First at Last

The men's gymnastics team is no longer the permanent bridesmaid of the Ivy League. In February, the Big Green gymnasts won their first league championship and a week later followed up with a first place in the New England championship. "It's been a fun year, needless to say," said coach Ken Jones, who has seen the sport grow from club to varsity status during his 16 seasons at the College. "The first Ivy championship was held in 1968, and Cornell dominated for ten years," explained Jones. "Then Yale came on and won the last three championships. It was frustrating. We had about seven seconds and five third-place finishes during that time."

Dartmouth took a 6-2 dual match record into the Ivy title competition at Philadelphia. Seniors Charles Huizenga, Jeff Steen, and Anthony DiSilvestro took the top three spots in the pommel horse event, which helped decide the meet's outcome. Junior Mike Mitchell took a second in the rings while Jens Larson finished second in the all-around competition and third in the rings. Dartmouth's 208.7 points bested runner-up Cornell by 4.4 points.

The next weekend was a tiring one for the gymnasts. They left Hanover Friday afternoon for a dual match at Princeton, and, after defeating the Tigers on Saturday, the Dartmouth squad drove to M.I.T. for the New England championships, which were scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. "It was after midnight when we got to Boston," explained Jones. "I didn't know what to expect from the team. I knew they'd be tired. But the seniors had a super meet and they finished it with style. It was a super afternoon." DiSilvestro, Larson, and Hayes Wanamaker finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in all-around competition and Steen took first place in the pommel horse. Mitchell, who came back from shoulder surgery two years ago, tied for first in the rings.

"It looks as though it'll be up for grabs next year," observed Jones. "We'll lose six of our 11 kids through graduation. And when you lose six, you've got a problem."