Following a fall campaign that included a number of outstanding performances and consistent improvement, the Dartmouth women's tennis team continues its marathon season this weekend. Returning to the fold after off-terms in the fall are Ann Scott '06, Katie Jaxheimer '06 and Lindsay Winingham '07, who will bolster an already potent lineup.
Also, many of the nagging injuries that affected a number of the Big Green players last term have healed over the course of the winter break, further ensuring a strengthened Dartmouth squad for the upcoming months of competition.
After maintaining a team national ranking for part of last year, individual members of the Big Green also gained national recognition in the fall. Co-captain and top singles player Jayme Ahmed '05 was ranked 16th in the East Region, while Ahmed teamed with co-captain Sarah McNally '05 to secure the no. 12 slot in the doubles standings after a dazzling run to the quarterfinals at the ITA Eastern Regional event.
In addition to the outstanding play of these splendid seniors, members of the team's younger contingent also distinguished themselves during the fall tournaments. Highlighting the incoming Class of 2008 were Margaret Fitchet '08 and Maggie Suydam '08, who showed their ability to fare well against tough collegiate competition from the outset of their first season in Hanover. In addition, Megan Zebroski '08, who played sparingly in the fall due to injury, captured the USTA National Women's Open Doubles Indoor Championship over winter break.
The dual match season commences with a home match against Army Saturday, followed the next day with an away contest against regional rival Boston College.
While the Big Green has toppled Army the past two seasons, the Golden Eagles have a two-match winning streak against Dartmouth, including a 6-1 triumph last winter where Kerry Snow '07 provided the lone victory for the Green. A road win against Boston College, who enters the weekend with a national ranking of no. 59, would undoubtedly set a positive tone for the remainder of the year.
"I'm really looking forward to the dual matches against Army and BC this weekend," Zebroski said. "After two weeks of captains' practices, we are back on our normal training schedule. I think that the conditioning we've been doing will really pay off in close matches.
"Also, we have been focusing on our doubles strategy in practice, because winning the doubles point in dual matches gives our team a significant advantage. The matches this weekend will give us a good indication of what we need to work on to raise our level of play as the Ivy season approaches."
The subsequent non-leagues matches will find the Big Green traveling to such far-flung areas as Missouri and Florida before settling into its Ivy League docket in April.
The mix of strong leadership and solid play from the seniors along with the raw talent of the underclassmen should provide a genuine opportunity for Dartmouth to improve on its 2-5 record in the Ancient Eight last year.
Three of those conference matches -- a pair of 4-3 losses to Brown and Yale and a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Princeton -- came down to a mere handful of points last year, showing how close the Big Green stood to pulling off a 5-2 league record in 2004.
Also, for the first time in several years, the entirety of the women's tennis coaching staff -- Head Coach Bob Dallis and Assistant Coach Jesse "Dr. Rosenrosen" Medvene-Collins -- will return for consecutive seasons, providing a further sense of stability.
"Despite the fact that I was away in the fall, I expect that we should have a very exciting season," Scott said. "The addition of five spectacular freshman, who have proved to be great assets, coupled with the experience of our returning upperclassmen should put us in the running for a top Ivy League position."
"The tournaments this fall provided necessary match experience for us," Suydam added, "but since our individual results essentially had no effect on how the team as a whole placed -- which is unlike how our spring season will be -- I'm looking forward to the dual matches. I'm also looking forward to improving upon last year's record in the Ivies, because I definitely think we will."
Dartmouth kicks off its dual match season in Boss Tennis Center Saturday at 11 a.m. against Army.
