Where did this term go? It seems like it was only yesterday when I was nervously writing my first column for The Dartmouth and the NFL was still playing football instead of fighting over the distribution of $9 billion. Over the past 10 weeks, so much has happened in the world of sports. The Green Bay Packers earned back the honor of Titletown, USA. Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and that other guy have finally hit their stride. Baseball free agents have settled into their new million-dollar mansions, and college football played another bowl season without a playoff system (sigh).
The Dartmouth sports world has also seen a lot of action this term. For this week's top 10, let's review the top 10 things I have learned about Big Green athletics in the past 10 weeks.
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Women's basketball needs Brittney Smith '11 Before Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury, the Big Green had a respectable 3-4 record. Smith, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, was averaging 13.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Since losing Smith, Dartmouth has gone 4-16, including 3-10 in the League.
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Men's and women's squash teams remain nationally competitive In their recent end-of-season College Squash Association tournaments, both Dartmouth squash teams finished in the top eight nationally. The men's team placed seventh at the Potter Cup, while the women finished eighth at the Howe Cup.
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It snows (a lot) in Hanover Being a sophomore, the only Hanover winter I have experienced was last year. While Hanover residents were moaning about the lack of snow for skiing, people in other Northeast cities were constantly complaining about how much snow they were getting. Well, for all of you skiing fanatics out there, you better not complain after this winter.
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Speaking of skiing, the Dartmouth ski team is still one of the top programs in the country After winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships last season and placing fifth at NCAA Championships, the Dartmouth ski team enjoyed another strong season. The team finished first or second in all of its competitions this year, including a second place finish at the EISA Championships last weekend.
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The men's basketball NCAA tournament futility-streak continues By next week, Dartmouth will officially enter its 51st year since playing its last game in the NCAA tournament. To put it another way, Dwight Eisenhower was president when Dartmouth last made it to the NCAA tournament.
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Men's basketball coach Paul Cormier is not a magical fix Cormier became the program's most successful coach in the past 50 years during his first tenure, leading the Big Green to consecutive second-place finishes in the League. He is not, however, a magical fix to all of Dartmouth's problems. The Big Green has gone through growing pains this season, posting a 5-23 overall record, including 1-13 in League play.
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The baseball team is picked to win the League again in the upcoming season After making noise at the NCAA Regionals the past two years, Dartmouth will look to head back to the postseason this year.
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Dartmouth men's hockey is exciting to watch I have gone to my fair share of fun athletic events in my lifetime, including two World Series games and a Temple University basketball game, in which I rushed the court after the Owls defeated number-three ranked Villanova. I have to admit, the men's hockey game against Princeton may have topped them all. When the tennis balls were flying and the Dartmouth crowd was chanting, it could easily have been the best atmosphere I have ever been a part of at a sporting event.
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Women's hockey can be even more exciting than the men's game You don't believe me? Then you obviously weren't at the women's hockey playoff series against Clarkson University last weekend. In the deciding game of the series, Dartmouth scored a short-handed goal with under a minute left to tie the game before scoring another goal in overtime to advance. You couldn't make this stuff up.
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Pong is still the most popular sport at Dartmouth I would venture to say that not many Dartmouth students could tell me what the doubles point means in tennis or what an icing is in hockey or how many players there are in a squash lineup. I'm also going to guess that more Dartmouth students could tell me how many serves in pong you get and if team saves are good at a particular fraternity. I'm just saying.
