With an overall record of 248-144, the Dartmouth women's tennis team is proud of its history, especially within the Ivy League. In fact, the young 1996-97 squad is just aching to follow up on 22 years of competitive excellence.
A lot of changes have taken place since the challenging 1995-96 season, during which the Big Green won only one match, and the Dartmouth women are more than ready to return with a vengeance in today's 2:00 p.m. match against Colgate and Saturday's high noon meeting with Fairfield University. Both can be seen at the Topliff Courts.
With four freshmen and six veterans, the team will draw upon the leadership of Katie Kirkmire '98 and Captain Kallie Buehler '97. Along with four returning sophomores, they'll provide the team with the depth necessary to put away some of the season's tougher matches.
As an added treat, the four freshmen promise fans extra excitement. They have plenty of tournament experience and the rankings to prove it.
Allison Taff '00 chose Dartmouth "because of the combination between academics, athletics and the social life," and is looking forward to her first season as a Big Green athlete.
"The team is looking very good, but I have no idea how we'll compare to the rest of the Ivies or the teams this fall season," Taff said. "We have a young team but we are all very experienced in junior tennis. I would like to have high goals but not unrealistic ones -- the number one goal right now is to do better than Dartmouth did last year."
"I feel so privileged to be part of the Dartmouth community that no matter what I get out of my tennis I will be thankful for being here," Taff added. "At the same time I have high expectations, and I hope to reach them not only individually but most importantly as a team. The team is my priority."
Taff knows that talent is only one of many ingredients necessary for a winning season. In addition to building physical strength and fine-tuning skills, the women's tennis team has also put a lot of time into becoming just that -- a team. After all, the rigors of four hours of tennis a day for a week and a half are just the beginning of a year's worth of intense commitment to the sport.
"Tennis can be a very individual sport and we have to work at that," Coach Chris Kerr said. "Traditionally, the women's tennis team has at times won when we shouldn't have, and being a good tight team made the difference.
"That should be the case with these players. At a certain level, playing becomes a mental thing -- you could have eight or nine egotistical players and a team would self-destruct."
Kerr and the team are constantly looking toward the future and guarding against a repeat of last year.
"Last year was uncharacteristic," Kerr said. "For some time, the team had become used to finishing in the top four of the Ivy League. Last spring, we finished last. That had never happened before."
"It is difficult to be on the bottom when you're not used to it," Kerr added. "But sometimes that is necessary to appreciate and enjoy success. The perspective is important, and we've taken steps to not repeat that."
Yet Kerr recognizes that the team will have to have time to rebuild.
"We're an extremely young team, and off to a fresh start," Kerr said. "We're not going to jump from bottom to number one, but we can get back to where we're competitive again."
More than anything, "We won't take success for granted," Kerr said. "If you've experienced a losing season, you know that your future is in your recruits.
"Returning players are very important, but you have to keep looking ahead," Kerr added. "Our main goal this season is to feel good about winning again."
Colgate and Fairfield University are both Division I teams in the East, and Kerr purposely scheduled them early in the year so that the team can get "some confidence back and learn how to win again."
The matches will be competitive and tough, but the Big Green should make a strong debut and get some wins and needed experience under their belts.
