By: Rebecca Osowski

PRINCETON, N.J. – On Thursday, the Ivy League announced its All-Ivy teams and major award winners, honoring four members of the Big Green. Sophomore Ethan Brown, junior Taer Rodriguez, sophomore A.J. DeMastrie, and senior Elliot Krewson were each recognized.
 
Ethan Brown was named Second Team All-Ivy. Brown played in all but one of the Big Green’s games this season at first base. He improved his batting average by 34 points from his first-year to sophomore campaign, finishing the season hitting .274. His 13 doubles, three home runs, and 25 RBI were all team highs.
 
Brown had one of his best games offensively in the Big Green’s 8-7 win over Penn. He collected three hits, two doubles and one home run, driving in just under half of the Big Green’s total runs. Brown also had multi-RBI games in wins over UMass Lowell, Harvard, and Cornell, helping the Big Green secure the series sweep over the Big Red.
 
In addition to being dominant at the plate, he was nearly perfect in the field, making only two errors for a .993 fielding percentage.
 
Both Taer Rodriguez and A.J. DeMastrie were named All-Ivy Honorable Mentions. Rodriguez led the Big Green with a .336 batting average, finishing with the seventh highest batting average in the conference. He also led the Big Green with 43 runs scored, 17 walks, and 12 hit by pitches, posting a .453 on base percentage, the highest on the team.
 
Rodgriguez got his first hits and RBI of the season in the Big Green’s second game at Texas. Six games later, he began a five-game hitting streak. After not reaching base in the series finale vs. Princeton, Rodriguez went on to post a 16-game hitting streak spanning nearly a month from March 28 against Penn to April 22 against Holy Cross. Rodriguez led the league in batting average through these games, hitting .419 during the hitting streak, bringing his season batting average to over .360.
 
DeMastrie cemented himself as the Big Green’s designated hitter in his sophomore season. He played in 24 games before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. DeMastrie hit .294 on the season, putting him second, only behind Rodriguez.
 
This season, DeMastrie had three multi-RBI games, collecting all three of the Big Green’s runs at No. 10 Virginia, three in a win over UMass Lowell, and two that helped the Big Green to a come from behind win over Harvard. He also hit the game winning single in the series finale against the Crimson, helping Dartmouth to the series win and against the Siena Saints.
 
Finally, senior Elliot Krewson was named Dartmouth’s Academic All-Ivy representative, being acknowledged for his contributions both on the field and in the classroom. Krewson, a computer science major, played in all but two games this season, posting a .260 batting average, nine doubles, and 18 RBI.
 
In the Big Green’s first win over the Penn Quakers, Krewson kicked off the scoring, hitting one of his two home runs of the season, a two-run shot. He also had two RBI in the midweek win over Siena, accompanied by a stellar diving grab in the first inning. His best game of the season was against the Columbia Lions. Krewson went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two doubles.
 
In 34 games and 131 at bats, Krewson struck out only five times, making him the hardest to strike out in the Ivy League and the third hardest to strike out in the nation. Krewson goes 26.2 at bats between strikeouts.
 
The Big Green concluded the 2025 season last weekend against the Yale Bulldogs. Dartmouth wrapped the season 11-25 overall and 8-13 in conference play, finishing fifth in the standings after being picked to finish seventh.
 

Hamilton College pitcher/utility player Emma Tansky ’25 (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) and outfielder Alexis Mayer ’26 (Woodcliff Lake, N.J./Pascack Hills HS) were selected for the 2025 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Softball All-Conference Team on Wednesday, May 14 when the conference announced their end-of-season awards.
 
Tansky, who was voted to the second team in 2024, was one of 14 players on the first team this year. Mayer was one of 14 athletes on the second team and collected all-NESCAC honors for the first time.
 
Tansky played in all 18 conference games and was fourth in the NESCAC with a .444 batting average with 16 hits in 36 at-bats. She was fifth in on-base percentage (.487) and second with 12 stolen bases. Tansky (4-4) pitched in 11 conference games and finished with 49.2 innings. She was 14^th with a 3.95 earned run average, fourth with 33 strikeouts and tied for fifth with four wins. Tansky set a program record with 21 stolen bases this year and owns the career record with 64. She ended up second in program history with 139 career hits and 90 career runs. Tansky boasted a career batting average of .408.
 
Mayer was sixth in the NESCAC in slugging percentage (.660), tied for 18^th in on-base percentage (.438) and was fifth in OPS (1.098) as she started in all 18 conference games. She was second with 20 runs batted in, tied for 12^th with 13 runs scored, tied for fourth with three home runs, seventh with three triples and tied for second with 10 walks. Mayer hit .340 with 18 hits in 53 at-bats and added two doubles. She set a program record this year with 38 RBI and tied another with seven triples. Mayer’s 68 total bases were just two shy of the team mark of 70 set by Amber O’Connor in 2006.
 
Hamilton started the 2025 season with eight straight wins and finished with an overall record of 15-17. The Continentals swept Bates College in a NESCAC doubleheader and added conference wins against Colby College, Trinity College, Wesleyan University and Amherst College.
 

Visibly distraught, Wilkes-Barre resident Anthony Hall urged Luzerne County Council to expand a real estate property tax exemption program for honorably discharged military veterans permanently disabled in the line of duty.

The exemption is currently available only to veterans disabled during a period of war, but several other neighboring counties have expanded their programs to include non-wartime veterans.

Hall told council he has rods in his leg and back and narrowly avoided amputation of his leg.

“If you need to see the scars, I can show you the scars,” Hall said before council discussed the possible expansion in a work session Tuesday.

Hall said he had received the property tax exemption for his prior residence in Georgia and was upset to learn it was not provided here when he relocated to Wilkes-Barre approximately seven months ago to be closer to family.

Prior county veteran affairs director James Spagnola had publicly discussed his support for the expanded exemption last year, citing increasing statewide discussion about the unfairness of excluding veterans who are 100% disabled due to their service solely because they were not enlisted during a war.

County Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott sought placement of the proposal on Tuesday’s work session agenda, saying she learned about the issue from Hall.

A vote would be necessary at a future council meeting for the change to take effect.

County Veteran Affairs Director Kevin Clocker told council that approximately 20 to 25 disabled, non-wartime county veterans would be eligible for the exemption.

Council members said they believe they only have the authority to exempt the county portion of the tax bill and that school districts and municipalities would have to agree to exempt theirs.

Using a projection of $1,000 in county taxes and approximately 30 current and future disabled veteran participants, McDermott estimated the expansion would cost the county $30,000 annually.

“For what they’ve sacrificed, it’s a drop in the bucket,” Clocker said of the veterans.

Clocker noted the county services 21,000 veterans, and participation in the exemption may increase if veterans currently in active service return disabled.

Councilman Kevin Lescavage said he believes the proposal is a “very worthy cause.”

Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton said he is in favor of the expansion but wants to ensure there is no potential for fraud.

The exemption also would apply to the surviving spouse of the disabled veteran as long as the spouse remains unmarried.

Thornton asked which entity will be responsible for verifying and monitoring the disability confirmation, marriage and death certificates and any property transfer after death.

Thornton said he does not want a situation where children or other occupants of a residence continue receiving exemption after the deaths of a veteran and spouse.

Clocker said his office must examine all records and said the exemption “isn’t something granted and just forgotten about” because each case must be reviewed every five years.

In addition to working closely with the county assessment office, Veteran Affairs has a comprehensive database for the processing of veteran death benefits that also tracks the exemption, he said.

County Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene said the program also requires 100% disability and income limits to be eligible.

Clocker said there are strict guidelines and checklists that also must be reviewed by the state and federal government, resulting in “plenty of sets of eyes that review this.”

Councilman Chris Perry, a veteran, said he believes the expansion is a “great idea.”

“I’m glad we can go forward with this. I’m sure you’ll get enough votes for it to pass,” Perry said.

As of last year, approximately 763 Luzerne County veterans were participating in the tax exemption because they served during wartime.

Hall told council his family has sacrificed to serve the country, saying his son was killed in military service in 2007. He said he may be forced to sell his residence if the exemption is not provided.

“I shouldn’t be going through what I’m going through because I got hurt in the service and never went to war,” Hall said.