Spring Sports Round Up

By Daniel F. Linsalata | Thursday, May 18, 2006

Baseball Narrowly Misses Fourth Title in Six Years

After an average start to the season, the Indians baseball teams came surging back to contend for the Red Rolfe Division title in a pair of doubleheaders at home against Harvard on the second to last weekend of the season. To claim their share of the title, the Indians needed to come away from the weekend with a 3-1 record. After splitting Saturday’s games, Dartmouth came into Sunday needing a sweep, and sent a resurgent Jeff Wilkerson ’07 to the mound. Wilkerson, after dropping his first two decisions, came back to win the next two in addition to a save in a relief appearance against Yale. Wilkerson did not disappoint, as he notched six strike outs while scattering eight hits through a complete-game shutout.

Game Two put the season on the line, as the Indians needed just one more win to snatch the division title away from the Crimson. Harvard, however, came out swinging, and put four runs on the board in the first inning, thanks in part to two Dartmouth errors. The assault continued through the game, but Dartmouth had knotted the game at nine by the end of the fifth. Unfortunately, the Indians hemorrhaged 14 runs on 12 hits and four errors in the remaining two innings to see the division title slip from their grasp. They went on to split their remaining two games, both non-conference.

All was not lost, however, as four members of the team received all-Ivy accolades. Josh Faiola ’06, the pitching staff’s ace, led the League in ERA at 2.45 while picking up a 6-2 record, including 4-1 in the Ivy League, and First Team honors. Faiola was joined on the First Team by Will Bashelor ’07, who led the team in batting average, runs, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. Sophomore catcher Damon Wright earned Second-Team honors for his team-leading .421 average in conference games, as well as two separate seven-game hitting streaks. Finally, Wilkerson earned an Honorable Mention for his clutch performance down the stretch.

Lacrosse Closes Season with Thriller over Harvard

Indian Laxers closed out a somewhat disappointed season with a riveting triple-overtime win over Harvard at Sculley-Fahey field last Saturday. Looking to avenge an NCAA tournament snub from last season, the team came into the 2006 campaign loaded with potential and expectations. Regrettably, the young Indians squad found themselves at 7-7, and 2-3 in the Ivy League, and with no chance at an NCAA bid, going into their final game of the season. Playing for nothing but pride, the Indians jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the first half. Harvard roared back in the second half, however, notching five goals in the third period and three in the fourth, including one to tie it at 13 apiece with 2:22 remaining. The Indians stayed in the game however, behind the performance of freshman netminder Pat Marshall, who recorded 23 saves as the Crimson outshot Dartmouth 73-36. Finally, after two full extra frames, freshman attackman Brian Koch scooped up a rebound from a shot by Brad Heritage ’06, and buried it in the Harvard net 26 seconds into the third OT for the win.

The lacrosse team picked up four all-Ivy honorees of their own. Jamie Coffin ’06, a former Ivy League Rookie of the Year, picked up 56 points, including a ten-point outburst against Providence, en route to his second consecutive First Team honor. He was joined on the First Team by classmate Heritage, who was second in the Ivy League in goals per game, and attackman Nick Bonacci ’07, who finished fourth in the nation with 4.20 points per game. Finally, senior defenseman Ben Lovejoy picked up his first ever all-Ivy honors after helping the hockey team bring home its first Cleary Cup, awarded to the regular season winner of the ECACHL title.

Tennis Blanked in Ivy Spring Season

Dartmouth Tennis dropped its season finale to Harvard by a margin of 6-1, thus completing its second consecutive winless Ivy League season. The Crimson blanked the Indians in all three doubles matches, typically Dartmouth’s strong point during an agonizing season. The team got off to a promising start, jumping out to a 7-3 record before its spring trip to California. Unfortunately, they went 0-5 on the trip, and then won just one of the next 14 upon returning. The mid-season loss of #2 Singles player Mark Brodie ’07 certainly did not help what was already considered to be a team lacking depth.

There were a few highlights, however, as David Waslen ’07 and Steven McGaughey ’07 earned spots on the all-Ivy Honorable Mention doubles team. The pair played at #1 doubles all season, compiling a 3-2 conference record and went 11-8 overall. They were instrumental in helping the Indians to reach their peak #75 national ranking earlier in the season.

Women’s Lacrosse Advances in NCAA Tournament

Dartmouth’s Womens Lacrosse team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last weekend, posting a 9-4 win over Boston Univeristy. The team recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to take a 6-2 lead at the half. Annie Leibowitz ‘06 led the charge with two first half goals. The Terriers struck back quickly, finding the twine with less than two minutes expired in the second half. Dartmouth responded in kind as Leibowitz and Sarah Szefi ‘07 potted back-to-back scores to give the Indians an 8-3 lead from which they never looked back. Whitney Douthett ‘07 turned in another strong performance, with two goals, two assists, eight ground balls, and three caused turnovers. Kristen Barry ‘08 and Jen Pittman ‘07 rounded out Dartmouth’s scoring.

Following the game, on Tuesday, three lady laxers were tapped for First Team all-Ivy. Douthett unanimously received the honor for the second consecutive year. She led the team in scoring once again, with 28 goals and 29 assists. She was joined by senior defender Lizzy Cuneo, and senior midfielder Kristen Zimmer. Senior goalkeeper Devon Wills received Second Team honors; her 6.56 goals against average was second in the nation, trailing only Georgetown’s goalie at 6.50. Barry and Szefi each picked up all-Ivy Honorable Mentions.

With the win over BU, Dartmouth improved to 12-5 on the season. They will face the Princeton Tigers at 1:00 PM at Scully-Fahey field this Saturday. Last time out, the Indians scalped the Tigers at Princeton, 15-5. The winner of Saturday’s game advances to the NCAA Final Four next weekend.

Spring Sports Round Up

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