Despite a slow start at the beginning of the season, the Big Green men's tennis team ended with a strong performance last weekend at the Rolex Tournament in Princeton, N.J.
"As a team we struggled for a lot of the fall, but at Rolex the guys in the main draw really played well," Captain Dan Coakley '94 said.
Entering the tournament seeded third, Coakley was especially pleased with his second place finish, which qualified him for the National Indoors, which will be held Feb, 3-6 in Dallas, Texas.
Jim Rich '96 and Holden Spaht '96 also competed at the Rolex and performed well, making it to the round of 16 players, according to Coach Chuck Kinyon.
"Overall we had a great weekend," Kinyon said. "I had hoped to do this well, but you never know. Those guys really lived up to my expectations."
The results from Rolex allow Dartmouth to establish itself as a competitive force, according to Spaht.
"Advancing three players to the round of 16 at the Rolex is something we didn't do last year," Spaht said. "We showed the rest of the East what kind of potential we have for this year."
The team was disappointed with its performance early in the season but began to play better as the season progressed.
"We started out slowly," Kinyon said. "We were especially disappointed at our performance at [the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament.] We had a few guys who hadn't played much in the summer, but they came around. Overall, we had a good fall season."
As far as looking ahead to spring competition, the team is confident it can defend its 1993 Ivy Title.
"We have a tough spring schedule because a lot of our tough matches are away," Kinyon said, "but I think we have a very good opportunity to have a great season."
Coakley sees much potential on this year's team.
"We have a lot of talented singles players," he said. "I think we're going to be as good, if not better, than we were last year, and we'll have a definite chance to repeat as Ivy Champs."
