After the intricacies of Dartmouth's D-plan caused two of the top eight women's tennis players to be off campus during winter training, it would not have been unreasonable to expect the spring season to get off to a shaky start.
But so far this does not appear to be the case.
The Big Green returned from their exhibition trip to Florida with a spring break record of 3-2 and many strong individual performances. Deb Healy '95 returned to the courts after an absence to record an impressive 5-0 start on the southern swing.
"It was a great surprise to have Deb back in such great form," Coach Chris Kerr said. "She jumped right into competitive play after a term away from the team and did an outstanding job."
At the number three doubles spot, Trudy Miller '96 and Kelly Olsen '97 also remained undefeated at 2-0, another impressive accomplishment given that Miller spent last term in Spain. In fact, only one of the three doubles teams was intact for winter term practice, which may be a slight setback as Dartmouth's Ivy League play begins on April 8 against Columbia University.
"Our doubles definitely need work, which is ironic since in the fall doubles were our strength." Coach Kerr said. "Hopefully our singles will remain as strong for the upcoming season."
The team's fall term play landed them in 12th place in the Eastern Championships out of about 80 teams, their lowest rank in recent years but nevertheless a strong standing. Although one of Dartmouth's three spring break wins was not considered challenging, the others, Palm Beach Junior College and Florida Atlantic University, should be comparable to the teams Dartmouth will face in the Ivy League, according to Coach Kerr.
The team is currently preparing to start its season against Boston University on Saturday, and hopes to avenge a fall term loss to the Terriers, who are ranked sixth in the East. Ivy League competition will begin next weekend with matches against Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, but Coach Kerr is hesitant to make too many predictions.
"We face the season one team at a time," Kerr said. "There is not a team that we will face that we can afford to underestimate."
But with seven of last year's eight varsity squad members returning to the team, including senior captain Cathy Birkeland and Kiyoe Hashimoto '95, along with a handful of promising freshmen, the future definitely looks bright.
"There is also not a team that we will face that can afford to underestimate us," she added.
