Double-duty

ELLEN REMSEN is one of the many cogs in the Dartmouth field hockey team. But the senior from Greenwich, Connecticut, is better known for her lacrosse achievements. Remsen is one of the top 12 women intercollegiate lacrosse players in the country, a member of the United States National Team. "I started playing field hockey in the third grade and lacrosse in the fifth grade," the English and environmental-studies major explains. "It was unusual to have lacrosse as a school sport so early, but the coach liked lacrosse." Remsen didn't like lacrosse as much back then because she had yet to develop the good hand-eye coordination required by the sport. She continued to improve while advancing through private school, however.

"I was not a standout in any shape or form until I came to Dartmouth," she says. "At Kent School, team play was enforced. When I came here, during my freshman year, the lacrosse program was not developed yet. There were only three people who played very well. In many ways it was a step down. But it's improved every year. I can't tell you how much things have changed here."

A defenseman, she started as a freshman and, in post-season competition, made the U.S. reserve team, a notch below national team recognition. She made the 12-player national team for 1979 and will try out again in February for the 1980 team. If she makes the squad, she will compete against the British national team in four exhibitions in the spring. "It really will work out well," she says. "The Dartmouth field hockey team will play at Princeton the day after the British team plays the U.S. team at Princeton. .

In field hockey, Remsen has been a starter at attack beginning as a freshman. She was the team's top scorer as a sophomore and junior year shared the scoring honors with Holly Burks. "I had a pretty good season," she says of her efforts last fall. She scored the winning goal against Brown and both goals in a 2-2 tie against Middlebury in back-to-back matches. She was named Ivy League athlete-of-the week for her efforts.

Dartmouth is a tradition for the Remsen family. Her father Ted was a member of the Class of 1950. Grandfather Richard '12, uncles Richard '41 and William '45 are other Remsens in the Dartmouth family. She has no brothers, but her sister is applying to Dartmouth and a cousin is a sophomore. She has a variety of interests: "I like to play tennis, squash, ski. I play the piano, enjoy reading — pretty much anything that comes my way if I can get my finger on it." Last summer she biked around Europe for two months. She would like to "go out West to see what it's like out there" but "will do corporate recruiting to see what's available."

In the meantime, Remsen will put lacrosse out of her mind to concentrate on field hockey. Is the Ivy League title in field hockey her goal? "Damn straight," she says.