HANOVER, N.H. — Two weeks ago, Dartmouth linebacker Jack Traynor was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week by the league office. Today he earned the honor once again for his performance in the Big Green’s 49-7 victory at Marist on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth rose in both of the national polls. Ranked 21st by both STATS and the coaches last week, the Big Green find themselves up to 17th in the former and 16th in the latter.
A fifth-year senior from Lake Forest, Illinois, Traynor was only needed for the first half as Dartmouth opened up a 35-0 lead by the intermission and cruised to the victory. But during his time on the field that consisted for a total of 27 plays by the Red Foxes, Traynor managed to intercept two passes and return the first one 55 yards for a touchdown, giving the Green a 21-0 lead. His second pick came shortly before halftime at the Dartmouth 16, ensuring Marist did not score before the break. Of his two tackles, one stopped a Red Fox runner short of the sticks on a 3rd-and-4 run, forcing Marist to punt.
Trayno, a two-time unanimous All-Ivy League First Team selection and semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy thanks to his 3.68 GPA as an engineering major, has scored two touchdowns this season. His first came in the Ivy League opener at Penn, returning a fumble 17 yards to the end zone in the 28-15 Big Green victory, helping him earn his first weekly award of the year.
This is the fourth straight week Dartmouth has had a player earn one of Ivy League’s weekly awards. Last week, senior wide receiver Drew Estrada took home the offensive honor with 203 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. The streak began when place kicker Connor Davis was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after providing eight points in a 38-3 win over Colgate on Sept. 28.
Senior Caylin Parker was also listed among the players on the league’s honor roll this week for his 64 rushing yards on a eight carries, two going for touchdowns including a 43-yard scamper on a 4th-and-2 play.
Dartmouth (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) returns to Memorial Field this Saturday to host Columbia (2-3, 1-1 Ivy), which is coming off an impressive 44-6 homecoming victory over Penn. The game will be televised live on ESPNU with Bill Spaulding and Jack Ford on the call, while a free audio broadcast will be available online as well through DartmouthSports.com with Brett Franklin and Wayne Young ’72 calling the action.
Notes: Traynor has earned the defensive weekly honor three times in his career with his first coming two years ago after a 16-13 win at Penn … Princeton is also ranked in both polls, sitting at 13th in each one. Dartmouth and the Tigers square off at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. … this is the third consecutive year that the Big Green have won their first five games.
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