The softball team will travel to Clearwater, Fla. on March 15 to play in the South Florida Invitational and the FAU Invitational. The Big Green women (5-3, 0-0 Ivy) will play double headers on Saturday and Sunday before a two-day break, followed by five days of double headers.
"It's kind of unfortunate that we don't get to go home, but we're looking forward to spending a week in Florida with our teammates," pitcher Kristen Rumley '15 said. "Spring Break is a lot of fun because everyone gets to play."
The women will focus on winning and playing to one another's strengths, Rumley said. Games over break will also indicate the season's lineup, giving the team an idea of who will be playing and where.
The baseball team will also determine its lineup while playing in the RussMatt Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla.
"Game play over spring break is definitely a helpful indicator of where we are entering the season at performance levels," co-captain Cole Sulser '12 said. "We will get acclimated to real game situations before we start Ivy League play."
The baseball team (3-0, 0-0 Ivy) will try to play as many games as possible, but since its spring break does not match up with those of other schools, there are fewer available opponents for Dartmouth, co-captain Jeff Keller '14 said. As a result, the Big Green will play some teams more than once over break, as well as non-Division I teams.
"We expect to have a successful record down there," Keller said. "If we lose, we could have won."
Spring break will be the Big Green's first action outside this year.
"The season seems kind of distant when you're in Leverone and it's always dark outside," Sulser said.
Athletes looking forward to getting to know one another better.
"The spring break trip is a great experience for team bonding," Sulser said. "We get to know each other a little better on and off the field better than we would here at Dartmouth where everyone has other commitments."
The men's lacrosse team will travel to North Carolina to play against the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, before returning for its Ivy season opener against Harvard University on March 23. Goalkeeper Ham Sonnenfeld '16 said he is looking forward to spending time with his teammates.
"I think it will be a good team bonding experience," Sonnenfeld said.
The captains and coaches decided to play fewer games over break so they could better prepare for each game, defenseman Pat Flynn '13 said. The team (1-2, 0-0 Ivy) hopes to be as fresh as possible for Ivy League competition.
"It's not that the North Carolina game is any less important, but if we're tired for the Harvard game and lose to them, we have less of a chance of winning the Ivy Championship, which is our main goal," Flynn said.
The women's lacrosse team will also compete over break, heading to North Carolina for two games before finishing break with an Ivy League contest against Columbia University.
The men's crew team will head to Tennessee on March 14, boats in tow, to train over break.
"Our time in the water over break will be very crucial for developing some techniques that you can only get in the water," lightweight rower Will Lynch '16 said.
The team will conduct seat races and perform different types of drilling on the water. The team may also condition to shed weight in preparation for weigh-ins.
Spring break will be Dartmouth's first time on the water since its winter training trip to Texas, so it will be the team's first chance to see how its winter training affects its skill in the boat.
"At the end of the day, it's about who moves the boat best," Lynch said.
