Dartmouth Honors Student-Athletes at Celebration of Excellence

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth College Department of Athletics and Recreation hosted its annual Celebration of Athletic Excellence on Monday evening inside Leede Arena, honoring the achievements of teams and individuals for the 2014-15 academic year.

Dartmouth's highest athletic honor, the Kenneth Archibald Prize, is presented annually to “the member of the graduating class who has been four years in attendance, who has been the best all-around athlete, regard also being had to moral worth and high standing in scholarship.” The winner traditionally exemplifies all that we hope and expect of the men and women who put on the Dartmouth uniform and take to the field of play. This student-athlete is to be of exemplary athletic skill, of great academic prowess and of high moral character.

Kristen Rumley of the softball team fits all the criteria needed and then some to be this year's recipient of the Kenneth Archibald Prize. A three-time All-Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and All-Ivy League First-Team selection, Rumley has dominated the Ancient Eight over the course of her career. The Katy, Texas, native has helped Dartmouth win the conference's North Division all four seasons and the Ivy League Championship Series each of the past two years to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Class of 1976 Award is presented annually to the most outstanding female athlete of the year. This year, that distinction was presented to sophomore Taylor Ng of the women's tennis team.

Ng was named the Ivy League Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference player in both singles and doubles. For the season, the Haddonfield, New Jersey, native was 36-6 in singles — including a 22-1 mark at No. 1. Ng became the first woman in Dartmouth history to earn a qualifying berth in the NCAA Tournament and was a major reason the Big Green were able to claim the 2015 ECAC Championship, guiding her team to wins over Princeton, Brown and Columbia. She climbed into the ITA's top-100 individual national rankings and aided in Dartmouth's ascent to No. 18 as a team and a berth in the national tournament for the first time.

The most outstanding male athlete of the year was presented the Alfred E. Watson Trophy with the honor going to sophomore Patrick Caldwell of the ski team. An NCAA Champion in the men's 10K freestyle and the Men's Nordic Skier of the Year, the Lyme, New Hampshire, native had an outstanding sophomore campaign for the Big Green. In addition to his national title, Caldwell earned All-America Second-Team recognition for finishing 10th in the 20K classic race at the NCAA Championship in Lake Placid. At the EISA Championships, he won both races in which he competed, taking the freestyle race by 36.9 seconds and the classic race by an astonishing 2 minutes and 24 seconds.

Caldwell's season also included a strong showing at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in January that earned him a spot at the U23 Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. There he came in 15th in the 15K and 20th in the 30K events, respectively — second among the U.S. skiers in both events.

The Class of 1948 Scholar-Athlete Awards, given “to one male and one female of the junior class, who have combined outstanding performance in athletics and significant achievement in academics,” were presented to women's soccer player Jackie Friedman and men's tennis player Dovydas Sakinis.

Friedman, a psychology major with a 3.61 GPA, was one of the stalwart defenders this past season for a Big Green team that allowed just 11 goals all season and posted nine shutouts. She was recognized for her play on the field with selections to the All-Ivy First Team, NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team and the NEWISA All-New England Second Team.

An economics major that maintains a 3.67 GPA, Sakinis became the first Dartmouth male to qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship since 1994 and just the third in the program's history when he accomplished the feat this spring. He did so on the strength of one of the best seasons a Big Green individual has ever had, winning the Ivy League Player of the Year and earning All-Ivy League First-Team honors for both singles and doubles.

Adam Fishman of the men's lacrosse team was the winner of the Class of 1950 Award as “the varsity student-athlete who has demonstrated the most extraordinary commitment to community service.” Fishman has made the most of the Jaeger Civic Internship, improving the number of hours all Big Green teams contributed to community service events this year. He has contributed countless hours to the planning of the Memorial Challenge, a community workout event in memory of former student-athletes Blaine Steinberg and Torin Tucker, a demonstration of his passion for involvement in the Upper Valley area and Dartmouth Athletics.

The Timothy Wright Ellis 1955 Memorial Award is given to a man showing extracurricular and scholastic drive, spirit, loyalty and amiability and is nominated and voted on by the captains of the men's teams. This year's award went to senior Will Guinee of the football team. Regarded as one of the most loyal teammates by Dartmouth players and coaches alike, Guinee has demonstrated his love of the college throughout his career in the way he prides himself in being able to represent Dartmouth in the classroom and on the field. Injuries hampered him throughout his career, yet his drive and determination never wavered, allowing the offensive lineman to return for the final six games this past fall and contribute to the football team's best season in 17 years.

Senior Rebecca Hu of the field hockey team was honored as the recipient of the Agnes Kurtz Award, given to “that woman who best combines proficiency in athletics with dedication to the furthering of women's sports” as nominated and voted on by the captains of the Big Green women's teams. Despite an injury that kept her on the sidelines for most of the 2014 season, Hu still managed to remain a vocal leader and a presence as one of the team's captains. She will once again be a captain next season, bringing a wealth of leadership and maturity to the role. Those traits and driving characteristics that define who she is also led her to discussions with athletics administrators this past year on what she could do to elevate awareness and create more of a priority around women's sports at Dartmouth.

The Big Green Cup, sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, is in its fifth year of recognizing the winningest varsity program in a year-long competition. Points are earned as athletes are encouraged to support one another at athletic events, achieve high academic standards, compete at the highest level in their sports and serve the community. The winner of the fifth annual Big Green Cup was the women's soccer team.

Additionally, women's cross country, softball and men's soccer teams were recognized for having won Ivy League championships in 2014-15.