March 23, 1975: Baseball defeats Old Dominion, 2-0, as Dave DeMarco '77 twirls a no-hitter
For the baseball team, the season-opening trip to the Mid-Atlantic states was a tradition that dated back to the early 1920s, taking on the likes of North Carolina State, Duke, East Carolina, Georgetown, Maryland and Richmond. In 1963, Old Dominion was added to the mix, and the two teams would meet for each of the next 18 years for a total of 55 times.
Dave DeMarco '77
But the first game of a doubleheader on this day in 1975 was certainly the most memorable as sophomore Dave DeMarco held the Monarchs hitless in the seven-inning contest for the 11th — and most recent — no-hitter in program history.
The southpaw — making his first varsity appearance on the mound — battled bouts of wildness throughout the campaign, walking 26 batters in 28.2 innings over the course of the season. But on this day, DeMarco had terrific command and dominated the ODU lineup, striking out 10 while issuing just two free passes. Those were the only two batters to reach base for the Monarchs, and both were left stranded for the third of 10 shutouts posted by the Big Green staff that season, a program record (nearly tied by the 2013 team that had nine).
The Dartmouth offense was held to just three hits, but DeMarco helped his own cause in the top of the first by driving in junior left fielder Greg Cronin, who had walked, for the game's first run. In the sixth, the Big Green tacked on a valuable insurance run as junior third baseman Dave Clark — who singled and walked in the game — crossed the plate. The Big Green went on to sweep the doubleheader by taking the nightcap, 4-2, ending the nine-game spring trip with a 6-3 record en route to a .500 record of 20-20 overall and 7-7 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League. It was the first season in which Dartmouth played 40 or more games.
March 23, 2003: Women's Hockey wins at the NCAA Tournament for the first time
Sarah Clark '04
In its second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament (and Frozen Four with only four teams invited), Dartmouth women's hockey ended the 2002-03 season on a high note, defeating Minnesota, 4-2, in the third-place game. It was the final win in a 27-8-0 campaign, setting a program record for victories that has been matched twice but never exceeded.
Â
This was the second time in a two-month span the Big Green had downed the Gophers, the other being a 6-3 home victory on Jan. 17.
Â
That day in Duluth at the Frozen Four, Dartmouth came out and stole the show. Midway through the first period, junior Sarah Clark put the Green on the board with assists from classmate Louise Pietrangelo and senior Amy Catlin. As it turned out, that was the first of three goals in a 90-second span as freshman Tiffany Hagge and Catlin put the puck in the back of the net as well for a sudden 3-0 lead.
Clark struck again early in the second period with hep from Krista Dornfried for an insurmountable four-goal advantage.
It wasn't until less than five minutes remained that the Gophers would cut into that lead, and a second tally with 3:19 to play raised the anxiety level a bit. But senior netminder Amy Ferguson shut the door, collecting 27 saves in the game, as Dartmouth put the finishing touches on its first NCAA Tournament victory.
Â
