After taking losses to the Princeton Tigers, the Big Green squash teams regrouped and found more success at Penn, splitting as the men lost 5-4 and the women won 6-3.
Freshman Christie Alexander moved into the top spot for the women this weekend, but Julia Drury '06 continued to lead the way in victories, winning at the second position against both Princeton and Penn.
Heather Lisle '07, who recently worked her way into the ninth spot, enjoyed similar success, winning both of her matches during the weekend.
Though the men only won one match against Princeton, upper-level starters Adam King '08, Todd Wood '07, Hank Alexander '06 and Adam Slutsky '06 put up good fights as each won a game during their losing matches.
Senior superstar Ryan Donegan continued his winning ways despite the men's 8-1 loss to Princeton, defeating No. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champion Yasser El-Halaby in three straight games and handing him his second loss ever.
"Ryan got off to an excellent start with lots of good, controlled length and a pace of game that [forced Yasser] into some uncharacteristic errors," Head Coach John Power said. "Ryan did not let up and Yasser could never find his stride."
Judging from his current level of play, Donegan seems poised to make a run at the national title come individual championships, to be hosted March 4-6 here at Dartmouth.
Penn's Quakers proved to be a more balanced matchup for both teams, as each game was decided by a close margin. The men struggled mightily, trying to overcome Penn and retain a winning record. In the end, they fell to 7-7 after a tough 5-4 loss.
Donegan continued to trounce all those sent his way, defeating Penn's Gilly Lane 3-1. Slutsky, also a winner, came from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Quakers' top rookie 3-2, and King continued to show off his potential in a 3-1 win. Tim Vipond '05 provided the Green its fourth victory of the day, defeating his opponent 3-1.
The Princeton men bettered their ranking from seventh, one spot ahead of Dartmouth, to fifth in the week before they met the Big Green, apparent evidence of their improvement. And if this weekend's play serves as any indication, they should be ranked even higher. However, the fact that Dartmouth competed so well against fourth-ranked Penn sets the stage for an interesting College Squash Team Championships, which is set for the last weekend of February at Harvard.
While the men fell just short, the women rebounded from a loss to third-ranked Princeton and defeated No. 5 Penn, something Power thought was within reach of this year's team.
In addition to Drury and Lisle, the women had a win from each class as Ashley Malenchak '08 dealt with the flu as well as her opponent, Avery Eyre '07, winning straight sets. Jessica Vyrostoko '06 secured a 3-1 victory and co-captain Kelly Sennatt '05 also routed her opponent.
The women improved their record to 7-4 and their national ranking to fifth.
The squash season is nearing its end, with only two weeks until the women's nationals begin at the Howe Cup and three until the Men's College Squash Association Team Championships.
Big Green squash will play its final regular-season opponent at home next Sunday at 2 p.m. against Brown on the upper level of the Berry Sports Center.
The women will be looking to keep Brown's seventh-ranked women's team from an upset, while the men will be trying to do the same against the ninth-ranked men's squad. The match will be especially important for the men, who are not only playing to finish above .500, but also to stay out of the Hoehn Division at team championships, the lower bracket for teams ranked 9th through 16th.
