Athletic hegiras

Come December, exams and holidays are on the minds of Dartmouth students. And for those who double as varsity athletes, there's also "The Trip." In past years, there have been term-break jaunts to Virginia, Florida, Ann Arbor, and Minneapolis, and this season they've even gone international.

For swimmers, "The Trip" is a couple of weeks in Miami, training in out-door pools and soaking up golden rays. Both the men and women organize youth, adult, and tiny tot swim schools to help defray expenses.

Alumni support and arrangements by Fred Oman '56 led to a combination Mexico City-Dallas tour by the men's and women's squash teams. In between reverse corner and boast shots, the squad tested tamales and tortillas. Seven of the ten players were able to speak fluently with their Mexican opponents because of their LSA experience through Dartmouth.

An away hockey game against Concordia of Montreal led to two nights at Manoir Le Moyne, just two blocks from the hockey shrine itself, The Forum. But one of the highlights took place on the way north in Burlington, Vt., along Fast Food Alley. Freshmen on the team soon learned that a video games arcade is situated amidst the McDonald's, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. After a quick burger, senior winger Bruce Cullen (opposite page) took up residence at the Russia-USA table hockey game, a downscale version complete with cheering and boos. Cullen, on his way to being a 50-goal scorer, turned aside all challengers save one. His nemesis? A savvy 13-year-old!

Once in Montreal, most team members ventured outside and mastered the city's clean, efficient subway system and toured the Underground shops for Christmas gifts. Others walked to The Forum, finding the Canadiens out of town and the many entrances locked. But senior John Sedgewick of Toronto managed to find his way in and fulfill a childhood dream by walking to center ice and taking an imaginary face-off before being gently scolded by Forum security personnel.

Come game time, there were few spectators at the Concordia rink, due in large part to an ice storm that blasted Montreal. But a band of hearty Dartmouth fans, numbering around 20, arrived at game time singing "Men of Dartmouth" and waving the "Big Green Machine" banner of staunch supporter Wes Beattie '33.

Meanwhile, deep in the heart of Texas, the women's basketball team faced three Southwest Conference opponents. With sub-zero temperatures gripping Hanover, the team relished the thought of a week in sunny Texas. Along with uniforms, sweats, and sneakers, the Dartmouth players also packed bathing suits and suntan lotion. They were surprised, and not pleasantly, to find snow on the ground in Dallas.

Earlier in the week in Houston, Dartmouth had basked in 73-degree weather. There were side trips to the NASA space center, the Galleria (Houston's mind-boggling enclosed shopping center), and Angelo's, the place for seafood in Houston. And there was Tex-Mex food. Freshman Laurie Lopes became the Heartburn Queen. Not content to polish off her own combination platter, she helped teammate Sandy Taylor and then needed an estimated dozen glasses of soda and a pitcher of water to quench the blaze. "We spent more on soda that night than we did on food," said Coach Chris Wielgus.

Enroute from Texas A&M to Baylor, the team ran into an incredible streak of bad luck. The Dartmouth contingent arrived at Hobby Airport in Houston with the recommended one-hour lead time before the flight was scheduled to depart. Wielgus, Trainer Linda Zoller McKibbin, and Assistant SID Bruce Wood dropped the team members off and then went to return the rental car and vans. A phone call from Assistant Coach Louise Leimkuhler to the attendant at the rental counter stopped everyone in their tracks: "We're at the wrong airport."

The result made the Keystone Kops look like a documentary. The entire team had 45 minutes to get to International Airport, dealing with Houston's infamous beltway. They made it with three minutes to spare only to find the flight delayed.

At 6'2" and 6'1", respectively, it's tough not to notice sophomore center Jayne Daigle and frontcourt mate Sue Murray, a freshman. But when the two marched through airport after airport with authentic cowboy hats on their heads, they were even more conspicuous. Throughout the trip, Daigle showed the same poise under pressure that she demonstrates on the court. The friendly sophomore just smiles when she was asked the same question over and over again: "Are you a basketball player?"

Jayne Daigle '86 goes in for a layup against Harvard earlier this season. Jayne, whohails from nearby Lebanon, N.H., was last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year anda first-team All-Ivy selection.