Eventful
THE men's cross-country team earned a trip to the N.C.A.A. championships in Wichita, Kansas, with a second-place finish in the N.C.A.A. qualifying meet in Boston. The Boston meet was Dartmouth's finest race in years, marking the runners' first appearance at the N.C.A.A. event in four years. At Boston, senior Art Switchenko ran his best race of the year and finished fifth on the 10,000-meter course. Junior Charles Cairns was 13th and Keith Hampton was 14th. Dartmouth was the first team to have all seven of its team members finish. Coach Vic Lananna's runners also finished third in the Heptagonal championship in October. In its last two meets, the Green beat every New England team with the exception of Providence College.
The women's cross-country team finished third in the Ivy League championships at New York City. Princeton won the title and Harvard was second. Dartmouth's top runner in the 5,000-meter race was freshman Sara Mclntire who was eighth. Coach Peter Fox Smith said his team's finish was surprising since three of his top runners were injured and unable to compete in the championships.
The women's tennis team posted an undefeated season in eight matches during the fall. The only blemish during the season was a third-place finish behind Yale and Harvard in the New England Intercollegiate Women's Tournament in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Dartmouth women had won the tournament during the last three years. In dual matches, the team never allowed its opponents more than two points. Undefeated for the Green were sophomores Wendy Wasson and Kate Rugen, junior Alice Van Meter, and senior Sue Podolsky in the numbers one, three, four, and six singles positions. Senior Pam Banholzer and freshman Robyn Fishman finished the season with only one singles loss.
The field hockey team blanked Brown, 4-0, to give it a second-place finish with Pennsylvania in the Ivy League. The title was won by Yale. Dartmouth finished the season with a 9-5-2 record but will lose seven key seniors through graduation. These include Holly Burks, Claire Johnson, Annabelle Brainard, Alison Hibbert, Liz Eldredge, Jeanne Boutelle, and Patti Marchand. Dartmouth outscored its opponents 25-13 during the season. The top goal-getters for the Green were freshman Carol Trask and Burks with seven goals each. "The senior class on its own made up the whole backfield," said coach Mary Corrigan. "We hope we can find people of the same caliber to replace them. They have made Dartmouth famous with one of the most outstanding defenses in the country," Last year, the team won the Ivy title.
The men's soccer team lost its last two games against Brown and Princeton to finish out of the running for the Ivy League championship. The Green had a shot at the title but fell to Brown, 2-1. Captain Brian Hitchcock's effort to tie the game with three seconds remaining was rebuffed when the Brown goalie covered the loose ball and averted a point-blank shot. Hitchcock opened the scoring in the Princeton game but the Tigers came back with three goals to defeat Dartmouth, 3-1. The Green finished the season with a 6-6-2 overall mark. Coach Tom Griffith's squad was 2-3-2 in the league.
The women's soccer team had an overall record of 4-11. The team, in its second varsity season, finished fifth in the Ivy League. "The improvement this season was really gratifying," said coach Dud Hendrick. "And this was evident to the team and enabled them to hang in there all season. We're a young team, which is a good sign for the future, but we'll miss our seniors particularly Betsy Brew, Monie Watson, and Rebecca Brackett."
Cross-country ace Art Switchenko leads the pack in the home-course win over Harvard. The team qualified for the N.C.A.A.s.
