The men improved to 4-0 in Ivy League play by leading a balanced attack featuring nine tries by nine different players.
"The team is going pretty well right now," coach Gavin Hickie said. "They're taking advantage of the opportunities when they are presented."
Dartmouth put its first points on the board with a try by Rex Littlefield '14, the result of some nice passing between Dawit Workie '17 and captain Madison Hughes '15, who scored a few minutes later from 15 meters out to put Dartmouth up 10-0. After stopping Harvard (2-1) just meters from the try line, Erik Warnquist '16 converted another try to send the Big Green into half time with a 17-0 lead. Brendan Cronin '15 broke off an incredible 50-meter run for another Big Green try to open the second half scoring, and the team did not slow up, allowing just one Harvard try while widening the lead further with trys by Tyler Moragne '14, Ryan Galloway '15 and Peter Savarese '15. Zach Fowler '15 capped off the scoring with a try, breaking off of the back of the scrum to bring the score to 57-7.
Hughes credited the Big Green's success to having "a great buy in from the players and constant improvement from weeks to week."
"We always have to improve," he said. "If we stagnate, we won't have success. Luckily we have lots of time to improve in practice and in the upcoming games."
Offensively, the Big Green implemented several clever set-pieces that neutralized Harvard's aggressive style. Dartmouth put on a defensive showcase, and no one stood out more than Warnquist, who made plays all over the field and was constantly strong at the point of contact, allowing the Big Green to improve on their 17-point victory over the Crimson earlier in the season. Hickie called Warnquist "probably our standout player this year" and a "natural born-flanker."
Hickie said the team has improved as it gains more experience on the season.
"It was the first game of the season last time, and it was a little bit of a getting to know each other stage," he said. "Like every team, with every day you progress and work on a few things and the plan is to get better and better."
The Big Green certainly looked much improved on Saturday, and with this win appear to be on the way to another Ivy League championship.
The Big Green women's (3-0) game proved to be much closer, as both teams struggled to score and both defenses excelled.
"Fitness was one of the reasons we came out with the win," captain Pallavi Kuppa-Apte '14 said. "We've been the more fit team in most of our games, and its been a huge asset."
Audrey Perez '17 scored the Big Green's only try on a nice run to the outside within the first ten minutes of the game, which Tatjana Toeldte '16 converted successfully to bring the score to 7-0. Toeldte's conversion proved to be the difference in the game, as Princeton's sole try was followed by an unsuccessful conversion. After Perez's try, Dartmouth struggled to handle the ball and deal with Princeton's aggressive scrums, and was unable to score.
"This week we are going to focus on our offense and on scoring opportunities in practice," Kuppa-Apte said. "Next week against Brown we are going to play a different type of game, against a more skilled opponent, and try to run up the score."
Defensively, the Big Green women proved stout, holding off the Tigers close to the try line on several different occasions.
"We've been working hard on defense all season," Kuppa-Apte said. "It's been a huge focus, because we have been playing big teams all season. It really paid off in this game."
Warnquist is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
