Swimming: Leko and LaMastra headline early meets
Before a training trip to the Florida Keys, the Big Green swimming and diving teams traveled to Brown University and Bates College for a pair of meets after Thanksgiving.
First-year Mia Leko ’22 highlighted the three-day Bruno Invitational, which began Nov. 30, for the women. She opened the meet on the first day by finishing second in the 500-yard freestyle and finished on the third day with an NCAA B-cut time of 1:58.99 in the 200-yard butterfly. With that time, the second-fastest in the Ivy League this season according to SwimSwam, Leko broke a nine-year-old program record. Connor LaMastra ’21 was the top Big Green swimmer on the men’s side, winning the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly and breaking the program record in the 100-yard butterfly with an NCAA B-cut time of 47.33. The men finished fifth of seven teams, behind Brown and Princeton University, and the men finished last of six teams. Both programs scored easy wins against Bates the following week. The Big Green men won 10 of 12 events while the women scored wins in 11 of 12.
After traveling to Florida, the teams saw their first action of the new year in a tri-meet against the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University. Though the men’s team fell to both the Bulldogs and the Quakers, Justin Sodokoff ’21 came in first place on the 1-meter board (315.20) and third on the 3-meter board (287.60). LaMastra was second in the 200-yd freestyle, 200-yd butterfly and 500-yd freestyle. The women lost to Yale but came within 30 points of beating the Quakers. Leko finished second in the 200-yd butterfly, and Mackenzie Stumpf ’21 came away with second in the 100-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Women’s hockey: Big Green has tough December
The women’s hockey team is off to a tough 3-12-1 start to the season, enduring a five-game losing streak going back to its last win against Union College on Nov. 30. The team has struggled on the road, winning only one game at Quinnipiac University, but has not fared much better at home with a 2-5-1 record. Over the weekend, the Big Green dropped two home games against Quinnipiac and No. 6 Princeton University, although goalie Christine Honor ’19 made 51 saves against a tough Princeton offense. The team has seen solid offensive play this season from defender Tess Bracken ’19 and forward Sara McClanahan ’22, who are tied for the team lead at eight points each, with six of McClanahan’s points coming in conference play. The Big Green plays next against Harvard on Jan. 11, followed by two more games at home against Cornell University and Colgate University.
Men’s hockey: Men’s hockey off to decent conference start but struggles on the road
After a 3-2 start to the season, men’s hockey struggled during winter break — winning only two games while dropping five and ending two in overtime ties — and brought their record to 5-7-2. The team so far is 1-3-1 on the road, with its only win coming against Yale University on Nov. 10, but its home record is only slightly better at 4-4-1. Despite this, the team’s wins against Yale, Harvard University, No. 15 Quinnipiac University and No. 16 Cornell University have kept it at a solid 4-2-1 in ECAC conference play.
The Big Green endured a tough stretch during the second week of December, dropping back-to-back games against the University of New Hampshire in Hanover and Durham and then falling to Boston University on the road. The team bounced back with a win against the U.S. Military Academy during the 30th Ledyard Classic in Hanover but lost to Providence, 3-5.
The men had a disappointing conclusion to non-conference play on Saturday at Bentley University. After the Big Green took a 2-0 lead in the second period, Bentley answered with two goals that period, eventually tying the game at 3-3 with only 19.4 seconds left in regulation after Dartmouth retook the lead in the third period. The game ended in a tie with neither team scoring in overtime. The team will be back in action on Jan. 11 at Quinnipiac, kicking off a four-game road stretch as conference play comes into full swing.
Men’s squash: Strong home play propels No. 6 men’s squash to solid start
The men’s squash team is off to a 4-1 start to its season, winning its first three home matches over the United States Naval Academy, George Washington University and Williams College while beating Drexel University on the road for the season opener but falling to No. 2 Harvard University in Cambridge on Dec. 5. Dartmouth’s four wins were lopsided at 7-2, 8-1, 7-2 and 8-1 but the team was walloped at Harvard 8-1. The lone match win at Harvard came from Jack Bell ’22, who secured a come-from-behind 3-2 victory and now leads the team with wins in all five matches. The Big Green will play next against Columbia on Jan. 12.
Women's squash: No. 9 women’s squash drops first two away matches but wins both home games
Standing at a 2-2 record, the Big Green opened the season with a close 5-4 loss to Drexel University in Philadelphia. After bouncing back with a 7-2 win at home over George Washington, the team suffered a tough 9-0 loss at No. 1 Harvard. In Cambridge, only Emma Roberts ’19 was able to extend her match to four games; after taking the first game 11-9, Roberts dropped the next three. Roberts, Julia Potter ’20, Elizabeth Gildea ’22 and Ellie Gozigian ’21 all secured wins against Drexel, GW and Williams. The team takes on Columbia next on Jan. 12.
Women’s Basketball: Fruitful homestand follows difficult road trip
The women’s basketball team finished just under .500 over winterim, going 5-6. The Big Green started the break just after Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, where they left with a pair of losses to Middle Tennessee University and the University of California Santa Barbara. The team then traveled further west, taking close losses at California State University Fullerton and the University of San Diego. But the trip home brought better fortune. The women went 4-1 at home over the next five games, earning wins against competition including Boston University, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the University of New Hampshire. Dartmouth takes a 7-6 record into the winter quarter. The next three weeks will be critical for the team. With no games until January 19th, the women will look to stay focused in preparation for Ivy League play, which begins with an away date at Harvard.
Men’s basketball: A little Irish luck kickstarts the Big Green’s season
The men’s basketball team opened winterim with perhaps its toughest challenge of the season, allowing 110 points — the most since the 1974-75 season — in a loss to No. 22 State University of New York at Buffalo. After Thanksgiving, the team traveled to the University of San Francisco, where a small halftime deficit ballooned into a 19-point loss. The Big Green then went international, traveling to Northern Ireland for the Belfast Classic, which was televised on the CBS Sports Network. The men finished the trip at .500, earning a 14-point win over the State University of New York at Albany but falling short to Marist College. Back on the other side of the pond, the men stumbled against Quinnipiac University before reeling off a four-game win streak to finish the break 5-3 overall.
Track and field: Men and women compete in early-season meets
The men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the indoor season on December 1 at the non-scoring Boston University Season Opener and returned home a week later for a meet with the University of New Hampshire, University of Vermont and University of Maine. The Dartmouth women edged UNH by 13, but the UNH men got the better of the home team by a two-point margin.
Donovan Spearman ’21 took second in the 60-meter dash at Boston University, then won the 60-m and the 200-meters the following weekend. The men’s team won six more events at the home meet. The Dartmouth women went 1-3-4 in the high jump at BU, with Abigail Burke ’22 getting the win. Kayla Gilding ’19 won the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.64. Back in Leverone Field House, the team picked up nine event wins.
