The Dartmouth women's hockey team has had a strong start to the 2011-12 season, compiling a 12-6-2 (2-2-1 Ivy) record and ranking as the No. 10 team in all of college hockey. The Big Green women have accumulated 18 points in the ECAC, tying them for fourth in the league. The season started on unsure footing, as the Big Green played .500 hockey within the first month of the season.
Dartmouth has turned it around since December, however, compiling an eight-game unbeaten streak that was only broken this past weekend in a 1-0 overtime loss to No. 2 Cornell, who currently sits in first place in the ECAC.
One of the team's many highlights so far this year was the opportunity to play at Fenway Park as part of the Frozen Fenway series on Jan. 10, a unique experience that the players said they will never forget.
Captain Kelly Foley '13 described it as being "truly surreal to step out to the park to see a layer of frost and a hockey rink covering the infield of such a historic ball park."
Foley leads the team with 12 goals, a tally that places her fifth in the league.
The team closes out the regular season with eight league games and looks to improve on its position in the ECAC and qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Men's Hockey
The Big Green men's Hockey team has had a roller coaster ride of a season, with many games that have gone down to the wire. The team is currently 8-8-2 and tied for ninth place in the ECAC but a mere two points out of fourth in one of the most competitive leagues in all of college hockey.
The team just finished out a tough weekend, battling two nationally-ranked opponents on the road. The Big Green fell in overtime to No. 9 Cornell University but beat No. 18 Colgate University in another overtime thriller.
After these two close games, assistant captain Connor Goggin '12 noted the positive potential for the team's future.
"I think we are just catching our stride as a team," he said. "We played really solid games at Cornell and Colgate and are looking to build off of that."
Eric Robinson '14 leads the team with eight goals, and the team has also received significant contributions from Tyler Sikura '15 with seven scores.
The team has experienced a degree of uncertainty this season at the goaltender position, however, with three different players starting in net for the Big Green. Dartmouth finishes the season with 11 league games and will look to make a run into the top of the conference.
Goggin said the team understands that there are a lot of important games left in the season for the team to make a run.
"We believe we can win the Ivy League title, and win the ECAC title in Atlantic City," he said.
The Big Green will be making its second appearance on national television on Feb. 17 as it takes on the Yale Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn. The game will be televised on the new NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS).
Women's Squash
The Dartmouth women's squash team is ranked No. 8 in the nation but has had problems with tough Ivy League opponents thus far this season. The Big Green is 3-0 against non-league teams and 0-3 against Ivy League foes, losing to No. 1 Harvard University, No. 4 Princeton University, and No. 3 University of Pennsylvania.
Corey Schafer '13 and Becky Lau '13 have led the team from the first and second singles positions, respectively, but have run into tough competition at the top, posting identical 2-4 records. Katherine Nimmo '14 has the best record on the team so far, with four wins and two losses in the No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9 spots. Captain Julia Watson '12 attributed the team's success to a very focused and goal-oriented approach.
"Before every match, we each set goals for our individual performance and concentrate on focusing on these goals throughout the match," she said.
The team is currently riding a two-match winning streak, which it will look to continue as it faces Trinity College this weekend.
Men's Squash
Ranked No. 7 in the nation, the Dartmouth men's squash team is off to an impressive start. So far, the Big Green has posted a 6-2 overall record but has struggled with Ivy League opponents, beating No. 9 Penn but losing to No. 5 Harvard and No. 3 Princeton.
Chris Hanson '13, who has played at No.1 singles in every match for the team this season, has compiled a 6-2 record to match the team's overall total. Co-captain Brian O'Toole '12 and Robbie Maycock '13 have also provided strong performances for the team this year, tying for team-leading records of 6-2.
Co-captain Nick Sisodia '12 has also been a force at second singles, winning five matches and suffering only two defeats. The team has seven matches remaining before the College Squash Association championships in February. O'Toole said the team's focus remains on the ultimate prize of the final tournament.
"Our goals for the remainder of the season are to make the top flight at nationals," he said. "We have finished [No.]7 or [No.]8 in my first three years here, and I would love to go out with our best finish yet."
Men's Basketball
The men's basketball team (4-14, 0-1 Ivy) has had a busy year, traveling across the country for much of its early season action.
The team started the season by participating in the Great Alaska Shootout hosted by the University of Alaska, Anchorage over Thanksgiving break.
The team also traveled to South Bend, Ind. later in the season to take on perennial tournament qualifier Notre Dame University.
One of the team's most exciting moments this season occurred when the Big Green hosted No. 24 Harvard in the first basketball sellout at Leede Arena since 2000.
The Big Green has been in the midst of a generational shift all year, with underclassmen making up the majority of the team.
Dartmouth has benefited from promising signs from younger players on the roster like Gabas Maldunas '15, who is leading the team with an average of 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. These performances have earned him three Ivy League Rookie of the Week titles.
The Big Green finishes the season with a busy slate of 12 Ivy League games as the focus shifts to final positioning within the Ancient Eight.
Women's Basketball
The Dartmouth women's basketball team has gotten off to a tough start, going 2-13 so far in mostly non-league play. The Big Green has kept many games exciting to the end, but Dartmouth has often gotten into such deep holes that it has been unable to pull out a victory.
Much like the men's team, the women have a young roster that features five freshmen and only one senior. Faziah Steen '13 leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game, and has posted three games with over 20 points this the season.
She has been complemented by the rising talents of Milica Toskovic '15 and Tia Dawson '15, who have each taken home Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.
The Big Green looks to improve as it enters the second stretch of the season, which consists of 13 Ivy League games.
Dartmouth was edged out by Harvard in Hanover on Jan. 14 in its only league game so far this year.
