Each week, DartmouthSports.com will spotlight two outstanding student-athletes - one male, one female - as Dartmouth's Athletes of the Week. Student-athletes may be chosen based upon their efforts both on and off the field of competition.
The honorees of Sept. 22 have distinguished themselves amongst a talented field of their peers, taking their game to the next level for the Big Green. In the first tournament of the season, sophomore Chris Ho (Los Altos, Calif.) took down the competition handily, winning his flight at the Brown Invitational. Women's volleyball senior Megan MacGregor (Carlsbad, Calif.) earned a spot on the all-tournament team at the Dartmouth Invitational after a well-rounded effort in a 2-2 weekend.
Dartmouth Male
Athlete of the Week:
Chris Ho (Los Altos, Calif.), Men's Tennis, Sophomore
Chris Ho had a great start to his fall season
this past weekend at the Northeast Invitational at Brown as he won his flight
in convincing fashion. His toughest competition was his first match of the
invite. He was able to win in straight sets, but had to work in the second
earning a 7-5 set victory over Matt Wacks of Hofstra. Next up was Miles
Garrigeus of Brown and he had to withdraw, so Ho moved to the following round
of matches. Ho then swept out two Connecticut players in two sets. In the
finals, he dominated with a 6-1, 6-1, win over Scott Warden to earn the flight
victory. Ho started last season in the same manor with six consecutive wins.
Talk about your dominating play this weekend at the Northeast Invitational,
what made you successful?
I played in a
relaxed manner and stayed consistent in all of my matches.
What season do you like better - the fall, which is more
individual or the team matches in the spring?
I definitely
prefer the team matches. It's an amazing experience to be playing for a team,
especially when you've played an individual sport for so long; to be yelling
"Go Green" instead of pumping yourself up is great.
You also had success in doubles winning two matches this
weekendyou're your opinion, what's tougher, singles or doubles?
Singles is more
demanding physically, since you have to cover more court space. It's also tough mentally because you're
on your own on the court. Doubles
is tough because you really have to communicate well with your partner.
With many tournaments coming up this fall, including the Dartmouth
Shootout, what are your keys to keep your win streak going?
For future tournaments I'm going to make sure I stay positive and
focus on my strengths on the court.
Dartmouth Female
Athlete of the Week:
Megan MacGregor (Carlsbad, Calif.), Women's Volleyball, Senior, Middle Blocker
Megan
MacGregor has made an appearance in Dartmouth women's volleyball every match
for the past four seasons. The senior is a two-time co-captain. Last weekend
she was named to the Dartmouth Invitational All-Tournament team as she recorded
16 kills on Saturday in two matches along with 18 digs, three blocks and four
service aces. In the first match of the tourney she again had double-figure
kills with 11 as she recorded just three hitting errors in the match. She also
had three service aces and one block. In a 3-0 win over Providence earlier in
the week she had 10 digs with two blocks and one service ace. For the season
she's second on the team in kills, averaging 2.31 per set. She leads the squad
with 15 services aces and has recorded 13 total blocks.
How is the team feeling after its weekend in the Dartmouth
Invitational?
I think it's hard
to come away from our own tournament with some losses but I really feel we grew
as a team through those three matches. I feel like we really saw some good
things and I feel it's going to be important this week to work on our strengths
and improve on those. It's very important right now as we're preparing for our
first Ivy match against Harvard. We saw in our first match that we have so much
potential to show our strengths and work as a team and I feel it's going to be
about keeping that consistency. It's about mental focus.
What's it been like to be a senior now and know that all four
years you've been here it's usually been a young squad?
It is interesting
because I feel like I've seen it from all angles. In my freshman and sophomore
year we were successful because we learned to work with what we have. As a
captain my junior year I feel like I've really been able to take that and able
to reflect on the things that I felt were effective for our team. To know how
to treat every player the same way has been valuable for me.
Have the goals changed for the team over what was originally set
before the season started?
I feel like over
the four years I've been here we've always had different goals. We've always
wanted to shoot high but I think in the past we aimed a little too high and
sometimes lost our motivation or focus if that goal became unattainable. So
this season we've tried to focus on game-by-game goals. Each week we really
take it day by day and try not to look too far ahead.
How motivating is it to see the crowds in the stands and hear how
loud they're cheering?
It's really
exciting and since volleyball is such a mental game that to have people yelling
both for you and against you can help and hurt. It's been great to have the
support and have the fans come out. It's an easy sport to watch and obviously I
think it's fun so it's awesome when the fans come out and have a good time. It
definitely helps us.
