December
5, 2002
I
have read that the Dartmouth administration does not consider it’s swimming
and diving teams to be “competitive”. We
all know that Dartmouth has not won many Ivy League meets.
However, what most people do not realize is that the Ivy League is one of
the most competitive collegiate swimming leagues in the country.
I was curious to see how Dartmouth’s swim team compares to those of other Division I universities in the northeast. Fortunately, the sport of swimming lends itself to such comparisons, as the objective criterion of time is used to quantify performance everywhere. Last night, I took the time to surf websites of women’s swim programs in non-Ivy League universities throughout the northeast. These are schools within driving distance of Dartmouth.
I compared Dartmouth’s
times from the Harvard meet against times reported on websites from schools I
will list below. I did not consider
diving, as those scores are too subjective.
I also did not “score” hypothetical meets.
However, by examining the reported times from each school, I believe one
could get a pretty good idea of where Dartmouth women’s swimming stands. Take a look at the cited websites and see if you agree with
my assessment. In any event, here
is my effort to “handicap” a hypothetical competition between Dartmouth and
the following schools:
Boston
University – Dartmouth wins in a close meet.
See www.bu.edu/athletics/swimming/women/2002-03/stats
Boston
College – Dartmouth loses by a wide margin.
See www.bceagles.ocsn.com/sports/w-swim/bc-w-swim-body.html
Iona
– Dartmouth wins in a rout.
See www.iona.edu/athletic/swim/0102Toptimes.html.
University
of Maine – Dartmouth is a clear winner.
See www.goblackbears.com/swimdivw/
See www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/Wswimming/2003/results
Marist
– Dartmouth wins without difficulty.
See www.goredfoxes.ocsn.com/sports/w-swim/archive/mari-w-swim-body.html
St.
Johns – Dartmouth wins narrowly in a great meet with many close races.
(Results on University of Connecticut website.)
Holy Cross- Dartmouth wins going away.
See www.holycross.edu/departments/athletics/website/wswimming.html
Providence
– Dartmouth wins by a wide margin.
See www.friars.ocsn.com/sports/w-swm/prov-w-swim-body.html
University
of New Hampshire – This would be an extremely close meet but Dartmouth
would
probably lose due to New Hampshire’s superior depth. (Results on Rhode
Island website.)
Fordham
– This would be a great meet to watch.
The teams are nearly identical.
(Results on University of Connecticut website.)
Rider University – Dartmouth is a clear winner. (Results on Marist
website.)
University of Massachusetts - This would be an extremely close meet. It could go either way. www.umassathletics.ocsn.com/sports/w-swim/umas-w-swim-body.html
University
of Rhode Island – Dartmouth easily wins. www.gorhody.ocsn.com/sports/w-swim/uri-w-swim-body.html
If the Dartmouth Big Green
women’s swim team were to compete in the mythical league outlined above, my
comparison of times would yield a record of 9 wins, 3 losses and 2 meets that
would be too close to call.
It
is worth noting that just about all of the universities mentioned above offer
scholarships in women’s swimming. The
fact that our team could compete so favorably with these teams is a tribute to
the dedication of our swimmers and the expertise of our coaching staff.
By any definition, Dartmouth is “competitive”.
To state otherwise is an insult to our women athletes.
Respectfully submitted,