Big Green Teams
IN this age of acronyms, let's follow the course of events involving the Dartmouth athletic scene this spring.
Competition aside, there's the activity that has beaten a path between the DCAC, the COA, and the AAO. In other words, the departure of four coaches from the Dartmouth staff has caused the Athletic Council to undertake the appropriate recruitment activities through the Committee on Administration and the Affirmative Action Office in the quest for the persons who will take up the battle of making Dartmouth competitive on the fields of intercollegiate athletics.
But this isn't completely overshadowing the performances of teams and individuals. For example: Third place in the Eastern Intercollegiate Golf Tournament belongs to Dartmouth; sophomore Skip Cummins, who set a New England record in the javelin in April, became Dartmouth's first champion in the Heptagonal Meet since Bill Dinneen won the hammer in 1971; a fifth-place finish in the Eastern League baseball race - not bad considering the balance and competition in the league this season; third place in the New England tennis tournament. Reverting to acronyms, these results would read: third in the EIGA, fifth in the EIBL, third in the NEILTA (and fifth in the EITA to boot), etc. But more on that in a moment.
Right now, let's review the coaching changes, in basketball there have been two. Tom O'Connor, head coach for the past two years, has resigned to become head coach and assistant director of athletics at Loyola College in Baltimore. His assistant and freshman coach, Ted Paulauskas, has become head coach and director of athletics at St. Anselm's College.
In soccer, George Beim has stepped down as head coach after four years, during which he strived in vain to make Dartmouth competitive in the Ivy League. His overall record was 11-30-2, including a 6-22 showing in the league.
In hockey, freshman coach Jim Higgins has resigned after four seasons to take a similar position at Brown. Higgins had a record of 52-17-2 at Dartmouth, and his team's 17-1 mark in 1972-73 was the best in Green frosh skating history.
On top of these four changes, there is also pursuit of an assistant coach in squash and tennis. On the administrative side, Rusty Martin '68, a former Dartmouth hockey player who has worked in the sports information office for three seasons, has accepted a position in public relations with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League.
"When you work with a staff that includes ambitious young men, you expect there will be changes as opportunities arise for professional improvement," said Seaver Peters, the Director of Athletics. "Our staff has been relatively stable and I'm sorry to see people with whom we've enjoyed working move on. I guess that's one of the fundamental risks of the business of college athletics."
For all of this, and for the assorted league performances this term, the most conspicuous achievement of the spring belongs to Dartmouth's sailing team which, on Chesapeake Bay in mid-April, won the National Intercollegiate Yawl Championship in competition with nine other colleges ranging from Michigan State to Hawaii.
For the trivia fans, the sailors' title marks the fourth national championship in Dartmouth history, joining skiing in 1058, football in 1925 and - this is the one that will win you a martini - golf in 1921. The victory in the five-race series in 44-foot yawls developed as Dartmouth finished fourth, first, first, second and sixth for a total of 14 points, five less than Michigan State (the runnerup) and far better than the host, Navy, which was last with 49.
How did it happen? "It's a fluke," said Bob Lee, a sophomore. "There's really no other way that Dartmouth could put these guys together and produce the best collegiate yawl crew in the country." While there was luck involved, there was also talent. With tactician John Elliott calling the shots and Sandy Tierney skippering the boat, the crew responded with strength and precision. Said Duncan Todd, "It's like football, you have to get it down to plays." So it was that Dartmouth did everything it had to do just a little bit better than everyone else. Elsewhere . . .
Tony Lupien's baseball team took a 14-17 record into the final ten days of the season, during which the Green had five doubleheaders on tap. When the season began, Lupien felt that a fourth-place finish in the Eastern League would be most creditable. The 8-6 record in the EIBL was founded on five wins in the first six league games - all on the road.
The players of note are Mark Ditmar and Jim Beattie. Ditmar, a second baseman, has been the leading hitter through the season (he had a .426 average in EIBL games) and the source of strength for the entire team with his nearly flawless play in the field. Beattie, a 6'-5" righthander, was blistered in the first inning at Penn (when the Quakers scored all their runs in a 5-1 win), but came back with impressive wins over Brown (a 2-0 two-hitter) and Harvard (a 3-1 four-hitter).
In lacrosse, the fourth period proved a bugaboo for Dartmouth as the Green was unable to maintain momentum, especially against Penn, Princeton, and New Hampshire. Dudley Hendrick's team had a 3-7 record entering the final three games. The Green had its best day of the season when Yale visited Chase Field. The game was close into the fourth period and for once Dartmouth held together and came away a 10-7 victor. The bright spot for the season was goalie Jeff Bennett, a junior who responded to the pressure on his net and appeared certain to set an Ivy record for saves in a season.
Dartmouth's golfers won the Eastern title in 1970 and came close this spring, finishing third behind .Penn and Bucknell and qualifying for the NCAA tournament at San Diego in mid-June. Captain Paul Dixon picked the EIGA tournament for some of his best golf. Dixon tied for the individual lead after the first round, and finished two strokes off the pace in a four-way tie for second place.
Coaches who lament injuries are usually involved in contact sports, but John Kenfield has some justifiable laments this spring. His tennis team produced a 13-9 record and took third place in the New England tourney (behind Harvard and Brown), despite the fact that Captain Jim Myers and Kevin Chee missed most of the season.
Dartmouth's dual record in track was an imposing 5-1 (losing only to Harvard), but the showing in the Heptagonal Meet was an illustration that the Green, while competitive in dual meets, does not yet have the caliber to challenge Penn, Navy, Harvard, and a couple of the other Ivy teams.
Cummins' victory in the javelin was followed by a fourth-place effort in the same event by sophomore Rusty Gapinski. Their eight points represented all the scoring for Dartmouth in the meet.
There's something of a jinx plaguing Dartmouth in the Heps, and it reared its head again this spring. The Green's 440-yard relay team seemed certain of a place and a Dartmouth record, but Rich Berryman, in the final 50 yards, had the baton brushed from his hand in a flukish accident. "You have to start and finish with the baton," said Coach Ken Weinbel. "It's a shame because we really had something going."
Dartmouth's crew has been the victim of the youthfulness of the many sophomores who came into the heavyweight boat (they're the men who won the Eastern sprint title as freshmen last year), and also had to train on a river that was reluctant to cooperate during this erratic spring season.
As for women's sports, in tennis the ladies have built a 5-1 record, while in lacrosse the mark is 1-4. Vicki Austin and Margaret Eisele have shared the lead position in tennis. The lacrosse scoring leader in 1973, Brewer Doran, continues in that role and has gained help from freshmen Martha Cochran and Issy Finkbiner.
Mike Draznik rounds third base after slugging a two-run homer in the 6-1 win overArmy. Dartmouth sophomore pitcher Dave Dobson (17) serves up congratulations.
Rick Berryman (foreground) and TomFleming finish 1-2 in the 100-yard dashagainst Northeastern. They also contributed to a College record in the 440 relay.
