their Ivy League championship, the players are ready to start the season.
"We all are excited to start getting back in the season," Dave Turnbull '12 said. "We've been doing all the tough stuff practices, lifting, conditioning for a while to prepare for the games. We're very interested to see what our team can do."
The Big Green will have great opportunities over the break to see where it stands against out of conference opponents, Turnbull added.
"We'll be playing some top-notch, big school competition," he said. "Schools from big conferences like Illinois and Ohio State are going to be tough, but we welcome that kind of competition because it makes us that much more ready for conference play."
Not everything will be strictly business. Many of the players' families will meet the team in Florida to show their support and enjoy the weather, players said.
The Big Green softball team is fresh off a tournament in Georgia, after competing in the Buzz Classic Tournament last weekend.
In the Classic, Dartmouth struggled against Bowling Green University, Liberty University, Georgia State University, Winthrop University and Georgia Institute of Technology, but defeated Western Carolina University in a 4-0 shutout.
In Florida, the team will be playing in the University of South Florida's The Game Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. The competition includes Oklahoma State University, University of North Florida, University of Maryland, University of Illinois and Florida Atlantic University.
The team is approaching the tournament with a positive mindset similar to that of the baseball squad.
"We're going into every game with the mentality that we can win," Meghan Everett '12 said. "We know that our competition will be tough, but we also know that we have worked hard enough to be in every game we play in. We may be the underdog in some of our games, but as long as we keep a green light' mentality, we'll be fine."
The team hopes to nail down the small details of its game, Everett said. It hopes to use the strength of the beginning of its schedule to get ready take on conference opponents, she added.
Even with the focus on playing well and preparing for Ivy League play, the team will make sure to mix in some fun as well, Everett said. Although they will not be able to spend their spring break with family and friends at home, the players have cultivated a family atmosphere within the team, she added.
"We should get some time off during the trip, but honestly any time spent with the team is bound to be a good time," Everett said. "No matter where we are, we have a good time, whether it's taking reps in practice, waiting for our flight in the airport, or hopefully laying on a beach in Florida."
While softball and baseball go south for the break, the tennis teams will head west to prepare for the Spring's upcoming Ivy season.
Women's tennis (9-1, 0-0 Ivy) will play a series of matches against Utah State University, California Polytechnic State University, University of California at Santa Barbara and California State University at Northridge.
Women's head coach Bob Dallis used his West Coast contacts to set up the string of matches, he said.
"[The players] are excited to go to California," he said. "They're excited to play during the break. It's fun and liberating to play without school being in session."
When asked about the mentality of the team during the trip, Dallis said his players will use the matches to hone their individual game.
For these girls, missing out on a more conventional spring break is not a concern, he added.
"They know this a chance to compete and challenge themselves," Dallis said.
The men's tennis team (6-2, 0-0 Ivy) will also compete over the interim, when it will take a five-game West Coast swing starting March 19. The matches against Point Loma Nazarene University, University of Nevada, University of California San Diego, Loyola Marymount University and University of California Santa Barbara will be used as preparation for Ivy League play.
According to players, the trip is regarded by the team as a welcome challenge. Michael Laser '12 said the tour will be a great opportunity for the team to play against tough West Coast teams.
"We are playing five different teams over the break from Nevada to UCSB and UCSD, so we will see a range of competition," he said. "It will be good to get a lot of matches in before we come back for [the Ivy League season] and this trip will be conducive to improving our team."
Although the team will look to remain focused on its matches, Laser said he is not disappointed to be missing out on a regular spring break. In fact, the trip seems to be an equal mix of competition and fun, he added.
"I don't mind missing out on a conventional spring break because we have a great trip set up, spending half of our trip in San Diego and the other half in Malibu," Laser said. "We'll get to spend a good amount of time away from the court. We're staying on the beach in San Diego and [we're] going to be on the ocean the whole time. It will be nice to get some real weather."
Even though the trip is not all about tennis, playing well is important, he added.
The Big Green teams view their trips as an opportunity to get better, prepare for Ivy League competition and also measure how well the offseason workouts paid off.
While Turnbull joked about this year's mild winter, these spring break tours still offer Dartmouth's athletes a welcome escape from the forthcoming Hanover mud.
