Fall Sports Preview

Look beyond Memorial Field.

Given the football program's recent record, casual observers of Big Green athletics might conclude that fall is a dark time for Dartmouth sports. But beyond Memorial Field, great things are happening (and there's always optimism for renewed gridiron success with Buddy Teevens '79 at the helm).

Teevens, coming off what he gently calls "a long and frustrating year" with a 2-8 finish and a near loss to Columbia, hopes to reap the benefits of a rigorous off-season training regimen. "To a man, we've seen very significant, improvement in strength and athleti-cism," he said.

Improvement will be necessary for the Green to avoid the Ivy cellar. Columbia, whose frosh squad went 6-0 last year with a boost from temporarily eased recruiting standards, has a terrifying chance to end its losing streak. In contrast, Dartmouth's freshmen went 1-5, beating only Brown and falling to Columbia, 24-17. Moreover, the Green in 1988 is very green. "We have a lot of guys who have never played a down of varsity football," the coach said.

The team's strength is in the offensive backfield, the receiving corps and the inside linebackers. David Clark '90 will move from tailback to fallback, and last season's leading rusher, tailback Chris Pollard '89 (364 yards on 97 rushes), returns as a solid ball handler. Another promising talent is sophomore Al Rosier, who covered 213 yards on 58 carries with last year's freshman team. Teevens plans to give the running game more emphasis. "Last year," he noted, "people were playing us solely to pass." The opposition should also brace itself for some good kicking. Senior Carl Romero led the team in scoring last season by making eight of nine extra points and five of ten field goals.

At wide receiver, the Green boasts potentially the best combo in the Ivy League: senior Craig Morton (41 catches for 651 yards) and David Anderson '88 (35 catches for 461 yards). Chris Keck '88, who was out sick during his sophomore year, is a surprise return at tight end.

The greatest offensive uncertainties lie in the trench and at quarterback. Last year's entire offensive front graduated, leaving only senior captain and center David Gazzaniga to head an untested line. The QB situation is "completely wide open," Teevens said.

Defensively, another potent pair exists in the inside linebacking duo of senior co-captain Paul Michael and GTE Academic All-American Paul Sorenson. Sorenson led the team in tackles with 120 in 1987, while Michael, who broke his leg in the ninth game of the season, finished with 111 stops. Michael was Dartmouth's sole member of the '87 first-team All-Ivy squad. In the defensive backfield, watch for the emergence of Brad Preble '91, a former quarterback converted by Teevens to free safety.

Football has yet to prove itself, but a fairly sure bet for success is the men's soccer team. Under Coach Bobby Clark, Dartmouth has risen from doormat to title contender in one of the nation's toughest conferences. Last year the team won an unprecedented ten games. This capped off a 17-game unbeaten streak that began in the 1986 season and lasted until Dartmouth played Harvard, '87 Ivy champion and NCAA semifinalist.

The excitement should grow this season, but there are holes to fill. The defensive unit lost four graduates, including goalkeeper John Scott '88, who set five Green goaltending records.. "Competition is going to be fierce for the number-one uniform," Clark said. On offense, though, there could well be a new scoring record. Six lettermen return in the midfield positions, and two of last season's superstars, junior Vladica Stanojevic (14 goals in 14 games) and senior Doug MacGinnitie (ten goals), should fill the net.

The women's soccer program, which has hovered around .500 the last two seasons, also appears ready to better its record. "On paper, we look very strong," Coach B.J. O'Hara notes. Heading the attack is senior forward Chris Gates, the team's lone first-team All-Ivy selection in '87. Goalie Debbie Tripaldi '91, who was the fourth-best keeper in the Ivies as a freshman, should continue to improve. A new star for the team will be freshman forward Tracy Hagan, a high school Ail-American.

Superlatives also usefully describe Coach Vin Lananna's men's crosscountry team. Four straight victories at the Heptagonal Championship meet, two consecutive IC4A titles, and back-to-back runner-up finishes at the NCAA national championships have established Dartmouth's harriers as one of the nation's premiere teams. Lananna suffers the loss of three of his top seven runners; nonetheless, Ail-American seniors Tom Pas kus and Mike Donaghu, who finished seventeenth and twenty-eighth at the NCAA's, lead what Lananna calls "a strong '89 class." The coach predicts that Dartmouth will win the Heps and qualify for the NCAA's this year.

Similar success has eluded the women's cross-country team, but two members of the junior class may well change that. Laurie Isbell, the only Dartmouth runner in the 1987 NCAA women's championships, brings a strong record (seventh at the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships, forty-fourth at the NCAA's), as does Therese Devlin, who finished seventeenth in the ECAC meet last fall.

In field hockey, Dartmouth is splendidly prepared to defend its Ivy title. Only four players graduated from the 1987 Ivy champion team; Coach Mary Twyman feels that this year's squad will stay on top. Her charges will be very strong both in defense and in the midfield. Sophomores Ann Rosamond (1987 Ivy Rookie of the Year) and Julie Dale, both Junior Olympians, will head up the midfield corps, while first-team All-Ivy senior backs Kim Koh and Martha Boss will likely continue last year's stellar defense. Karen Hartwig '90 is the leading returning goalie in the Ivies, with only two goals allowed in League play for a 0.38 goalsagainst average.

Following the graduation of 1987 Ivy Player of the Year Kate Perle '88, the attack has yet to gel, but Anne Moellering '89 (12 points in 1987) looks to repeat her first-team All-Ivy standing. In addition, according to Twyman, "there are three or four sophomores who were competitive understudies to Kate last year."

The team's attitude fuels Twyman's optimism for a successful title defense. "In the past, when we've won the title (in 1979 and 1984), the players have been pretty satisfied with themselves. This year, they were saying, 'We won the Ivies, but we could have played better outside the league.' I think that will keep us from falling off as we have in the past."

A top title threat for the fall: Men's soccer led here by Andrew Shue '89 (left).

Men's Golf 1987: Finished fourtheenth in ECAC Tournament. Women's Golf 1987: Finshed seventh in ECAC Tournament. Men's Soccer 1987: 10-3-1 overall, 4-2-1 Ivy (third place). Women's Soccer 1987: 5-7-2 overall, 2-3-1 Ivy (fifth'place). Men's Tennis 1987: 3-0 in match play in fall season. Women's Tennis 1987: 5-0 in fall season. Football 1987: 2-8 overall, 1-6 Ivy.