The Dartmouth women's tennis team headed west for its first away matches of the winter season, facing off against Drake University and No. 68 University of Missouri. Saturday's tilt against Drake resulted in a convincing 6-1 win for the Green; however, Missouri edged Dartmouth 4-2 the next day, dealing the Big Green its first loss of the campaign.
Dartmouth jumped all over the Drake Bulldogs in doubles, dropping only four games in the process of sweeping the trio of matches. At the top spot, the precocious pair of Lindsay Winingham '07 and Megan Zebroski '08 secured an 8-3 win. Co-captain Jayme Ahmed '05 and Margaret Fitchet '08 both returned from illnesses to flatten the no. 2 Drake team 8-0.
At no. 3, a tandem of fabulous first-years picked up the third and final victory for the Green, as Maggie Suydam '08 and Natalie O'Rourke '08 gave up only one game during their dominating performance.
Five of the six singles matches went Dartmouth's way to round out the strong team effort. Fitchet and Zebroski led the way by pounding their respective Bulldog adversaries. Fitchet won 6-0, 6-2 at third singles while Zebroski triumphed by the count of 6-1, 6-1 at the fifth position.
Also securing a straight-sets victory was Ann Scott '06 at no. 6 singles. The smell of Green spirit was unquestionably in the air as the terrific junior improved her still unblemished singles record with another cagey performance.
The second and fourth positions featured three-set encounters, but the Big Green emerged victorious in both matches. At no. 2, Winingham split the first two frames before devouring her opponent in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 triumph. At no. 4, Suydam found herself down a set before clawing back into the match and eventually earning a hard-fought 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win.
After the relatively smooth sailing of the Drake match, the Big Green ran into rocky waters against the Missouri Tigers. Despite having to deal with the effects of a lengthy road trip and the loss of co-captain Sarah McNally '05 to injury, Dartmouth still came within mere points of pulling out the match.
In doubles play, the Green teams could only muster a single win, courtesy of Ahmed and Fitchet at no. 2. The duo notched its second victory of the weekend with an 8-5 triumph.
The singles matches also proved to be hotly contested. Ahmed bounced back from her tough loss against Drake to race past the highly regarded Katka Sevcikova, 6-4, 6-4, for her third match win of the weekend. The Montague Mauler regained her form late in the match to finish off Missouri's top player, who entered the match ranked 120th in the country.
Following suit at the second position was Winingham, who found enough inspiration in the Indiana Pacers' recent two-game win streak to overcome Erika Josbena 6-3, 7-6. The victory made it three straight singles victories for the sophomore starlet.
Despite fighting with the ferocity comparable to that of a wrestling team, Missouri squeaked out the win by winning at the third, fourth and sixth positions on the ladder.
At no. 3, Fitchet pushed Yelena Olshanskaya to a third set tiebreaker before succumbing 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5). Suydam also dropped a tough three-set match at No. 4, falling to Carolyn Kramer 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.
The first loss never feels good, but, like true champions, the Dartmouth ladies found something positive to take from the experience.
"This trip made it clear that our team members are incredibly supportive of one another," Kerry Snow '07 said. "Although Missouri pulled through, this past weekend showed how strong Dartmouth is both physically and mentally and that we have a successful season ahead of us."
"I think we impressed the other teams, both in our level of play and in our overall demeanor on the court," Suydam added. "All in all, I think we represented Dartmouth really well."
Now standing at 3-1 on the season, the Big Green returns to the friendly confines of Boss Tennis Center for its next match against Quinnipiac, Friday at 4 p.m.
