Dartmouth Places Third in the 2003 Ivy League Tournament

The Dartmouth RFC placed third in the 2003 Ivy League Tournament, hosted by Dartmouth at the NYAC facility on Travers Island, Pelham, NY. It was the first time in 6 years that Dartmouth failed to take home the championship cup.

With standing water covering 30 percent of the pitch, and with a driving rain adding to the swamp, Dartmouth took the field at 8 am Saturday morning to face Columbia. A young Dartmouth side dominated Columbia in every phase of play, defeating the challenger 17-7 in a short, 40 minute match. Consisting mostly of B-side players, Dartmouth retained possession for 80% of the match, the forwards providing unwavering support in the tackle. Lock Eric Richardson ’05 and flanker Joe Killifer ’06 led the pack with several hard, breakaway runs. Dartmouth broke onto the scoreboard just 5 minutes into the contest, as the forwards drew in the Columbia defense with several straight ahead runs off fly-half Erik Alskog ’04, and the ball was spun through hands to the wing. Fullback Smack Davis ’03 then turned the corner and punched the ball in for the try. Mid-way through the second half, center Djuro Petrovic ’04 left the game with a broken nose. Peeling off his warm-ups, A-side center Kyle Chambers ’03 took his spot, and within 2 minutes had scored a try. At the Columbia 50-m, Chambers broke through a hole, then ran 20-m and had one man to beat. Ankle deep in water, Chambers juked three times, and, completely embarrassing the defender, streaked right by him for the try. Dartmouth traded tries in the final 10 minutes with Columbia to make the final score 17-7. As expected, Dartmouth was pitted against Harvard in the Saturday afternoon semifinal match. With its A-side rested and seeking revenge against Harvard, Dartmouth played its finest game of the spring season. Unfortunately, the DRFC could not punch the ball into the try-zone, and lost a heart-breaking match 7-3. Displaying vast improvement over its fall performance against the Crimson, Dartmouth controlled the ball for three-quarters of the 60-minute game. The forwards played an inspired game, controlling the gain line, pushing Harvard back in tackles, protecting the ball in the tackle, and rucking with determination. Forward continuity and presentation was nearly flawless. Unfortunately, the usually dominant DRFC scrum played Harvard to a stalemate, as the muddy conditions did not allow for much of a push in the set. The most disappointing aspect of forward play was line-out execution, as Dartmouth struggled to throw a straight ball. To counteract these first phase let-downs, the forwards poached several Harvard balls. The backs played a consistent game, marking their speedy Harvard counterparts successfully. Fullback Gabe Doleac ’03 played a tremendous game in leading the backs. The lone Harvard try came 20 minutes into the first half, on one of few Dartmouth breakdowns on defense. Off of a Harvard scrum at the 10-m, the Crimson center broke through the gain line, and was left one-on-one with the Dartmouth flanker. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, this tackle would have been made, but the Harvard ball-carrier somehow found his way through, and easily touched the ball down for the try, making the tally 7-0. Five minutes later, Dartmouth marched up the field, the forwards consistently providing an excellent ball for the backs. At Harvard’s 10-m, Dartmouth kicked for points, scrumhalf Mike Curley ’03 converting the kick to make the score 7-3. After the half, Dartmouth controlled the pace of play, keeping the ball within Harvard’s 10-m for ten minutes, missing each of three distinct scoring opportunities with knock-ons. Dartmouth was held up twice in the try zone. The final whistle blew after Dartmouth, in its final possession, mauled for 15-m, broke away, and then threw the ball away in the tackle. This was Dartmouth’s “championship” match, even though it was only the semi-final. Harvard went on to handily beat Yale in the final. In the consolation match, Dartmouth showed great character to rebound from Saturday’s loss to Harvard, defeating Brown 34-7 in a 50 minute match. Using the rest of the players who did not get a chance in the previous encounters, Dartmouth was able to break a number of long runs for tries as the offense clicked for the better part of the game.