Senior defensive lineman Ejike Adele was honored as the Ivy League’s defensive player of the year on Monday, becoming the first Dartmouth College football player to earn the distinction since 2019.

Adele, a three-time Ivy League champion during his time in Hanover and first-team All-Ivy selection this season, led the league in tackles-for-loss (12.0) and finished third in sacks (6.0). His 54 total tackles ranked second on a Dartmouth defense that finished seventh nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 105.7 yards on the ground to opponents this past season.

The Atlanta native is now the fourth Big Green defensive player to earn Asa Bushnell Cup defensive player of the year honors, joining Folarin Orimolade, Isiah Swann and Jack Traynor. Adele is the 10th player in Dartmouth history to earn the award. Before the Ivy League began recognizing an offensive and defensive player of the year in 2011, only seven defensive players had taken home player of the year honors since the award’s inception in 1970.

Since capturing a share of the Ivy League crown for the fourth time in five seasons on Nov. 23, the Big Green have continued to collect individual hardware. A league-best nine players earned first-team All-Ivy selections, including sophomore kicker Owen Zalc, who was honored as the Ivy League special teams player of the year. Defensive coordinator Don Dobes was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS assistant coach of the year on Dec. 12, and junior tight end Chris Corbo and junior offensive lineman Delby Lemieux were both named All-FCS honorable mentions by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

As the holiday break nears, here’s how Dartmouth’s other sports programs fared this past week.

Men’s ice hockey ties UNH

Despite a three-goal effort in the first period, the No. 17 Dartmouth College men’s ice hockey team tied New Hampshire, 3-3, on Friday in its final game ahead of the holiday break.

Freshman Hank Cleaves’ wrister finish, his first career goal for the Big Green, handed coach Reid Cashman’s squad a 1-0 lead just over two minutes into the game. Senior Sean Chisholm’s goal midway through the opening frame handed Dartmouth a two-goal advantage before the visiting Wildcats shrank the deficit in half.

Senior Steven Townley’s goal, his fourth of the campaign, saw the Big Green reclaim their two-goal lead entering the first intermission but a pair of tallies in the second stanza allowed UNH to level the score, 3-3. It’s a scoreline that would hold through the third period and overtime, marking the first time the Granite State rivals have tied in nearly a decade.

After beginning the season with a 5-0-1 record, Dartmouth is just 1-3-1 over its last five games. The Big Green will return to the ice at Thompson Arena on Dec. 28 against Alaska Anchorage in the Ledyard Classic.

Women’s basketball splits two road games

Dartmouth was trounced at Stonehill last Tuesday, dropping its third consecutive game in a 75-43 defeat. The Big Green, victors of just one of their last six games entering a date with Central Connecticut State, desperately needed a response amid a four-game road trip.

Second-year coach Linda Cimino got it on Monday as Dartmouth knocked off the Blue Devils, 61-59. First-year guard Zeynep Ozel was the game’s star, playing perhaps her best game in a Big Green uniform.

Ozel has started every game for Cimino at point guard but had played just 22 total minutes in Dartmouth’s previous two games. In 36 minutes of action, Ozel posted her first career double-double — 13 points and 10 assists — and didn’t turn the ball over, the first time she’s posted zero turnovers in a game with the Big Green. Ozel was one of four double-digit scorers, joined by senior guard Victoria Page (13 points), sophomore forward Cate McDonald (11) and junior forward Clare Meyer (10) in the win.

Dartmouth has a quick turnaround ahead of its next game on Wednesday at Lafayette College (3-6). The Big Green will then face its first power conference team of the season in Syracuse (4-6) on Saturday.

Men’s basketball drops pair of road games

Dartmouth wrapped up its seven-game road trip with losses at Notre Dame and UMass Lowell this past week.

The Big Green had hopes of beating their second ACC opponent of the season after upsetting Boston College on Nov. 29, but coach David McLaughlin’s squad was mired by poor 3-point shooting — the team shot 6-of-33 from beyond the arc. Dartmouth was unable to chip away at the double-digit Fighting Irish lead in the second half, ultimately losing, 77-65.

Playing its final game of its road trip, the Big Green squandered a double-digit lead in the first half against the River Hawks in an eventual loss, 92-83. Freshman guard Connor Amundsen poured in a career-high 28 points and tacked on six assists. His performances across both games earned him Ivy League freshman of the week honors for the second time this season.

The defeat marks the third consecutive loss for the Big Green with just three games remaining — all at Leede Arena — ahead of Ivy League play commencing. Dartmouth hosts Le Moyne on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m.

Track and field hosts December Invite

After opening its indoor season in Boston, the Big Green welcomed a number of programs, including Vermont and Keene State, to Hanover this past weekend for the Dartmouth December Invite.

Juniors Max Klein and Autumn Clark both placed first in the men’s and women’s shot put, respectively. Klein’s throw of 18.08 meters landed him second all-time in the program’s men’s event history, while Clark’s throw of 14.56 meters was the fourth-best mark in the program’s women’s event history.

The Big Green continued to rack up podium finishes throughout the competition, highlighted by a pair of first-place finishes for junior Mariella Schweitzer in the women’s long jump and women’s 60-meter run.

Swimming and diving compete in Biscayne Bay

Dartmouth ventured south to Miami over the weekend to compete at the CSCAA Open Water Nationals held in Biscayne Bay on Sunday. The event, a 5K race, hosts swimmers from all three NCAA divisions.

Freshman Ronan Fahey paced the Big Green men’s swimmers at the meet. Fahey’s time of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 33.59 seconds saw him finish in 17th place among 95 swimmers. Junior Yan Dvoretskiy and sophomore Tommy Erwin joined Fahey as top-45 finishers. Dartmouth finished seventh among the 11 competing men’s teams.

For the Big Green women, first-year Addy Domian led the way, notching a 30th-place finish with a time of 1:09:36.75.

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.