A Good Test
THE Dartmouth lacrosse team doesn't exactly line up a bunch of patsies on its schedule. After its spring exhibition trip in the South, Coach Dud Hendrick's squad faced and lost to Navy (in an exhibition), Maryland, and Cornell. In Division I, Cornell, the defending NCAA champion, is ranked first; Navy is third; and Maryland is fourth.
"We're happy to have teams like Maryland, Cornell, and Navy on our schedule," says Hendrick. "They're among the top five teams in the country, and it's a privilege to play them. We've been improving immensely from year to year, and we are anxious to test ourselves against these teams."
Dartmouth fell to Navy, 15-1, and was defeated by Maryland, 16-3, before the Cornell game. "But we had a good week of practice which reacquainted us with some potency on offense," explains Hendrick. Cornell defeated Dartmouth, 19-12, at Ithaca for its record-equaling 33rd consecutive victory. The coach felt the team played well "with a few qualifications" and was obviously pleased with the dozen goals scored by the Green.
"The team is sort of an unknown," observes Hendrick, primarily because of the loss, due to knee injuries, of Steve O'Neill, a junior, and Tom Boltja, a sophomore. O'Neill controlled the offense, and Boltja provided the "explosive factor" on attack. "We were really counting on these guys," says Hendrick. "The loss of these two players will have a considerable impact on our potential."
"But we still have a lot of optimism," notes Hendrick, a former all-America lacrosse player at Navy who is entering his ninth year as a Dartmouth coach. "We have a very nice balance at midfield and have a nice starting three at defense - they're all footballers: lacrosse co-captain Chris Lynch, starting linebacker for the football team; Jim Vailas, football cocaptain and starting linebacker; and Joe Nastri, football co-captain-elect and starting linebacker. We also have a healthy situation at goal where Charlie Moore and Pete Lea have been battling it out."
Jeff Hickey, on attack, has been the team's leading scorer. He scored 47 points as a freshman and 35 points as a sophomore, despite an injury last season.
Dartmouth has had its progress slowed a bit by the late departure of snow from the Hanover campus. In the middle of April, the team was still practicing on the Green because conditions at Chase Field were unplayable. "We haven't been on a full field to practice since March 25," says Hendrick. "And you just can't practice several aspects of the game without a full field. On the Green the pedestrians are practically walking through your practice, and you have to avoid gravel paths, the grates, and the manhole covers."
Hendrick's goal is to get into the eightteam NCAA championships, although he admits it may be more difficult now with the injuries to O'Neill and Boltja. "Cornell, Hopkins, Maryland, and Navy — it's almost a foregone conclusion that those four will make it," he says. "And then there's Washington and Lee, UVA, and Army. We're one of about 15 teams that could sneak in."
Hendrick has witnessed a marked improvement in the caliber of lacrosse since he has been at Dartmouth. He cites the introduction of the plastic stick, the great growth of high school and youth-league lacrosse, and the graduation of physical education majors who are bringing their lacrosse experience to the high school level. Dartmouth has made steady improvement under Hendrick's coaching, too. "The games are going to be pretty tough almost all the way through the rest of the season," he points out. "All the teams are pretty competitive. But no one will think we're patsies anymore."
