This Day in Dartmouth History: April 21

April 21, 2019 — Women's Golf posts best-ever finish at the Ivy League Championship

It had been a slow climb back up the Ivy League standings for the Dartmouth women's golf team. After finishing third four times in the first eight years the sport was sponsored by the conference (1997-2004), the Big Green were mired in the bottom two spots for the next dozen years before placing fifth in 2017 and again the following year. And the team score from the 2018 championship (935) was by far its best since the format went to three rounds in 2002.

But Alex Kirk, in his seventh season as the Carolyn A. Pelzel '54a Head Coach of Women's Golf, put together a team that was ready to take the next step, or leap as it turned out. Led by freshman Kaitlyn Lees '22, Dartmouth vied for the league title until the very end, ultimately finishing in second place with a 907 (+43), shattering the previous year's score by 28 strokes and finishing a mere six shots behind Harvard. It was no surprise that Kirk was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year.

After the first round of play, the Big Green sat in third place with a 19-over 307 with Penn (297) and Columbia (298) ahead of them. But on the second day, Dartmouth tied Harvard for the best round with a 14-over 302 while Columbia moved into the lead — only two strokes ahead of the Green's 609 total — while Penn (610) slid back into third with Harvard (611) right behind in fourth. Dartmouth once again improved its tally, carding a 10-over 298 in the final round, vaulting past Columbia in the standings by six strokes. But the Crimson produced a 2-over 290, the best round over the three days, to beat out the Big Green for the title.

Lees wrapped up her three rounds in third place with a 5-over 221 on the 6,042-yard, par-72 course at The Ridge at Back Brook, becoming just the fourth different Big Green player to earn a spot on the All-Ivy League First Team, but the second in three years. Junior Maddie Nelson '20 also picked up all-conference honors with a 12-over 228 to tie for eighth place, while sophomore Moon Cheong '21 just missed out on giving Dartmouth a third all-conference performer, missing out on the top 10 by a single stroke with a 14-over 230, tying for 13th overall.

April 21, 1967 — John Blair '68 sets Big Green Baseball record with seven hits in one game

Just 53 years ago, the Dartmouth baseball team, having won seven of its first 11 games including victories over East Carolina and Duke as well as a series victory at Old Dominion, traveled to Amherst to take on the Lord Jeffs (now Mammoths). About everything that could go right for the Big Green did that day as they pummeled the hosts by a final of 24-0, the largest margin of victory for Dartmouth since a 35-4 triumph over Brown — in 1889.

While the lopsided score itself might normally be the story of the game, it was a mere afterthought, what with Glen Culbertson '69 on the mound, setting down the Lord Jeffs batters at will. The sophomore went the full nine innings and surrendered a solitary single … well, along with eight walks. But none of those nine base runners ever crossed home plate as he also struck out 11 on the afternoon while recording the first of his two career shutouts. Culbertson ended up having a fantastic season, going 5-0 with 1.80 ERA over 55.0 innings.

But even that pitching performance was not the story of the game. The biggest spotlight shone on junior John Blair '68, who strode to the plate seven times in the nine-inning affair and hit safely in all seven at-bats. He collected six singles and a triple, setting the program record for hits in one game. Blair also came around to score six times, tying another Big Green record that has been matched only by Russ Fox '25 in a 24-4 win over Columbia back in 1924.

Blair wasn't the only record-setter that day as shortstop Mickey Beard '67 (perhaps better known as the quarterback of the football team) also had a perfect day at the plate with a single, triple and five bases on balls, the most walks issued to a Dartmouth hitter in one game. All 10 hitters that had an at-bat rapped out at least one hit, including third baseman Paul Mikus '67 who smacked the lone home run of the game while driving in a team-high five runs as part of his 3-for-4 performance.

The Big Green scored four runs in the first to set the tone, then added another in the third and two more in the fourth. The game really got out of hand in the fifth when nine Dartmouth hitters touched home plate. Two more in the sixth, a five-spot in the eighth and the final run in the ninth gave the Big Green a game to remember.