"Orienteering" in the Ivies
"Orienteering" is a cross-country foot race in which the participants race from checkpoint to checkpoint over unfamiliar ground collecting a flag or pennant at each stop and using only a map and a compass. There is always more than one route available to each point, some offering a shortcut in time but a higher risk to safety and others promising safer terrain at the expense of time. One might use the format of this little-known sport as an analogy for intercollegiate athletics in the Ivy League.
In Ivy orienteering, the goal would be to be the first team to collect each checkpoint's or sport's pennant. It would be a "race" in which eight institutions vie to capture the most Ivy League titles against increasingly challenging competition, with the use of only well-coached student athletes and their competitive spirits, while maintaining the criteria of the Ivy philosophy. As in cross-country orienteering, Ivy "orienteering" offers sundry routes to the top, but each choice affords one advantage at the price of another. For instance, some institutions, more usually non-League schools, try to buy big-name coaches and use negative recruiting (otherwise known as "bad-mouthing" the opponent) to recruit student-athletes and, hence, games. To Dartmouth, however, winning does not only mean capturing the most pennants in the least amount of time.
"The purpose of Dartmouth athletics has always been to contribute to the general growth of our students in all spheres of life. The emphasis continues to be on a broadbased program and excellence within each program," Ted Leland, director of athletics, explains. Ivy orienteering, the Dartmouth way, de-emphasizes the time element. Leland adds, "We will not risk taking the short-cut to statistical goals, such as winloss records, and losing the qualities that make Dartmouth Dartmouth."
The term "Ivy League" is credited to NewYork Tribune writer Caswell Adams, who first used it in 1937 to describe eastern institutions of higher learning that shared the same ideology. The term quickly came into widespread use and was then adopted as the name for a more formalized eastern football league, to which eight schools belonged. The membership of the Ivy League has remained the same ever since: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. The League shortly grew to encompass not only football but all athletic teams, and the term is now synonymous with academic prowess a much different emphasis than its original meaning.
Unfortunately, in composite win-loss records, Dartmouth, which fields 33 varsity sports, has been finishing at the back of the Ivy pack for 25 years. For instance, fourth (in 1960-61 and 1975) is the highest place Dartmouth has taken since 1961 in terms of overall finishes in all sports. Historically, Dartmouth has grabbed a fair share of titles in specific sports, particularly in football (13 of 30 League titles). But in terms of overall record, the sixth, seventh, and eighth slots have been the Dartmouth men's standings in the last ten years. The women, on the other hand, enjoyed early victories in 197982 (second, first, and fourth places, respectively), but have lost ground recently, finishing seventh in 1983-84 and eighth in 1984-85.
Just when Dartmouth seemed to be making a strong and noticeable move in the race, clinching the men's cross-country Heptagonal Championship in 1984 and 1985 and the women's basketball title in 1985-86, the Green encountered particularly rough terrain. Controversy and negative publicity concerning head football coach Joe Yukica's contract added an extra obstacle to an otherwise rising team effort. This episode left many fans questioning the direction of Dartmouth athletics. Leland is confident, though, that Dartmouth is moving in the right direction. "Students and alumni have always taken pride in accomplishments both in and out of the classroom. And the physical setting of Dartmouth, coupled with the work hardplay hard ethic cannot help but manifest itself in quality athletics."
Checkpoint pennants supporting this assertion are the plusses of new facilities, expansion of fitness and recreation areas, and increased involvement of various Friends and Sponsors organizations, whose funds are earmarked for athletics. The John W. Berry Sports Center and the opening of the new boathouse indicate that Dartmouth has mapped its route well and is heading toward the front of the pack. Checkpoint number two - Friends and Sponsors participation -finds Dartmouth picking up more ground. Whitey Burnham, associate director of alumni affairs, is enthusiastic about the growth in Sponsors' contributions over the years.
Although the 1985-86 Ivy "orienteering race" is not over, early indicators point to a strong finish for Dartmouth. In the fall, for instance, men's cross-country posted a 6-0 overall record and a 4—0 Ivy record, clinched the Heptagonal Championship for the second straight year, and qualified one runner, Bob Kempainen '88, for the NCAA Championships; women's cross-country finished second in the Heps and had a nearperfect season of 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Ivies. In non-Ivy play, both tennis teams enjoyed a good fall, men's tennis with a 20 mark and women's tennis at 5-1. A list of fall winners would be incomplete without Dartmouth women's sailing, which finished fourth in the nation. Individual honors went to all-Ivy picks Kate Perle '88 and Terry Fortin '86 in field hockey; Scott Truitt '86, Slade Schuster '86, and Craig Saltzgaber '86 in football; Jim Cisneros '86 and Mark Sachleben '86 in soccer; Moira Teevens '87 and Ellen O'Neil '87 in women's crosscountry; and Frank Powers '86 and Kempainen in men's cross-country.
The winter season saw Dartmouth maintaining its position and, on occasion, moving forward in the Ivy race. Women's basketball, sharing the League title with Harvard, posted a 9-1 Ivy record. Men's basketball, although 6-8 in the Ivies, highlighted its season with wins over Pennsylvania and Harvard. Men's and women's track and field sported the best finishes with overall records of 14—0 and 10-0, respectively. National rankings were earned by women's squash, sixth in the nation, and men's squash, in ninth place. The ski team, including men and women, was seventh in the NCAA Championships. Individual honors were earned by Miles deChamps '87, the men's giant slalom champion; Ivy Basketball Rookies of the Year Liz Walter '89 and Jim Barton '89; and Ivy Player of the Year in women's basketball, Jayne Daigle '86. All-Ivy selections included Daigle, Walter, Kempainen in men's track and field, O'Neil in women's track and field, and Chris Schutz '87 in women's squash.
As the 1985-86 Ivy "orienteering race" nears the finish line, Dartmouth made a significant surge forward, paced by the nationally-raked women's lacrosse team, the Ivy League Champions with a perfect 6-0 league record. Women's tennis captured a third-place slot in the League, while the men's tennis team, fighting bravely with Princeton for a third-place tie, fell just short
of the win. Men's and women's golf continued their winning traditions with overall records of 4—0 and 5-2, respectively. Baseball tied the record for the most wins in a season with 23 victories. Individual honors for spring sports are still being named, but paced by all-Ivy honors for women laxers Allison Barlow '86, Adelaide Pearson '86, and Julia Clyma '88, Dartmouth should continue to gain ground,
The Dartmouth Rugby Football Club made the national finals (and Sports Illustrated) this spring. Dartmouth fell short, 6-4, to the University of California at Berkeley in thefinal match, but three Green ruggers took ail-American honors. The DRFC is shown herein action against the Mystics, a Boston-based rugby club including a number of Dartmouthalumni. From left to right are Mystics Francis Jacoby 'B3 and Dave Robertson '84 andDRFC members Ted Conway 'B6, Jon Bigelow '87, and Peter Gibson '86.
Donna Leitner, assistant athletic director atDartmouth, is a free-lance writer. She is a mas-ter's degree candidate in English at Lehigh Uni-versity.
THE SPRING SCOREBOARD Baseball (23-19) (7-11 EIBL) Cornell 9-0 Florida Trip Won 6 Lost 3 Hartford 7-1, 9-3 MIT 14-9 Women's Tennis (5-3) (4-3 Ivy) Florida Exhib. Games Won 3, Lost 2 Brown 2-0, 8-9 Yale 4-10, 5-6 Columbia 8-1 Northeastern 7-1 Navy 0—4, 0-5 0-9 Pennsylvania 7-0, 7-5 Springfield 0-1 Cornell 7-2 Columbia 0-1, 1-2 Army 2-3 8-1 Princeton 1-8 St. Anselm's 22-5 Men's Golf (4-0) (2-0 Ivy) Holy Cross 1-7 „ . , „„„ Ann Cornell 6-0,7-10 Springfield 3138-430 Princeton 1-2,7-5 p'£nship o2^dfof,o UMass 11-7,7-8 NCAA Qualifier 2"d°Uo Harvard 2-1, 1-5 RroWn^ Bentley 12-3,3-2 harvard 383-395 jj|sgj_j I—7 3—2 Williams 401—407 Men's Lacrosse (3-13) (I—s Ivy) Women's Golf (5-2) (0-0 Ivy) Guilford College 11-12 Springfield/Hartford Won 2 Washington and Lee 12-17 Mount Holyoke Invit. 3rd o 6 Georaetown 11-7 Rutgers Invitational 3rd of 6 niike V-1? Penn State Invitational Bth of 10 Ya|e 6-19 New England Champ. 3rd of 6 C.W. Post 10-14 Men's Track (4-1) (1-1 Ivy) Middlebury 7-9 Pennsylvania 5-12 UMass/UNH Won 2 Wi||iams 7_B Brown/Harvard 2nd Qornell s_-|2 Tri-State Invitational Ist Boston College 11-9 Heptagonals Bth Brown 6-15 New England Champ. 6th UMass 3-8 IC4A's 11th Princeton 9-8 Women's Track (1-2) (0-2 Ivy) UNH 5-14 Harvard 4-11 Brown/Harvard 3rd . i o\ n i \ Tri-State Invitational Ist Women's Lacrosse (12-3) (6-0 Ivy) Heptagonals 6th Richmond 19-8 ECAC Championship 27th Virginia 7-9 Men's Heavy Crew (1-7) (0-2 Ivy) Bucknell 17-4 1 1 Boston University 18-8 Yale/Coast Guard 2nd Princeton 12-10 BU/Rutgers 3rd Vermont 19-6 Brown 2nd UNH 5-10 MIT/Wisconsin 3rd Brown 8-7 Eastern Sprints 11th Yale 12-11 Syracuse 2nd Boston CoHege 17-3 Men's Light Crew (1-5) (0-4 Ivy) UMass 11-10 Harvard/MIT 2nd Pennsylvania 14-9 Yale/Rutgers 3rd Harvard 10-9 Columbia/Yale 2nd New Hampshire 8-15 Cornell 2nd Men's Tennis (8-7) (5—4 EITA) Eastern Sprints 9th California Trip Won 2, Lost 3 Women's Crew (4-5) (3-3 Ivy) MIT 8-1 Brown 2nd Columbia 1-8 Boston University/Yale 3rd Pennsylvania 3-6 Radcliffe/Syracuse 2nd Navy 5-4 Pennsylvania/Princeton Ist Brown 5-4 Cornell Ist Yale 8-1 EAWRC sth Harvard 4-5 UNH 2nd
