Women Seek Third Straight Ivy League Title at Friday's Heps Meet

HANOVER, N.H. – Once is hard. Twice is exponentially harder. Three times? Now, you're asking a lot.

But that's what the Dartmouth women's cross country team will be looking to do on Friday afternoon: win its third Ivy League Heptagonal Championship in as many seasons.

The Big Green come into Friday's 6K race set for a noon start with the target squarely on their back after taking the crown in each of the last two years. In order for them to bring back to Hanover with them the seventh title in program history, members of the team will have to push aside expectations and focus on the task at hand.

That might be easier this year than in both 2013 and 2014 when Dartmouth was the favorite heading into the Ancient Eight's annual championship meet. This season, Princeton (No. 20) and Columbia (No. 25) are both ahead of the Big Green in the national rankings with Dartmouth just outside the top-30.

Leading the way should be senior Dana Giordano who was last fall's runner-up in 20:28.1. Also returning are classmates Sarah Bennett (21:14.3) and Reid Watson (21:15.3) who were 12th and 13th, respectively, last year, earning Second-Team All-Ivy honors.

If they are going to try and take the crown for the third straight season, the Big Green will have to do it in unfamiliar territory in regards to the Heps meet.

This year's race will take place in the Bronx at Van Cortlandt Park after four years at Princeton's West Windsor Fields. However, Van Cortlandt is not a complete unknown for Dartmouth as it was the site of last season's Northeast Regional where it claimed third as a team and earned an at-large bid to the national championship.

The women's meet will follow the men's 8K race and precede the Ivy League awards ceremony.

Dartmouth's 12-Woman Roster
Sarah Bennett	Abby Markowitz
Bridget Flynn	Elizabeth Markowitz
Dana Giordano,	Leigh Moffett,
Olivia Lantz	Bridget O'Neill
Abby Livingston	Helen Schlachtenhaufen
Marisa Magsarili	Reid Watson

Schedules