Molly Scott and Albert Roth Tabbed Athletes of the Week

Athlete of the Week Archive

Each week, DartmouthSports.com will spotlight two outstanding student-athletes - one male, one female - as Dartmouth's Athletes of the Week. Student-athletes may be chosen based upon their efforts both on and off the field of competition.

Perfection was the name of the game this week as two Big Green athletes, tennis' Molly Scott (Trabuco Cyn, Calif.) and swimmer Albert Roth (Aurora, Ill.) were unbeaten in individual competition to earn Dartmouth Athlete of the Week honors. Scott went 4-0 in both first singles and first doubles en route to two team victories. Roth won all three of his individual races and a relay for good measure to help Dartmouth defeat BC and Maine.

Dartmouth Female Athlete of the Week:
Molly Scott (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.), Women's Tennis, No. 1 Singles and Doubles, Junior

Molly Scott (Tabuco Canyon, Calif.) went a perfect 4-0 in both singles and doubles over the weekend, leading the Big Green women's tennis team to wins over Boston College and Army. Dartmouth is currently undefeated on the season at 3-0. Scott won both singles matches in straight sets and only dropped two games in the match with Anne Houghton of Army. She also teamed with senior Mary Beth Winningham (Carmel, Ind.) in two doubles matches and came away with two wins.

Your team is now 3-0 to start the season, what has been the key to success?
Our team is really excited to be competing right now and I think we have channeled that energy into good, solid wins. We seem to be improving and gaining confidence with each win. By focusing on performing and competing well, the outcomes have been taking care of themselves thus far.

You were ranked earlier this season at No. 8 in the region, how have you been able to keep competing at a high level?
We had a nice break after the fall season so I was able to reevaluate myself and my goals for the year during that time. Since then, I have just been trying to get better with every practice, while focusing on a few areas of my game, which I think I can improve.

What is it like to start playing tennis with snow still on the ground and temperatures in the negative numbers?
Coming from Southern California, its definitely different having to play inside for several months out of the year because of the weather. Tennis is for the most part a year round sport though, so it would be weird not to be playing and competing during this part of the year. Luckily, we are really fortunate to have a nice indoor center so that we can practice and train year-round and stay warm despite these freezing temperatures.

You have the ECAC Tournament coming up, what will it take to come away with a few wins?
ECAC's will be our toughest matches of the winter. Almost all of the other Ivies will be there so it will be a good opportunity to see how we match up with them before the Ivy season in the spring. We are really going to try and take advantage of the two weeks before ECAC's to improve upon the things we felt we could have done better in our first three matches. Overall, we are working hard and playing well so hopefully that will translate into wins at the tournament.

Dartmouth Male Athlete of the Week:
Albert Roth (Aurora, Ill.), Men's Swimming, Multiple Events, Freshman
Dartmouth rookie Albert Roth (Aurora, Ill.) showed his versatility and strength in the pool this week, winning four of the five events in which he competed against Boston College and Maine. Roth's effort, including wins in all three individual races, helped the Dartmouth men defeat both of its opponents. Roth swam a variety of strokes with individual victories in the 400 individual medley in 4:07.35, the 200 butterfly in 1:55.46 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:10.21. He also helped the 800 freestyle relay team win the 400 relay take third, the only race entered that he did not win. Roth bested the competition by nearly three seconds in both the 400 IM and 200 fly.

You've had quite a bit of success in your first college season. Was there much of a transition for you coming from high school/club competition to college?
My high school didn't have a swim team so I swam club all year round. I was able to represent my high school at the Illinois State Meet though, so I guess I was the swim team for a week. I came from a really strong club team, The Academy Bullets, and Illinois is a very fast swim state, so the transition in terms of in-season competition hasn't been very different. The championship season will be an entirely different story though.

This past weekend, unlike some other meets, you got to experience your individual victories while the team also won. How much more fun is that?
It felt good. Our meet record hasn't been very great, but that's just because the Ivy League is a very fast conference for swimming. Going to meets like this is a huge morale booster.

As a swimmer, how do you balance the individual nature of the sport with the team dynamic?
I just try to win my races and cheer for the team to win theirs.

There is just one meet left before Ivy Championships. Is the anticipation starting to build yet and what are you most looking forward to?
I can't wait to swim against Columbia. That was the only other Ivy school that recruited me, so I want to edge out some of their guys and let them know why I didn't go there. Ivy Championships should be fun too, a little intimidating though.