Q&A with Deputy Athletic Director Robert Ceplikas on the Northwestern Unionization Case and its Impact on Dartmouth

After football players at Northwestern University, with assistance from the National College Players Association advocacy group, moved in January to unionize, the university’s administration fought their efforts with legal action. I sat down last week with Dartmouth's Deputy Athletics Director Robert Ceplikas ’78 to discuss the Northwestern unionization case and its relation to Dartmouth athletics.

JS: How do you think the Northwestern Unionization case, which has received national attention, will impact Dartmouth?

RC: It won't have any direct impact because it only applies to athletic scholarships so the Ivies are immune from that since we don't offer athletic scholarships. Now this is my opinion, but I don't think it will hold up in the long run.

JS: There was an interview with the President Emeritus of Northwestern where he said the school could drop its sports programs. Do you think that would happen?

RC: I think that's a little extreme. I think it's a lot more likely Northwestern would maintain its programs and drop its scholarships.

JS: Could the right to unionize be extended to non-scholarship athletes?

RC: I have not seen any interpretation that would lead non-scholarship athletes to be affected by this anyway. The very basis of the ruling was that it's the scholarship that makes the student an employee.

JS: What if the case does make it's way to the Supreme Court and stands?

RC: Let's just say, hypothetically, that the ruling does get upheld all the way to the Supreme Court, then the main impact on the Ivies will be that the really selective, private institutions that are most affected, the Northwesterns, the Dukes, the Stanfords, they'll suddenly be looking for a very different type of athletic conference to compete in. They'll drop their athletic scholarships and they'll look for a conference like the Ivy League. It's not inconceivable, even though again I don't think this will actually happen to begin with, but if it did, it wouldn't be inconceivable that some of those schools would come knocking on the Ivy League's door and express some kind of interest, if not joining the Ivy League itself, in making some scheduling agreements because they'll be looking for competition from other non-scholarship schools that have similar academic philosophies. That could be a pretty major change if it ever came to that.

Dartmouth Softball Sweeps Yale Bulldogs, Improves Conference Record to 12-0

(via The Dartmouth)

Dartmouth softball continues to roll through its competition, extending its win streak to 13 and maintaining a perfect 12-0 Ivy League record.

One week after sweeping all for of its Ivy League South competitors, Dartmouth swept its first Ivy League North foe, establishing itself as the team to beat in the Ivy League.

Several Dartmouth players turned in big performances this weekend – Maddie Damore ’17, Kristen Rumley ’15 and Morgan McCalmon ’16.

Saturday was essentially Damore’s coming out party as she led Dartmouth with seven RBIs batted in on three home runs. Damore became the 63rd player in NCAA history to homer three times in a game and the first since April.

“[Damore’s] capable of it and we’ve known that,” head coach Rachel Hanson said. “She’s been having a little bit of a down time so this was kind of a good confidence booster for her. That’s the kind of hitter we know she can be.”

Damore is the first Ivy League freshman to homer three times since April 13, 2001, when Cornell’s Kate Varde registered three against Dartmouth.

Rumley hit the game-winning walk-off single that scored Damore in Saturday’s Game One. Rumley earned five hits on the day and pitched eight innings on Saturday before picking up wins in both of Sunday’s games.

"She's a great all-around player,” Hanson said. “She can hit, she can pitch, she can play defense. She's a great kid and very composed."

McCalmon picked up both wins Saturday and increased her hitting streak to 13 games, and provided crucial run support in Sunday’s Game Two. 

Dartmouth needed nine innings to pull off a 3-2 victory in Saturday’s Game One in what rapidly turned into a pitcher’s duel.

Rumley and senior Kristen Leung both turned in eight innings of work on the mound before being relieved. Although Rumley outperformed Leung, striking out more batters and allowing fewer hits, the score remained tied 2-2 entering the ninth. Rumley also pitched fewer times, 103, than Leung’s 118.

Normally, Dartmouth has been able to score early in the first or second inning, but Leung kept Dartmouth’s batting order shut down until the fourth. At that point, Karen Chaw ‘17’s double scored Katie McEachern ’16 before Chaw herself raced home on Kelsey Miller ‘16’s double to give Dartmouth a 2-0 advantage.

"We've got good athletes but approach is key,” Hanson said. “We're taking big cuts and swinging hard and they're looking for the right pitch to hit and swinging hard at it."

Rumley continued to shut down Yale’s batters until the seventh when sophomore Lauren Delgadillo belted a two-run humer to tie the score and send the game into extra innings.

After the game-tying homer, Hanson said she told her players to just come right back.

“After the game it was a message of 'we let them hang around a little too long,” Hanson said. “We gave them the opportunity to take it back. So we need to be a little more aggressive early in the game."

Rumley stayed in the game until the ninth when Hanson pulled Rumley, who was tired after throwing 103 pitched, for McCalmon, who retired the side.

McCalmon, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, then earned the win when Rumley continued to leave her mark on the game when she scored Damore for the walk-off run and win.

McCalmon continued to play from the mound for Game Two, throwing a complete game as Dartmouth dominated Yale 10-1, winning in six innings. McCalmon surrendered just one run all game in her winning effort – a second inning score off a wild pitch that tied the game at one.

Dartmouth’s batting order, led by Damore, controlled the rest of the game, starting with scoring on a walk in the first.

The fireworks really started in the fourth when Damore sent the ball over the left field wall for three. Damore homered a second time in the fifth for two more runs to make the score 8-1. She ended the game with one final home run to left-center to increase Dartmouth’s lead to nine.

"I was pretty calm,” Damore said. “I wasn't expecting to see any good pitches after the first two at bats but I was ready to go up there swinging and she gave me a nice one."

Moving on to Sunday’s Game One, Dartmouth defeated Yale 5-1, scoring all five runs in the third inning.

Yale actually led 1-0 after the first but that would be the only offense Rumley allowed as she pitched all seven innings, giving up just five runs and two walks.

In the third, Yale surrendered five runs on seven hits to Dartmouth. Dartmouth loaded the bases and scored with regularity as four different batters scored runners. 

Yale would shut out Dartmouth’s batting order for the final three innings but Yale’s batters were unable to mount a comeback. 

The sun finally started coming out for the final game of the weekend.

McCalmon started the game and pitched a clean first inning before surrendering a two-shot home run and a run off a single in the second to put Dartmouth in a 3-0 hole, Yale’s largest lead all weekend.

Hanson said she and the team don’t worry too much about the scoreboard.

“For us it’s just about playing at a high level every inning,” Hanson said. “When you have the ability to score runs, you’re not putting extra pressure on yourself and just focusing on the game.”

McCalmon would then cut the deficit to two when she scored on a double by Damore, just beating the throw to the plate. McCalmon almost missed out on the scoring chance when she barely reached first as the ball arrived. 

“First thing I did when I got to the dugout was tell my teammates, ‘and you said I was slow,’” McCalmon said. “It was a big moment and I trusted Coach and she made the good call. Anything could have happened and I got in there.”

The first-base umpire ruled McCalmon safe as Delgadillo’s foot was not on the bag, but from the home-plate umpire’s perspective, McCalmon was out. Both umpires met for a brief conference before ruling McCalmon safe, setting her up for the score.

McCalmon felt confident that the umpires were going to rule in her favor since the first-base umpire had the best vantage point.

Karen Chaw ’17 then scored Damore to cut Yale’s lead to one before Yale successfully retired the side.

In the fifth, Yale nearly expanded on its lead by loading the bases with two outs. Hanson pulled McCalmon for the final batter of the inning and replaced her with Rumley, who retired the side.

Momentum quickly swung Dartmouth’s way. In response, Dartmouth loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth with just one out as McEachern went to the plate. Unfortunately, McEachern never reached first by popping out, but right before McEachern’s pop-out, Megan Averitt ‘15 scored on a wild pitch, just beating freshman pitcher Lindsey Efflandt to the plate to tie the game.

McCalmon followed McEachern, and with two runners on base and two outs, McEachern singled, but more importantly scored both runners, to put Dartmouth up 5-3.

For the final two innings, Rumley was perfect, allowing not a single hit, walk or error to blemish her relief effort as she picked up her 13th win of the season.

Dartmouth Softball Squeaks Out Close Win Over Boston University

In preparation for a four-game series this weekend against Yale, Dartmouth squeaked out a close 5-4 non-conference win over Boston University Wednesday.

Three pitchers pitched from the mound with Ashley Sissel ’17 starting before ceding control to Alex Jarvis ’16, who picked up her second win this season. Sissel allowed six hits and two runs to go with four strikeouts, while Jarvis allowed just two runs on two hits. However, the two runs allowed BU to climb back into the game, and was what prompted the switch to Morgan McCalmon ’16.

McCalmon, the Ivy League Player of the Week for the past two weeks, earned the save by holding BU scoreless the final two innings. She finished having allowed one hit after facing seven batters.

Sophomore Lauren Hynes pitched an uneven, albeit complete, game in a losing effort to go 12-11 on the season. Hynes finished with 10 hits, five runs, six walks, three errors and two strikeouts.

As has been Dartmouth’s modus operandi since its conference schedule started, the Big Green started the scoring in the first with a Katie McEachern ’16 single down the right field line. Kristen Rumley ’15 beat the throw home to score and put Dartmouth in an early 1-0 lead.

Neither team scored until the fourth inning when BU took its first and only lead of the game.

BU manufactured its equalizing score by slowing working around the bases following a bunt by freshman Brittany Younan. Younan eventually scored before when freshman Gabi Martinez singled to left field. BU scored once more when senior Amy Ekart reached home after senior Brittany Clendenny hit into a double play.

Dartmouth responded almost right away when Alex St. Romain ’14 homered to center field to tie the game. Dartmouth slowly built a two run lead over the course of the inning as McCalmon and Alyssa Jorgensen ’17 scored an unearned run on a muffed throw.

After three quick BU outs, Dartmouth returned to the plate to score what would turn out to be the game-winning run. Rumley’s single to right field scored Jorgensen to make the score 5-2.

In a valiant effort by BU’s batting order, BU cut the deficit to one with scores by Ekart and Martinez. Ekart scored on a fielder’s choice while Martinez reached home on a fielding error by Karen Chaw ‘17. BU ultimately ended its attempt to tie the game in the sixth when senior Jayme Mask was called out at third for leaving the base early.

In the final frame, with the pressure cranked up high, McCalmon coolly struck out the first two BU batters before a ground out closed the game.

Dartmouth Defeats RPI in First Round Series; Advances to ECAC Quarterfinals Against Union

Courtesy of Big League Pics

The men’s hockey team advanced to the ECAC quarterfinals in dramatic fashion Sunday night, stunning Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 5-4 with three unanswered goals in the third period. Brad Schierhorn ’16 shot the game-winner with 3:14 remaining.

The 5-4 win was Dartmouth’s first win despite trailing after the first two periods in two years.

The overarching theme of the intense three-game series, and Dartmouth’s season overall, was resiliency. Dartmouth, who started 2-11-1 due to a rash of injuries, was the series underdog and at first it showed in Game 1.

RPI dominated Dartmouth 4-1 Friday in Game 1, bombarding February’s ECAC Goaltender of the Month Charles Grant ’16 with 33 shots. Senior Ryan Haggerty, RPI’s leading scorer, netted two goals.

Dartmouth rebounded in Saturday’s Game 2, as Eric Neiley ’15, the Big Green's leading scorer, netted two goals in a 3-2 win to force Sunday’s game. Jesse Beamish ’15 scored the equalizer before Neiley won the game.

Neiley was on fire, netting two goals and having a third called off. Neiley’s two-goal effort was his third of the season. 

The stage was set for an epic winner-take-all Game 3 and both teams exceeded expectations.

RPI led at the end of the first period 2-1 and the second period 4-2. All RPI needed to do to advance was maintain its lead for 20 minutes.

But Neiley disagreed, cutting the lead to one 2:10 into the final period before Brandon McNally ’15 nailed the equalizer with 11:12 remaining. 

Schierhorn completed the comeback with a wrist shot into the top right corner, sending Dartmouth's bench into celebration. 

The key matchup heading into this weekend was between Grant and Haggerty. In the end, Haggerty may have won the head-to-head match-up, scoring four goals on Grant, but Dartmouth won the series.

If there had to be a most valuable player, though, it would probably be Neiley. Without him, Dartmouth would remain home next weekend. Even more important was the outstanding first line play of Neiley, McNally and Grant Opperman ’17, who combined helped lead Dartmouth to victory. 

Clarkson University defeated Princeton University on Sunday, making Dartmouth the lowest remaining seed in the ECAC tournament. Dartmouth will play No. 3 Union College next weekend in another best-of-three series for the chance to participate in the semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Dartmouth Travels to RPI for ECAC Playoff Showdown

The postseason fates of Dartmouth and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute depend on the performances of Charles Grant ’16 and junior Ryan Haggerty, making the showdown between both players the key match-up of the series.

“The team’s been playing really well over the last few weeks so we’re confident that we can pull out a couple wins,” Grant said.

After earning the 10th seed entering the ECAC Hockey First Round, Dartmouth (8-17-4, 7-13-2 ECAC) will be on the road squaring off against RPI (14-14-6, 8-9-5 ECAC). The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals.

Dartmouth heads to RPI who swept the season series against the Big Green, winning both matches 7-1 and 4-2. Dartmouth, however, has gone unbeaten in six of its past eight games and is a completely different team than it was when playing RPI earlier in the year.

By comparison, RPI has gone an improbable 4-4-2 over the past 10 games, oftentimes falling flat at inopportune moments. Last weekend, with the sixth seed on the line, RPI was annihilated 5-0 by Yale.

Dartmouth’s recent string of performances has given the players the confidence and the momentum to believe they can advance to the Quarterfinals with a couple good outings.

“ECAC Championship play is what we look forward to all year,” Tyler Sikura ’15 said.

This weekend will be the fifth time both teams have played each other in the playoffs. All-time, RPI is 7-5 against Dartmouth in playoff encounters, but split the series record 2-2.

“RPI is going to see a different team this weekend than they did earlier in the season,” Sikura said.

Dartmouth will try to take Haggerty, RPI’s biggest scoring threat, out of the game by keeping him away from the net, Grant said.

Haggerty leads RPI in goals, 24, and points, 14, with five game-winning shots while Grant has been one of the nation’s hottest goaltenders in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, Grant was named ECAC hockey men’s goaltender of the month for February, posting a 4-0-1 record, which included a historic shut-out of Cornell. Grant’s shut-out was the third shut-out all-time by a Dartmouth goaltender at Cornell in 54 years. The first ever shut-out occurred in 1927.

This weekend will also be the first time Grant will face RPI’s offensive lines this season as he was not in the net during both previous outings against RPI.

If Haggerty is effectively taken out of the game, senior Brock Higgs and junior Matt Neal, who have combined for 24 goals and 52 points, can fill in nicely for Haggerty, but they won’t be able to match his superior production.

Grant will need to maintain his stellar play to keep RPI from netting too many goals that could sink Dartmouth’s hopes. If Grant can keep RPI from scoring more than two goals in each game, Dartmouth can counter with its first and second lines.

For its first line, Dartmouth will likely keep Eric Neiley ’15, Brandon McNally ’15 and Grant Opperman ’17 together.

Together, the three forwards have been much more productive as a unit than when they’ve been split up. Unfortunately, although they combined for 26 goals and 55 points on the season, including 10 on the power play, their aggressiveness has limited their effectiveness at times.

McNally leads the team in penalties with 27 in 27 games while Neiley is third with 11 penalties.

For Dartmouth to upset RPI, the first line will need to avoid penalties yet somehow maintain the aggression that allows them to be effective.

Sikura serves as the nucleus of the second line and delivers a significant change-up. Although he was out for a large chunk of the season, Sikura has rebounded and provided much-needed depth for Dartmouth’s short-handed, injury-reduced squad.

Since returning, Sikura has notched two game-winning goals, including a dramatic overtime shot in the win over Brown two weeks ago.

Puck drop will occur both Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m., and if a third game is necessary, Sunday’s winner-take-all showdown will also be at 7:00 p.m.

Dartmouth Softball Goes 2-2 in James Madison Tournament

Cold weather in the mid-Atlantic gave softball a day off on Friday. Although temperatures remained relatively cool through the weekend, Dartmouth started heating up as the team competed in the James Madison Tournament in Harrisonburg, Virg., splitting consecutive double-headers on Saturday and Sunday.

“We made a little fire under ourselves to really get us going and get us playing as a team,” Kelsey Miller ’16 said.

Dartmouth bounced back from a rough weekend last week in the Florida International Tournament but, due to cold weather, had to wait until Saturday to play as both of Friday’s games were cancelled.

If anything, Dartmouth was more prepared to play in the cold than its opponents because of Hanover’s cold weather, Karen Chaw ’17 said.

Dartmouth went on to defeat Penn State 6-3 for its first win of the season before caving to Fairfield 7-3.

“It was really exciting to see the team improve from the changes we made since we last played in Florida,” Chaw said.

Chaw won the Ivy League’s first 2014 Rookie of the Week after hitting .333, with a two-run homer and three RBIs, last weekend in the Florida International Tournament. She continued to stand out in Dartmouth’s batting order this weekend, hitting a pair of home runs on Saturday for five RBIs.

Kristen Rumley ’15 and Miller also contributed with three hits each, and Rumley went on to earn her first win of the season, allowing three runs on 10 hits.

Chaw’s first homer couldn’t have come at a better against Penn State. Down 2-0 in the fifth, Chaw homered for three, putting Dartmouth into the lead. A solo shot to left-center allowed Penn State to tie the game, but Dartmouth seized the lead for good with an RBI double by Brianna Lohmann ’16.

In the top of the seventh, Dartmouth added another two runs to seal the game off Chloe Madill ‘17’s double.

The second half of Saturday’s double-header started badly for Dartmouth, as Fairfield jumped to a quick 3-0 lead with a three-run homer in the first. Dartmouth responded in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer by Chaw, her second of the day.

Fairfield added another run in the fifth for a 4-2 lead before exploding for another three-run inning in the sixth.

With the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh, Kara Curosh ’14 crushed a solo home run to left field.

Whereas Chaw was the offensive star for Dartmouth on Saturday, Miller took on the role Sunday, generating five hits on the day, including a lead-off home run against Fairfield. Chaw also performed strongly, notching two hits and two RBIs against James Madison University.

In the first game of its Sunday double-header, a rematch against Fairfield, Dartmouth avenged its loss the previous day with a 4-1 outing.

Rumley was the girl on fire in earning her second win, throwing yet another complete game with nine strikeouts, four hits and just the one run. Rumley’s afternoon was made much easier with excellent run support. She herself notched an RBI, scoring McCalmon on a double in the seventh to seal the game.

Fairfield responded to Miller’s lead-off homer in the bottom of the first with a triple that brought home Fairfield’s leadoff hitter.

Neither team could generate hits over the next five innings as Rumley and her Fairfield counterpart, senior Rebecca Trott, shut down the opposing offense until the sixth inning when Katie McEachern ‘16’s home run to deep center broke the tie, making it 3-1.

Dartmouth nearly eked out a victory over JMU, but a walk-off double stole Dartmouth’s moment and handed JMU a dramatic 3-2 win.

“We did a lot of the little things right such as stringing hits together,” Miller said. “Even though we ended up losing, it was definitely one of our best games.”

Rumley’s pitching services were once again called into action, and she held JMU scoreless for the first five innings. Unfortunately, Dartmouth’s batting lineup was also held in check.

Dartmouth finally scored in the fifth as Chaw’s hit to center field scored runners on first and second, putting Dartmouth on top 2-0 with two innings left.

Needing just six outs for another victory, Rumley tried to close the game but JMU finally scored on a single and a sacrifice fly, tying the game heading into the final inning. McCalmon then relieved Rumley, who ended her day after pitching almost 13 straight innings.

Dartmouth loomed with runners in scoring position but Chaw, who had been batting strong all weekend and was the reason Dartmouth was tied, popped out. After a sacrifice bunt to put a runner in scoring position, JMU would win the game with a double to center field that scored the winning run.

Dartmouth won’t play again until Mar. 14 when the Big Green heads west to compete in the University of California-Santa Barbara Tournament and the LMU Tournament.

“As a team we’re working in practice to get better and I don’t think this is the end of our improvements,” Chaw said. “The team will continue to progressively improve.”

Dartmouth Figure Skating Places Second at Liberty University

Sporting fluffy green stick-on mustaches off the ice, the club figure skating team placed second at the 2014 Liberty University Intercollegiate Competition in Lynchburg, Va. this weekend, behind only the University of Delaware. The team finished with 105 points, three points ahead of Boston University, but 36 short of the Blue Hens’ 141.

Dartmouth sent 18 skaters to the competition, earning a total of 18 medals in 16 events.

“Nearly all of our competitors scored points for Dartmouth, which was amazing,” team member Clara Guo ’17 said.

Early on Saturday, Dartmouth led in team points, which are awarded to skaters who place in the top five. Maddy Thornton ’17, Jojo Miller ’14, Caroline Knoop ’15, Alyssa Mahatme ’17 earned silver medals in their respective programs.

Katie Bates ’16 also finished third in the senior ladies long program.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh ’17 dominated the senior men’s short program, sweeping ordinals, while Thornton won the novice ladies long program, landing a double lutz-double toe combination to the music of Santana.

In the dance events, Kelsey Anspach ’15 placed third in the junior solo dance and first in the novice solo dance. Pinar Gurel, a Ph.D. candidate at the Geisel School of Medicine, placed second in the intermediate solo dance, and Victoria Rackohn ’14 and Iris Yu ’14 placed second and third, respectively, in the juvenile solo dance.

Despite leading for most of Saturday, Dartmouth fell behind at the end of the day, trailing Delaware 76-93 after the high team maneuver event, in which Dartmouth’s team of Mahatme, Mahbanoozadeh, Knoop, Kirsten Seagers ’15 and Gurel placed second.

On Sunday, Thornton, Guo and Miller competed in the intermediate team maneuvers, earning gold. Seagers and Knoop placed second and third, respectively, in the junior ladies’ championship long program.

“This competition showed us the depth of talent on our team, and it was inspiring for us to watch each other skate,” Miller, a co-captain, said.

The team has placed in the top three for the past two competitions and has a good chance to qualify for the national championships, Knoop, the other co-captain said.

“We are a team that improves throughout the season, and this weekend set us up nicely for the rest of the season,” she said.

Each season, the three colleges with the most points in each conference are invited to compete at the U.S. Intercollegiate Team Figure Skating Championships. This year, the national competition will be hosted by Adrian College in Adrian, Mich., from April 11-13.

In November, the team placed third at the Cornell University Intercollegiate Competition, 10 points behind Boston University and 35 points behind Delaware.

The team has improved since the fall competition, Miller said.

“We’re starting to find our footing on the ice,” Miller said. “There were a lot of breakthrough performances from our younger skaters who are becoming more and more confident on the ice.”

Later this month, the team will compete again, this time at the University of Delaware.

Dartmouth is developing a small rivalry with Delaware. Last season, Dartmouth defeated Delaware in fall 2012 by 14 points. Delaware would go on to avenge its loss with wins over Dartmouth in March 2013, 125-117, and in the national championships, 98-93. Prior to that, Dartmouth won nationals in 2012 and was the runner-up in 2010, behind BU and came in second place behind Delaware in 2011.

To qualify for the national championships, Dartmouth must remain in the top three schools in the Eastern conference. If Dartmouth places third or better at the Delaware competition, the team will qualify and return to nationals.

“I don’t want to jinx anything,” Yu said. “But I think we are pretty hopeful.”

This weekend’s competition provided Yu with plenty of fun, but also some bittersweet, memories, she said. She will cherish the moments of massage trains, eating dinner as a team and winning “Who want to be a millionaire?” while traveling. 

For Miller, his Dartmouth career has come full circle. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m feeling all of the feels right now,” Miller said. “Liberty was my first competition ever with the team my freshman fall.” 

Since his first competition, he has won gold and silver at nationals, competed in every competition over the last 3.5 years and helped organize nationals last year when it was held at Dartmouth with people he considers his family. 

“This weekend was a blast, full of nostalgia of past experiences with the team and getting to watch the team continue to grow,” Miller said. “The skaters are a riot, and it's always great to hang out and befriend skaters from other colleges. Layer the experience with lots of traveling and no sleep, and it provides for unforgettable times.”

Written by the same author, this story was originally published by The Dartmouth on March 4, 2014.