The Dartmouth women's tennis squad split this weekend's home matches with a 9-0 drubbing of the University of Massachusetts and a tight 4-5 loss to Boston University. The win improved the Big Green's overall record to 3-1.
Against the Minutemen of UMass at the Topliff courts Friday afternoon, Dartmouth cruised with big matches from the entire team. The Big Green racketeers jumped out to a 3-0 lead by sweeping the doubles contest in relative ease.
At number one doubles Captain Kallie Buehler '97 and Rebecca Dirksen '00 fought off a strong team to win 8-5. While Dirksen pounced on short balls to push the opposition deep behind the baseline, Buehler covered the net excellently.
"Kallie played a great game," Dirksen said. "She is really aggressive and has great volleys. It takes a lot of pressure off of me because I know that she will always make the play."
Dartmouth rounded out the doubles sweep with wins by the number two and three doubles teams. In the number two slot the freshmen duo of Jennifer Lange and Allison Taff smoked its opponents with an 8-4 win. Doubles specialist Courtney Dill '99 and Michelle Bray '00 won the final doubles match.
With a commanding 3-0 lead, the women stepped onto the court for the singles matches with a renewed confidence after struggling last weekend at the Brown Invitational.
Dirksen led off the singles competition with a tough 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory. After cruising through the first set, Dirksen lost her momentum when her UMass opponent broke early in the second set. The short lapse did not seem to phase Dirksen, though, as she dominated the final set with numerous forehand winners.
Taff won her second match of the day 6-3, 6-4 with a superior serve and volley game. "I was on my game today." she said. "I had a tough opponent but stuck it out."
In perhaps the most exciting match of the day, Buehler sealed the victory for the Big Green as she battled her way to a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
The women concluded the day as Katie Kirkmire '98, Bray and Lange all won their matches at four, five and six singles, respectively.
On Saturday, the women faced a much more experienced and talented team in Boston University and lost a squeaker 4-5.
The Big Green doubles squads came through once again winning two out of the three matches to take an early 2-1 lead. The tandem of Buehler and Dirksen were edged 8-6 in an epic battle. Despite being behind most of the match, the number one duo stuck together and nearly pulled off the upset. Lange and Taff won in the two spot with their second 8-4 win of the weekend. The always-tenacious team of Bray and Dill also won their match.
"The doubles has been very strong for us," Dirksen said. "We have come through at doubles in every match and it is usually where we win or lose the contest. Today, the doubles came through but in singles, we could not pull out the close matches. That's how things go sometimes."
Dirksen had her second epic three-setter of the weekend against BU but came up short, 4-6, 6-4, 5-7. After battling back to tie the match at a set a piece, Dirksen appeared to have the crucial momentum swing but, to her opponent's credit, was unable to close the door. Despite hitting excellent strokes throughout the third set, Dirksen could not match the skill and power of her opponent.
"Rebecca's opponent played awesome today, " Taff said. "No matter where Rebecca hit the ball, her opponent was always there. They both really put in as much as they could."
With the match tied at two, Taff dropped her match at two singles 6-1, 6-2 as she was unable to match her opponent's pace and placement. Buehler came through in the clutch to even the match at three with a straight set, 7-5, 6-4, win.
The Big Green split their next two matches as Kirkmire was defeated 6-3, 6-4 and Bray won 6-4, 6-1. With the match knotted at four, Lange was unable to match her opponent as the Big Green dropped their first decision of the year.
"Although this was a disappointing loss, our team is much stronger then last year," Buehler said. "It is tough playing two consecutive matches and we almost got the two wins. We are now in a position to compete in every match. This is a spot that we would not have been in last year."
The Big Green women will have a week of rest before the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Team Regionals at Princeton University next weekend.
