Dartmouth Honors Ten Student-Athletes at Its Celebration
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June 9, 2008 • Vol. 52 No. 9 A NEWSLETTER OF THE DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC SPONSOR PROGRAM A Look Back at Big Green Athletics – 2007-08 Dartmouth Director of Athletics Josie Harper finished the year ranked No. 48 in the country. could’ve finessed the issue. Baseball surprised many by winning its division, Could’ve talked about how Ivy League champi- a feat that helped Bob Whalen earn New England onships, in and of themselves, are an unfair barom- Coach of the Year distinction. Women’s volley- eter of the overall health of an athletic program. ball posted its best Ivy League record ever while a Could’ve used sleight of hand to shift attention to men’s soccer team featuring NCAA postgraduate the college’s glittering new athletic facilities, to the scholarship winner Nick Christman made it to the stability of what she believes is the finest coaching NCAA’s for the third time in four years. staff in the Ivies, or to the remarkable off-the-field Although she was disappointed by the lack accomplishments of the student-athletes she over- championships, Harper finishes up the year any- sees. thing but disappointed in what she sees on the ho- But to her credit, Harper didn’t do any of that. rizon. From Buddy Teevens’ football team to the Asked about the College winning just one confer- crew teams on the Connecticut River to the fields, ence championship in the 2007-08 school year, the gym, the rink and beyond, she’s confident that she took the elephant in the room head-on. the young athletes who cut their collegiate teeth “I wouldn't be very honest unless I said we are this year will be better for the experience next disappointed,” she said as she wrapped up her year. And that they will be joined by another ban- sixth year in the Alumni Gym corner office. “And ner recruiting class in the fall, thanks to the hard we are very, very disappointed. work of her coaching staff and a terrific working “But,” she continued, “we're talking about being relationship with Maria Laskaris, first-year Dean just a fraction away. It's like the puck that keeps of Admissions and Financial Aid, and Dan Parish, hitting the post, or the soccer ball that keeps hit- Associate Director of Admissions. ting the crossbar. If a few things went one way in- “As good as communications in the past stead of the other, I might be sitting here talking were with admissions, we had a really terrific year about four or five Ivy League championships.” Harper and head coach Bob Whalen after the long-time baseball coach led his team this year,” Harper said. “Dan and Maria did a great Although Dartmouth’s only Ivy League title job working with us. We were able to accomplish to its fourth Red Rolfe Division Title in the last eight years. (photo by Mark Washburn) came when women’s basketball tied for the top some things without compromising athletics and spot with Harvard and Cornell, an upbeat Harper remains confident better days are ahead. we were able to do a better it on a broader base.” “I would be much more upset if I couldn't see some reasons for the way the year went but I can,” she Aiding in that effort – and sure to make a difference in the future – the bounty of new Dartmouth said. “The good news is we had some teams with very, very young players. That bad news about this athletic facilities headlined by Floren Varsity House. past season? We had some teams with a lot of very, very young players. “Our coaches will tell you this has been one of the best recruiting years they have had,” Harper said. “What we've found, and what we hope, is now we’ve paid the price. Experience is what you get when “They will also tell you it has an awful lot to do with the Floren Varsity House. It has a lot to do with you don't get what you want and we had a lot of kids, a lot of youngsters, get a lot of experience.” the new surfaces, the new field hockey field, the new baseball field and all the upgrades that have been While some programs narrowly lost out on Ivy League laurels – baseball won the Red Rolfe Divi- done. sion but fell in the Ivy championship series and men’s soccer and women’s ice hockey were second in “We've always been able to offer something at Dartmouth that is pretty hard to put your finger on. A the Ivies – a few teams that have traditionally been near the top of the standings had uncharacteristic kid that chooses Dartmouth will be a Dartmouth person forever. But I am amazed, for example, that struggles. Men’s ice hockey, for example, finished sixth in the Ivy League and women’s lacrosse was our soccer programs could keep a national profile playing on a practice field, which they don’t have to fifth. do anymore. It tells you a lot about the type of kids they are recruiting and the type of coaches we have. “It was a cycle year in a lot of our programs where we just didn't have the experience we needed, for But that can stretch thin. Now there’s an excitement everywhere that you can absolutely feel.” a variety of reasons,” Harper said. “Look at men’s hockey. You are taking about three guys skating in the That excitement filters all the way through the athletic program, including the intramural and the NHL. David Jones (who gave up his final year of eligibility to sign with the Colorado Avalanche), as Bob club sports areas, which have benefited from the addition of synthetic playing surfaces. Gaudet says, could very well have been the best collegiate ice hockey player in the nation this year. Add it all up and it’s easy to see why, although she may be tired and disappointed to have just one Ivy “Women's lacrosse had a very disappointing season, but I'll tell you, I talked with the kids and I talked title Harper is smiling these days – and not because Dartmouth and Yale won the same number of Ivy with Amy Patton and they can hardly wait to get going again because they had some young kids who titles. did some great things and there’s an exceptional recruiting class coming in.” “Sometimes it's the end of the year and people are dragging,” Harper said. “But I have to tell you, in There were high points in 2007-08, of course. Women’s tennis set a school record with 16 wins and talking with our coaches Brian Austin (senior associate director of intercollegiate athletics) and I have never seen a group more excited to get going again. Ever. They are really geared up.”– (Bruce Wood) Dartmouth Honors Ten Student-Athletes at its Celebration of Athletic Excellence The Dartmouth College Department of Athletics honored 10 student-athletes at the annual Celebra- drive, spirit, loyalty and amiability which made Tim such a well-known member of the community” tion of Athletic Excellence, highlighted by the presentation of the Kenneth Archibald Prize to swimmer went to men’s basketball senior Johnathan Ball (Memphis, Tenn.). In addition to his prowess on the Liz Mancuso (Andover, Mass.). court, Ball is very active on the Dartmouth campus, recently winning the Dean of the College Award Dartmouth's highest athletic honor, the Kenneth Archibald Prize is presented annually to “the mem- for Service. ber of the graduating class who has been four years in attendance, who has been the best all-around Women’s tennis senior Maggie Suydam (Marblehead, Mass.) received the Class of 1950 Award for the athlete, regard also being had to moral worth and high standing in scholarship.” During her time at “student-athlete who has demonstrated the most extraordinary commitment to community service.” Dartmouth, Mancuso overcame life-threatening cancer and went on to be one of the most successful Suydam has spent countless hours dedicating herself to the Dartmouth and Upper Valley communities swimmers in Big Green history. She broke 10 school records during her junior year and eight as a se- and spent multiple off-terms doing service work, including teaching at a school in Mexico. nior and is top-10 all time in 12 events. A psychology major with a 3.63 gpa, Mancuso has been named The Class of 1948 Scholar-Athlete Award given “to one male and one female of the junior class, who Academic All-Ivy and served as team captain. have combined outstanding performance in athletics and significant achievement in academics” was The Class of 1976 Award for the outstanding female athlete of the year was presented to junior Koren presented to women’s ice hockey player Carli Clemis (Taber, Alta.), a biology major with a 3.69 gpa and Schram (Batesville, Ark.) of the women's basketball team. Schram has been an outstanding contributor football player Andrew Dete (Marietta, Ga.), who boasts a 3.78 gpa in economics. to the Big Green's success during her first three years. She was Dartmouth's leading scorer this past The Charles Quincy Terrell Prize, given by the physical education department to the student who has year and was named first team All-Ivy after helping her team to an Ivy League Championship and Post- made the most progress in his or her time with the program, went to senior Shawn Hiner-Leamon.