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Fall Sports Roundup
January/February 2007
by Carl Bialik '01

The football team captured the headlines by finally beating Harvard and, after a stellar 8-2 season, earning a share of the Ivy League title. But there was plenty of good news off the gridiron as well. Yale’s most successful fall-sports teams—women's field hockey and volleyball—measured up well against their Ivy League competitors. In the autumn regattas, the men’s crew left many of the nation's powerhouses in its wake. And one female cross-country runner, junior Lindsay Donaldson, went stride for stride with the best in the nation.

The field hockey team tied for second in the conference, its best Ivy finish in 26 years. Each of its Ivy losses—including one to national quarterfinalist Princeton—came by just a single goal. But Yale struggled against elite non-conference opponents, losing by a combined score of 24-1 to NCAA tournament teams Boston University, North Carolina, and UConn.

Field hockey head coach Pam Stuper has recruited “very athletic players” and emphasized fitness training, says all-Ivy midfielder Lindsay Collins '07. “We can run with any team, no doubt,” says Collins. “We just have to get our skills up there now.”

Women’s volleyball had a similar season. Two years after becoming the first Ivy League team to win an NCAA tournament game, the squad finished just one game out of first place in a much-improved Ancient Eight. But it too had problems against top competition, losing both matches against Princeton. Those two losses were the only real blights on an otherwise remarkable Ivy campaign. In fact, Yale has improved steadily in recent years, from 8-6 in 2003 to 11-3 this year, even as league competition has toughened.

“When I started playing, there were a couple of good teams and the rest were mediocre,” says three-time All-Ivy player Shannon Farrell '07. “Everyone now is at a very even level.”

At the Head of the Charles, the fall's biggest regatta, Yale’s first boat in men’s heavyweight crew came in second to Washington. Among the teams Yale beat were four of the five boats that finished ahead of the Bulldogs last June at the national championship race. Although the biggest races for the crew lie ahead this spring, the third-place finish at the Charles bodes well. “There is so much depth in the [senior] class,” coach John Pescatore says. “It’s a great group of guys. They’re all hard workers.” The Head of the Charles can be a harbinger of things to come; 2004 winner Harvard went on to win the nationals, and last year’s winner, Princeton, finished second at the nationals.

The biggest individual achievement took place on November 20 at the NCAA cross-country championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. Running on a 3.1-mile course, which had been turned into a quagmire earlier by five inches of rain, Lindsay Donaldson '08 finished in 20:42.7. Her time put her in third place. (Donaldson says she’s gotten advice and encouragement from twin sisters Kate and Laura O'Neill '03. Kate is one of only two Ivy runners with a better NCAA finish, second in 2002.)

Donaldson, recently named team captain, says she waited until the final kilometer before making her move. “I was in seventh or eighth,” she says, “and I picked off people as I ran.” After it was over, she threw away her muddy socks.  

Sports Shorts

Two pieces of Yale sports history are up for sale. In 1981, the Marino family bought a rooming house in Malden, Massachusetts, and discovered a pair of weathered oars propping open a basement window. These turned out to be the prize awarded at the end of the first-ever Yale-Harvard boat race, in 1852—the first intercollegiate sporting event in this country. The black walnut oars bear the names of the schools and the crew members, inscribed on a small silver plaque. The asking price? $30 million for the pair.

The Payne Whitney gym’s third-floor practice pool, which was closed on October 27 because of water- and air-quality issues, received a clean bill of health on November 27 and reopened for business. The university installed ultraviolet water filters and four new fans to address complaints that included skin irritation and breathing difficulties.

Senior offensive tackle Ed McCarthy reaped a number of postseason honors. McCarthy was named to two All-America teams, as well as the All-Ivy squad. The history major was also a finalist for the National Football Foundation’s Draddy Award for the best scholar-athlete.

As the Bulldogs head into the winter break, the results so far have been mixed. The men’s and women’s hockey and basketball teams will need wins to offset shaky starts, while the squash teams have been uneven in the early going. Both the men’s and women’s swimming teams, however, have looked strong, going undefeated in single and dual meets, and posting strong team results and individual times in regional and national competitions.

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