Blog

The Women's Water Polo Team will be making a splash this week as we start our off-season conditioning. Our practice times for this term are:

Thursdays, 7:45-9:15

Sundays, 6-7:30

See you there!

The CWPA announced the 2014 Women's Club All-American Team. Meghan Christie ('17, #8) earned a spot on the second team and Shelley Wenzel ('14, #1) received an honorable mention. Meghan is joining Haley Carstensen ('12) as the only two members of Dartmouth's squad to rank on the second team in the past 5 years (Haley earned her spot in 2012). Also, this is the third time that Shelley has received an honorable mention (also in 2011 and 2013). Congratulations, Meghan and Shelley!

For the CWPA's full announcement, visit here.

The CWPA recently named 199 women to the 2014 Women's Club All-Conference teams. Congratulations to the Dartmouth players selected for the New England Division teams:

Most Valuable Player

Meghan Christie ('17, #8)

First Team

Shelley Wenzel ('14, #1)

Meghan Christie ('17, #8)

PJ Bigley ('17, #15)

Second Team

Lisa Rennels ('14, #9)

Amelia Nobel (DMS, #10)

For more information and a full listing of all honored scholar-athletes, please visit here.

 

Following the tradition set by years past, after the season was over, the team held their annual banquet at Stella's, a restaurant in Lyme.

The team shared some final laughs (and tears), as senior & captain gifts, paper plate awards, jokes, and concluding remarks were exchanged. While a good time was had by all, it was definitely sad to say good by to those who will not be playing with us next year:

Grace Russo ('14, #1A), Grace McDevitt ('14, #4), Kellie MacPhee ('14, #5), Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), Amelia Nobel ('DMS, #10), Kristen Flint ('14, #12), and Meredith Sweeney ('14, #17)

We will miss you all so much - Dartmouth Women's Water Polo will not be the same without you!

Looking forward to next year, leadership for the upcoming season was also elected. Congratulations to:

Captains Margaret Rollins ('15, #2) and Cat Donahoe ('15, #11)

President Katie Lachance ('15, #3)

Social Chair Meghan Christie ('17, #8)

Apparel Chair Hallie Huffaker ('17, #19)

Webmaster Abby Reynolds ('17, #14)

We can't wait for next year!

The Dartmouth Women's Water Polo season is officially over - and definitely ended with a bang! DWWP traveled to Geneva, Ohio for the long weekend to compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association National Club Championship tournament, where the Big Green tied for 13th place.

The weekend began long before the team hit the pool, as the team piled on the bus in Hanover for a long drive to the midwest (made much more enjoyable by continuously watching movies). The players who were not traveling to Ohio - Grace Russo ('14, #1A), Caitlin Flint ('16, #6), Abby Reynolds ('17, #14), Meredith Sweeney ('14, #17), and Hallie Huffaker ('17, #19) - sent off the team in style, having made amazing posters and delicious goodie-bags.The team, especially Meghan Christie ('17, #8), got on the bus excited for the weekend.

Dartmouth's first game was a tough one against the Sierra Pacific Division runner-up team from University of California.  Although the team suffered a 3-10 loss, Grace McDevitt ('14, #4), Meghan Christie ('17, #8), and Cat Donahoe ('15, #11) managed to each score a goal. The Big Green defense was also tested by the impressive opponent offense; Shelley Wenzel ('14, #1) had an amazing number of saves in the goal. For a full write-up by the CWPA, please see here.

 

Because of the loss, the team grabbed a quick meal before heading back to the SPIRE Institute for their second game of the day, slated to start at 10:50pm against the host team, Ohio State University. Although the Big Green managed to stay in control of the game early, regulation time ended with the score tied. The 5 Dartmouth goals were scored by PJ Bigley ('17, #15) with 2 goals, and Meghan Christie ('17, #8), Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), and Amelia Nobel (DMS, #10) with 1 goal each. The Big Green unfortunately fell in the 4th overtime. For a full write-up by the CWPA, please see here.

The morning of our last game, the team traveled to Amelia Nobel's (DMS, #10) family's house for a delicious brunch and some relaxation! The weekend ended on a high note, as the Big Green beat University of Washington in St. Louis 11-2. Goals were spread well though out the Big Green players: Amelia Nobel (DMS, #10) scored 3, PJ Bigley ('17, #15) scored 2, and Margaret Rollins ('15, #2), Carolyn Meyers (T'15, #7), Meghan Christie ('17, #8), Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), Kristen Flint ('14, #12), and Charlotte Kamai ('16, #16) each scored 1. Amelia Nobel was also named player of the game! For a full write-up by the CWPA, please see here.

 

 

Thank you to all of our fans who made the trek to Geneva, Ohio!

A special thanks to the seniors: Shellie Wenzel, Grace Russo, Grace McDevitt, Kellie MacPhee, Amelia Nobel, Kristen Flint, and Meredith Sweeney! DWWP will miss you!

Another special thanks to our coach this year, Fanis Tikgas! We are so glad you'll be able to coach us again next year!

The CWPA recently named Meghan Christie (’17, #8), Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), and Cat Donahoe ('15, #11) New England Division Players of the Week (for the week of April 14) for their awesome effort at the New England Division Championship Tournament! Congratulations, Meghan, Lisa, and Cat! For the full announcement, go here.

For what they hoped not to be the last time of the season, the Dartmouth Women's Water Polo Team piled into vans and headed off to a tournament. Excitement built as the team arrived at the Muir-Samuelson Natatorium at Williams College for the New England Division Championship Tournament.

Because of the team's flawless 8-0 record over the course of the regular season, Dartmouth was poised in the brackets to do well. The Big Green first faced the Minutemen of the University of Massachusetts, a game that highlighted Dartmouth's potential both on offense and defense. Dartmouth scored a total of 16 goals spread between many players: 3 by Amelia Noble (DMS, #10); 2 by Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), Cat Donahoe ('15, #11), Kristen Flint ('14, #12), and PJ Bigley ('17, #15); 1 by Margaret Rollins ('15, #2), Katie Lachance ('15, #3), Grace McDevitt ('14, #4), Charlotte Kama'i ('16, #16), and Meredith Sweeney ('14, #17). Defensively, Dartmouth only allowed the ball to find the back of the cage 4 times and did not allow UMass to convert on any of their 3 woman-up opportunities.

Satisfied with a 16-4 win, the team rested during their long break before facing the 4th seed, Northeastern University. The Big Green came away from the hard-fought game with a 11-7 win, which secured their spot in the game for the championship, to be played the next day.

Dartmouth was well supported with a huge fan base this weekend, and as such we had a reservation for over 30 at a local restaurant - thanks to the McDevitts, Wenzels, Meyers, Flints, Rollins, and Lachances for a fantastic dinner!

The team was excited and confident warming up for the championship game against Middlebury, partially owing to Coach Fanis' pep talk before we hit the pool, who had "run some stats" and calculated that we would win by 4 points if we scored one more goal than our opponents in every quarter. This is, in fact, exactly how the game played out, leading to a final score of 7-3, aided in large part by 3 goals from Cat Donahoe ('15, #11) and 2 goals from Meghan Christie ('17, #8) and a fantastic defense from the whole team.

With the final buzzer of the game, Dartmouth had both won the title of 2014 New England Division Champions and a ticket to the CWPA National Tournament!

 

The Women's National Collegiate Club Championship Tournament will take place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio on May 2-4. For the schedule and more information, please see here. Needless to say, the Dartmouth Women's Water Polo team is excited to put in some hard work for the next couple of weeks and get ready to take on some national competition!

The schedule for the New England Division Tournament, which will determine the New England Champions (accompanied by an invitation to the national tournament), has been posted by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The tournament will take place at Williams College, the weekend of April 12-13.

Because Dartmouth has the only undefeated (8-0) record in the division, Dartmouth will play in three games over the course of the tournament:

Saturday, April 12

Dartmouth v. University of Massachusetts @ 10:50am

Dartmouth v. Northeastern University @ 4:40pm

Sunday, April 13

TBA, based upon record the first day of the tournament

For the full schedule, see here.

The Dartmouth Women's Water Polo team traveled back to Middlebury for the second and last regular-season tournament. Despite the fact that the team was still recovering from finals period and that Fanis could not be there to coach us, the team performed well, achieving a 4-0 record for the weekend. This perfect record is definitely partially due to the wonderful job captains Grace McDevitt ('14, #4), Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), and Shelley Wenzel ('14, #1) and president Kellie MacPhee ('14, #5) did not only in the pool, but also on the deck making substitutions, calling time-outs, and giving advice to the team.

The team's first opponent was the Boston College Eagles. Although the game was close, Dartmouth was in the lead for all four quarters, resulting in a final score of 6-5. Dartmouth goals were scored by PJ Bigley ('17, #15), Amelia Nobel (DMS, #10), Lisa Rennels with 2 ('14, #9), Meghan Christie ('17, #8), and Katie Lachance ('15, #3).

After a short break, Dartmouth was back in the pool to face the Coast Guard Academy for the second time this season. Dartmouth again beat the Bears, with a final score of 12-2. Highlights from the game included Shelley Wenzel's ('14, #1) 100% saving percentage and Margaret Rollins' ('15, #2) goal, despite having been off during the winter term.

After a wonderful dinner (thank you Mrs. Rollins and McDevitts!), the team was happy to sleep at the Middlebury Inn without the usual weight of homework to be done. The team was definitely well-rested for the second day of the tournament.

Sunday's first game featured Dartmouth versus Northeastern; the Big Green came away victorious, winning 11-7. The goals were evenly spread amongst the team: Grace McDevitt ('14, #4), Meghan Christie ('17, #8), Lisa Rennels ('14, #9), and Kristen Flint ('14, #12) each scored 2 goals and PJ Bigley ('17, #15) scored 3. In addition to some great offense, Dartmouth's defense was especially effective in this game, as Grace Russo ('14, #1A) never saw a shot on goal.

The last game of the tournament was against the host team, Middlebury. After an intense end to regulation time, the score was tied at 5-5. Both teams had played hard over the course of the four quarters, but were reinvigorated by the thought of overtime. By CWPA regulations, the first round of overtime consists of two 3-minute periods. Although a nail-biting situation to be sure, Dartmouth quickly scored with an outside shot from Katie Lachance ('15, #3) and capitalized on the next man-up opportunity with a well-placed shot from Kellie MacPhee ('14, #5), resulting in a final score of 7-5.

With a perfect 8-0 record for the regular season, Dartmouth Women's Water Polo is seeded first in the rankings for the New England Division Tournament, taking place at Williams College, April 12-13. Before the team is ready for the championship tournament, however, we have a lot of hard work to do, both on Training Trip in California and in Hanover. The team will definitely be ready and excited to play!

 

 

The CWPA recently named PJ Bigley ('17, #15) New England Division Player of the Week (for the week of February 24) for her awesome effort at the Middlebury Water Polo Tournament! Congratulations, PJ! For the full announcement, go here.