Becca Dellenbaugh and Kyle Hendricks Named 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.

Two impressive spring break performances by baseball's Kyle Hendricks and sailor Becca Dellenbaugh helped Dartmouth jump into the season on a high note, earning them Athlete of the Week honors. Hendricks picked up his first win of the season with a dominant 11-strikeout performance against Long Island University in Florida. Dellenbaugh skippered the Big Green to a fourth place finish at the St. Mary's Intersectional after just three days of practice.

Dartmouth Female Athlete of the Week:
Becca Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.), Sailing, Skipper, Senior

Senior captain Becca Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) helped the women's sailing team get off to a great start in its first regatta of the 2010 spring season at the St. Mary's Women's Intersectional at St. Mary's College of Maryland. The team finished in the seventh spot overall and Dellenbaugh was the skipper for the A Division boat along with crew member Rachel Moncton (Cupertino, Calif.). The duo posted a fourth-place finish in the top division, earning the Big Green 85 points. The effort was even more impressive as Dartmouth had only been practicing for three days prior to the race.

You had only three practices prior to the regatta, how do you think you did?
The Dartmouth team has been making the most of our spring break in Virginia to catch up to other sailing teams that have already been sailing for weeks. We spent the three practices getting comfortable in the boat and working on boathandling maneuvers. Some things need work but we are very happy with this weekend as a starting point for the women's team this spring.

Some of us, well most of us, don't really know what a skipper does during a race. Can you give a short explanation?
In a race, the skipper is responsible for steering and controlling the mainsail, and deciding a lot of the tactics throughout the race. The best boats are good at communicating and making decisions together. I sail with Rachel Moncton and we were really happy with our boathandling and starting at this regatta.

Can you explain the points system in your races? The lower the better? And what are you judged on?
In a regatta there are two divisions, A and B, and two sailors per school per division. At the St. Mary's Women's Intersectional there were 18 very competitive teams from all over the country (including Hawaii!) Each division got in 11 races and the final score adds up all the races from each division. There are judges on the water watching for boats that break the rules but for the most part it is a self-policing sport.

Although the weather has been unseasonably warm up in Hanover, describe the feeling of getting back out on the water and getting another season underway?
Fingers crossed that Mascoma Lake unfreezes early. We are certainly proud of the progress we have already made on spring break and look forward to continuing that on our home waters!

Dartmouth Male Athlete of the Week:
Kyle Hendricks (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), Baseball, Pitcher, Sophomore

Kyle Hendricks (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) dominated in his start last week against Long Island, allowing just two runs, one earned, in six innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts, the most for a Big Green pitcher since Josh Faiola fanned 12 Crimson batters on May 1, 2004. With Dartmouth handily winning the game, 14-2, he picked up his first victory of the season and first win against a team outside the Ivy League in his career -- he was 6-0 in six starts against Ivy teams as a rookie. Hendricks got stronger as the game went, striking out five straight batters before getting his final out of the day on a routine fly to center.

It seemed that you got stronger against Long Island as the game progressed. As a starting pitcher, how do you pace yourself to pitch deep into games?
Pitching deep into games comes from the hard work and preparation that you put in during the offseason, and especially the days leading up to a start. If you are prepared physically and mentally, you will not have to pace yourself to pitch deep into games.

The 11 strikeouts are a career high for you at Dartmouth and the most by a Big Green pitcher in nearly six years. What is your general strategy on the mound to get hitters out?
I try to keep hitters off balance with my secondary pitches and change their eye level with my fastball so that they can't sit on one pitch in one zone. I also focus on throwing inside because it makes it harder for hitters to extend their arms and it makes my secondary pitches more effective.

You received some preseason publicity by being chosen to be the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year as just a sophomore by Baseball America. What do you do to keep the expectations from affecting your on-field performance?
It's always nice to have expectations from others to succeed but my main priority is winning the Ivy League Championship. I am focusing on doing whatever I can to help this team win, and if I end up winning Pitcher of the Year, that would be great.

While Dartmouth reached the NCAA Regional in your freshman year, the season ended on a bit of a sour note for you. Have you used that as motivation for this season, and what are your goals for this season?
I haven't necessarily used my last start of last year as motivation, but I try to learn from past starts and use the potential success that I see in the future for our team as motivation.

You're in the midst of playing 11 games in 11 days down in Florida. Outside of the time on the field, what are you doing off the field?
My dad was able to make it out for the first week of the trip, so off the field I spent time with him. One day I went to downtown Disney at Disney World.