Dartmouth faced a tough opening round game in playing third-seeded University of California, Davis, the Sierra Pacific Division champions. Although the Big Green held UC Davis to a 2-1 lead in the first period, the Aggies soon built their lead and won 10-2. Dartmouth continued to the consolation bracket.
"It was tough game for us because they play a tight defense to a level that we hadn't encountered in our division," said Aiofe Duffy '11, who scored for Dartmouth in the game. "They were quick and had a lot of subs that we didn't."
The Big Green bounced back, however, and never trailed in a stellar performance against 12th-ranked Middlebury. Lisa Rennels '14 and Elizabeth Kamai '12, who were both named players of the game, had two goals each in the 6-4 victory.
Kara Podkaminer Th'11 scored first, before Duffy tallied a goal and Kamai capitalized on an advantage opportunity. In the final period, Rennels scored a man-up goal and Kamai closed the game with another goal of her own.
Grace McDevitt '14 said that although Dartmouth had beaten Middlebury in a scrimmage earlier in the season, it was "great to beat them in a legitimate match with no excuses."
The Big Green then beat 10th-ranked University of Utah, 3-2, in a thrilling quadruple-overtime game. Player of the game Shelley Wenzel '14, who McDevitt described as a "brick wall," notched 18 saves for Dartmouth, including nine stops in overtime.
"My strategy is to get up as high as I can to block shots," Wenzel said.
With the teams tallying a total of 26 saves, the game was well-defended and one of the longest at the Championship in recent memory.
"Everyone wanted to win, but as the time kept going, there was tinge of desperation in our play because we wanted to win and just finish the game," Duffy said.
Duffy tied the score at 2-2 in the fourth period with a five-meter penalty shot. From there, neither team managed to score during the remainder of regulation play or the first two overtime periods.
The game then advanced to sudden-death overtime, which had to be extended to a second round. Duffy finally ended the game by collecting a rebound and scoring with just 31 seconds left of the second sudden-death overtime.
Duffy called the win a huge accomplishment, and said it was "exciting because it was the culmination of so many minutes of hard work."
In Dartmouth's battle for ninth place, the Big Green lost to eighth-ranked Arizona State University, 4-2. After making their first ever Championship appearance earlier in the weekend, the Sun Devils notched an early 3-0 lead and never looked back.
"I think it could have gone either way," Wenzel said. "We surprised them because I don't think they thought we would play as well as we did."
The Championship marked the end of a successful women's water polo season. Dartmouth did not place at the Championship two years ago, and did not qualify for the tournament last season.
